Average Cost of Acton Academy Including Fees
Acton Academy is a fast-growing private school franchise throughout the United States and some other countries. As a private school, tuition is paid for by the parents of the students.
The mean cost of full-time tuition at Acton Academy is $11,295 per year, with a median price of $10,575 per year. The range of tuition costs between locations of Acton Academy extend from $5,250 to $24,950 per year. Because all Acton Academy locations are independently owned, pricing is not consistent between locations.
Some locations of Acton Academy are run as 501(3)c non-profit organizations, but most of them are for-profit businesses.
Costs of Acton Academy at Various Locations (Examples)
Here are a few examples of costs of attending Acton Academy locations. Keep in mind that most of these schools have different prices for different ages of students, but here I’ll only list an example and include fees in the price.
- $1,310/month plus additional fees at TEJ Acton Academy. They have different prices in different studios.
- $14,400/year at Acton Academy Kennebunkport.
- $10,750/year for The Forest School in Georgia.
- $24,950/year at Acton Academy of Washington DC (Foggy Bottom).
- $11,000/ year at Wonder School in Kansas.
- $11,973/year at Acton Academy East Bay California.
- $9,300/year at Journey Academy in Ada, Michigan. This location is a 501(3)c non-profit.
- $10,400/year at Acton Academy Albuquerque, New Mexico.
- The Humanist Academy in Irving, Texas uses an odd pay-what-you-want system encouraging parents to pay between $550 and $1,050 per month.
- $15,000/year at Acton Miami South, Florida.
- $6,500/year at Journey Academy in Colorado.
- $5,250/year at Beatrice Christian Academy in Nebraska.
- $6,870/year at Ivy Greene: An Acton Academy, MS
- $9,150/year at East Valley Acton Academy, AZ
How Does Acton Compare to Tuition at Other Private Schools?
Tuition costs at Acton Academy locations are on par with the average cost of tuition at other private schools across the United States.
The average cost of private school tuition nationwide is $11,074 per year and the average cost of Acton Academy is $11,295.
However, private schools vary in tuition costs drastically, because many private schools receive school vouchers and can thus operate with little pay-out from parents. Other private schools are run as 501(3)c non-profit organizations and thus can save the cost of retained earnings by the business owner.
What is Acton Academy All About?
Now that you understand what type of costs and the range you’re looking at if you want to attend Acton Academy, let’s dive into the real question surrounding this schooling approach: why Acton?
What’s So Special About Acton?
Acton Academy is extremely unique in its academic approach. The idea behind Acton Academy is for students to search for their life’s calling, through discovery and challenges. The underlying theme of Acton Academy education is traditionally Christian value-based, as is with many other educational programs in the United States.
Integral Beliefs of Acton Academy
Perhaps the most significant belief of the Acton Academy teachers and administrators is their view of young students and learners.
The Genius Within Them
The most important and integral belief of Acton Academy educators is that each child that sets foot in their classroom has a genius side of them within, waiting to be nurtured to where it can be seen by others. This is the idea behind every educational aspect of Acton Academy, helping children discover the area that their genius specializes in, or as stated previously, helping children find their life’s calling.
The Beloved Narrative of the Hero
The Hero’s journey is the second most important concept unique to Acton Academy, besides the concept of ‘every child has a genius within.’
The Hero’s Journey
The idea behind the Hero’s journey concept is that each child is a hero, and they have to go on their own personal journey of discovery to find their life’s calling and learn how to succeed in the world. (Source)
The typical narrative of a hero’s journey in literature, particularly the fiction genre, usually involves a protagonist who is the hero. This character, or hero, is challenged, and possibly ridiculed throughout the novel.
The hero uses their challenges, failures, and oppressions to learn something important, and do good in their world. The hero returns home from their journey with reformed morals, values, and drive for their righteous desires.
Understanding the narrative of the hero’s journey is essential to understanding the system of values that makes up Acton Academy. Through the Acton perspective, the narrative of the hero’s journey is transformed into a metaphor. The hero is the child, and the journey is their education. The child will face challenges, failures, and setbacks, but they are meant to use those hardships to better themself and become only the more resilient.
The child’s journey will lead them to learn their purpose, improve their desire to do good, and strengthen their sense of honor and sincere effort. If students learn to view themselves as the hero of their own stories, they will be empowered with a greater sense of strength and will have a greater understanding of the control they have over their own success. (Source)
When you view your education and life from the hero’s journey perspective, it is much easier to be hopeful and motivated; after all, the hero always wins in the stories that children read. They can turn every setback into a learning experience, and never stop moving forward. Who wouldn’t want to be the hero in their own life’s journey?
Where did Acton Academy Come From?
Acton Academy began as an alternative to the Montessori educational approach. To understand what Acton Academy was aiming for when it began, you need to understand where it came from, which was Montessori education.
The Montessori education approach was the inspiration for Acton Academy, and it is essentially just a method of created teaching that is student-based. (Source)
Traditional schools focus on curriculum and testing, while Montessori education focuses on the child and the child’s creative genius. Montessori also focuses on children taking the initiative in their learning.
The values that stand out as connectors between Montessori and Acton are the idea of a student-centered approach, where students are expected to be proactive. The approach for both aims for adhering to students’ strengths, and incorporates the idea that each child has specific gifts, talents, and strengths that they should be able to learn and build upon throughout their educational experience.
Extra History About Acton Academy
Since Acton Academy education is not very well known, let’s learn who it was founded by and when it was started.
When And Where Did Acton Academy Begin?
Acton Academy first began in 2009 with its first location in Austin, Texas. There were only twelve students in this one-room schoolhouse when Acton Academy Began. (Source)
Who Founded Acton Academy?
Jeff Sandefer and Laura Sandefer, who are husband and wife, are the founders of Acton Academy. (Source)
Who Was Acton Academy Named After?
Acton Academy was named after Lord Acton, who is known for his famous quote stating that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. The connection from this quote to Acton Academy is that children’s minds are impressionable, and the absolute power we give to the states in public education has the ability to absolutely corrupt children in the school system. (Source)
Thus, the solution was Acton Academy, which aimed to restore the integrity of education. Instead of having intense control and power in the Acton Academy academic approach, students were given the freedom to explore, quest, and journey for their own life’s purpose through schooling.
Acton Academy aimed to help students be in charge of their education, giving power to the people, a very American value and concept. This power given to students takes the absolute power out of the education system and prevents the “absolute corruption” that Lord Acton warned against.