Acton Academy Venice Beach

Acton Academy Venice Beach

A learner driven school

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312-498-9872dkfoltz@actonvenice.org
2210 Lincoln Blvd, Venice, CA
dkfoltz@actonvenice.org 312-498-9872 2210 Lincoln Blvd, Venice, CA
Acton Academy Venice Beach

Acton Academy Venice Beach

A learner driven school

  • About Us
  • Info Sessions
  • Rethinking School
  • FAQs
  • Apply Now
  • Parents
    • Newsletters

Author: actonhero

Newsletter: Jan 22-25

January 28, 2019 actonhero

After a long weekend, Eagles jumped right in Tuesday morning, with our morning launch and a socratic discussion about MLK, along with a run through of our week. In Biology,…

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Weekly Newsletter: Jan 14-18

January 22, 2019 actonhero

Here at AAVB, we started out our week standing in solidarity with our fellow educators with LAUSD, who started their strike Monday. After a passionate socratic discussion the previous Friday…

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Weekly Newsletter: Jan 7-11

January 13, 2019 actonhero

This week was our first full week back from break, and our launch into session 4. Eagles got into full swing with Biology, Writing WorkShop, Art, History, and of course…

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Week 23 Newsletter: March 5-9

March 11, 2018 actonhero

The Weekly Newsletter Week 23, March 5-9 Welcome back everyone! Becky here- I just want to say that it’s so great to be back, and even though I am many…

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Week 18 Newsletter: January 29 – February 2

February 2, 2018 actonhero

History Project - Powdered Wig Making The History Project Workshop focused on the origins of the white, curly wigs worn by statesman and representatives during the mid to late 1700s—powdered…

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Week 15 Newsletter: January 8-12

January 16, 2018 actonhero

The Weekly Newsletter Week 15: January 8-12 Welcome back everyone! The Eagles had a great week, with so much fun in quest work, writing, and lots of progress and learning…

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Week 14 Newsletter: January 3- 5

January 8, 2018 actonhero

The Weekly Newsletter Week 14: January 3-5 Welcome back everyone! It feels like it’s been forever since we have been together in the studios- two weeks is a long time!…

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Week 13 Newsletter: December 11-15

December 28, 2017 actonhero

The Weekly Newsletter Week 13: December 11- 15 Welcome back! We had such a great last week of the session. We celebrated the holidays with a book exchange, a celebration…

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Week 12 Newsletter: December 4-8

December 11, 2017 actonhero

The Weekly Newsletter Week 12: December 4- 8 Welcome back! We had a great week this week, with lots of holiday festivities, quest work, core skills, passion projects, and SOLES!…

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Week 11 Newsletter: November 27- December 1

December 4, 2017 actonhero

The Weekly Newsletter Week 11: November 27- December 1 Hello and welcome back! We had a great week back after Thanksgiving break and started our very eventful short session before…

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actonvenice

Education reimagined!
Learn to do 🚀 learn to be 👩🏽‍🔬 learn to learn 🌱
Now enrolling heroes year round👇
What if the key to a happy life isn’t money, statu What if the key to a happy life isn’t money, status, or success, but purpose? At his 25th Yale reunion, Adam Leipzig realized that most of his powerful, privileged classmates were unhappy. The common thread among those who were fulfilled was that they had found their purpose. While we understand stability and security are important, the research consistently shows that purpose is key to living a long, healthy, and happy life. That’s why we make purpose a core part of the journey at Acton. ~ Starting around age 8, learners dive into theme-based Quests designed to help them explore what truly excites them-and how their gifts can serve others ~ After age 12, school shifts toward real-world experience: apprenticeships, externships, and independent projects ~ By 18, our learners have not only chosen a field of interest-they’ve already worked in it, with a meaningful portfolio to show for it College and career readiness is important. But what we care about most is helping children build a life of purpose and develop a strong character and mindset. That’s because purpose is what makes success feel worth it. **For references on happiness and longevity research, we suggest books by @danbuettner and @arthurcbrooks
More on this: “The results are similar when we ope More on this: “The results are similar when we operate in a permissive manner and rescue them from the limits and consequences they face. In contrast, when we remain firm and loving, guiding them toward developing solutions to the dilemmas they encounter, their brains become strong and capable of facing bigger, real-world problems.” What if the struggles your child faces aren’t problems to fix-but opportunities to grow? Many schools train children to follow orders, memorize answers, and avoid mistakes. But real strength doesn’t come from being told what to do. It comes from figuring things out. At Acton, we believe in learner-led education-where children solve their own challenges, think critically, and develop real-world resilience. Without spoon-fed answers or rescuing, but instead, the right balance of freedom and support to help them thrive. If school isn’t preparing your child for life, maybe it’s time to rethink school.
Traditional schools were designed to create factor Traditional schools were designed to create factory workers that were good at following directions, but is that what really creates a strong critical thinker who is prepared for college and beyond? Instead of teaching children to obey and listen silently while sitting still for hours a day, what if there was another way? Here’s how we do things at Acton: - We prioritize hands-on learning through group and individual projects: Children learn better through doing. Research shows that hands-on, experiential learning improves long-term retention (Kolb, 1984). - We allow some freedom and flexibility because curiosity drives mastery. Studies prove that when students have autonomy, they engage more deeply and learn more effectively (Deci & Ryan, 2000). - We prioritize learning real-world skills, like public speaking, self-advocacy and creative thinking. The World Economic Forum highlights problem-solving, creativity, and collaboration as the most important future skills, yet most schools ignore them. At Acton Academy, we don’t teach children to memorize facts. We equip them to think, create, and lead.
You can only reach the goals that you set intentio You can only reach the goals that you set intentionally, and the goals we set at Acton are completely different. We know that research on success shows that soft skills like confidence, mindset, grit, emotional intelligence, and more are linked to lifelong success. We understand that while academics are important, if you focus on the right foundational skills, not only will academic success follow, but so will lifelong career success. In order to create confident and resilient leaders who can think for themselves and don’t give up easily, we normalize failure and prioritize critical thinking through daily discussions that encourage students to push back and question and defend their opinions. We encourage individuality through built-in flexibility that allows students some freedom based on their own ways of learning. We prioritize real world experiences through internships and externships that start from age 12 and continue till age 18. We don’t have homework or typical tests, because every student is working on a self-paced curriculum that has built-in measures to ensure that the student is understanding the material at a high level of proficiency. If you think that school can be much more than memorization and test taking, send us a DM, so you can see what we are all about.
Our goal at Acton is to help create critical think Our goal at Acton is to help create critical thinkers who have a love of learning and the courage to question. Every day, we have multiple group discussions, often on big ideas and interesting topic. There is no right or wrong or answer during these discussions. But there is a right approach, which involves staying respectful, using evidence and logic to back up your opinions, being open to listening to others’ perspectives, and using the skills of persuasion to convince others. We want children to think for themselves, so we encourage it in every interaction. Our guides don’t answer questions, unless absolutely necessary. We use the Socratic method, which means that the guide answers a student question with a question, often things like, “Well, what do you think? What are other approaches? How can you approach this problem?” This is what helps develop critical-thinking, problem-solving, and a sense of empowerment. Memorization may help a child get an A on an exam, but it’s these essential soft skills that will help them achieve lifelong success, in college and beyond.
Core belief: learning by doing > learning by sitti Core belief: learning by doing > learning by sitting Today, Eagles explored physics & nature at the California Science Center, bringing their Quest & art work to life 🌱 At #actonvenice we prize field trips as opportunities for #handsonlearning We are so grateful to be in LA, where incredible field trips are always within reach! #learntodo #educationreimagined #fieldtrip
At #actonvenice we have a radical trust in childre At #actonvenice we have a radical trust in children's creativity and curiosity. Reimagine what's possible ✨ #educationreimagined #handsonlearning #tictactoe
Spring has sprung at AAVB! 🐥 #actonvenice #aavb # Spring has sprung at AAVB! 🐥 #actonvenice #aavb #handsonlearning #spring #outdooreducation
A Leprechaun hid mysterious treasure all around th A Leprechaun hid mysterious treasure all around the studio today! 🪙 Happy St Patrick's Day from AAVB ☘️ #actonvenice #aavb #handsonlearning #stpatricksday☘️
Join the Eagles for Naturalist Drawing! Here's a Join the Eagles for Naturalist Drawing! Here's a one-minute snapshot of chill art to welcome springtime 🌷 Today we used pencils to draw a flower in 3 different stages of its life, then we added details and color 🌈 Stay tuned to see the artists' final projects! #actonvenice #aavb #handsonlearning #educationreimagined #naturedrawing
Some days call for some swinging AND some reading. Some days call for some swinging AND some reading. #aavb #actonvenice #actonacademy #lovemybook #learntodo
The Eagles had a blast demonstrating physics laws The Eagles had a blast demonstrating physics laws and forces at Playground Physics today! #actonvenice #learntodo #learntobe #learntolearn #educationreimagined
Happy Holi from the Eagles at Acton Academy Venice Happy Holi from the Eagles at Acton Academy Venice Beach! 💙💜💛💚🩷 #aavb #actonvenice #actonacademy #educationreimagined #handsonlearning
Any guesses as to what our middle schoolers are up Any guesses as to what our middle schoolers are up to??? #learntodo #aavb #actonvenice #handsonlearning
Are you curious what it’s like to be on a hero’s j Are you curious what it’s like to be on a hero’s journey? Are you looking for a learning environment where curiosity, kindness, and cooperation are celebrated? Are you wanting a school experience that nurtures a love of learning and exploring your interests? Then join us Monday, March 16 at 5 PM for an info session where we will dig into what school reimagined actually looks like! RSVP to dkfoltz@actonvenice.org
Session 4 is is the books! And it was epic! From Session 4 is is the books! And it was epic! From a mind blowing exhibition to our annual Valentine’s Day waffle breakfast, this was truly an amazing session! #aavb #actonvenice #actonacademy #learntodo #learntolearn
What a day out on the water! While we didn’t get What a day out on the water! While we didn’t get to see any whales this year, we had the most amazing pod of dolphins with us for part of the trip! #aavb #actonvenice #actonacademy #learntodo
Tomorrow! We have a few spots left- RSVP to dkfol Tomorrow! We have a few spots left- RSVP to dkfoltz@actonvenice.org to learn more about how we are reimagining education!
Before we get too far into the new year, just want Before we get too far into the new year, just wanted to reflect on the amazing holiday season we had as a community! From service projects to a very fun exhibition (where parents got to put their entrepreneurship skills to the test!)to gingerbread houses to our holiday book exchange… we are so grateful to spend this time with all of you! #aavb #actonvenice #actonacademy #learntobe #learntodo
Are you curious what it looks like to be on a hero Are you curious what it looks like to be on a hero’s journey? Are you looking for a learning environment where curiosity, kindness, and cooperation are celebrated? Do you hope for a school experience that nurtures a love of learning and exploring your interests? Then join us Tuesday, February 3rd at 5 PM for an info session where we will take a look at what school reimagined actually looks like! RSVP to dkfoltz@actonvenice.org #aavb #actonvenice #actonacademy #learntodo #learntobe
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