What does an average school day look like?
Our learning studios are open from 8:30 am-3:00 pm Monday-Thursday. Our learning time is broken into morning Socratic discussions, core skills time, collaborative learning quests, civilization discussions, communications workshops, known as Comms, and free time. Multiple outside recess breaks are an important part of each day. Using the incredible eLearning tools now available, we are able to provide the rigor needed for learning math, vocabulary, spelling, and grammar in about 90 minutes each day, while freeing up the rest of the day for engaging, project-based collaborative learning.
How is Solid Roots Academy affiliated with Acton Academy?
Solid Roots Academy is part of the network of over 300 Acton Academies around the world. We follow the same exact Learning Design (curriculum) and learning model that our owners helped create at the original Acton Academy campus.
What grades do you offer?
We will be accepting enrollment for a Discovery Studio ages 7-11 starting in January 2025.
How long is the school year?
Our academic year runs from September to May, divided into five six-week sessions with breaks in between.
Is it really possible for students to complete core skills in only 90 minutes each day?
Yes, we promise it is! An unbelievable amount of time is wasted in traditional education because of discipline distractions, disengaged students, and inefficient learning methods. Solid Roots Academy approaches learning radically different from the traditional model of a one-size-fits-all lecture with passive students who are required to move at the same pace of the class. Using a learner-driven model, we allow each student to set their own goals, choose learning platforms that work for them, and provide a consistent atmosphere of reward and accountability. While we do not believe standardized assessments are vital, we do offer the administration of a standardized test in the spring each year to all heroes except Sparks, to provide us baseline data on core skills and test-taking skills. Based on these test results nationwide, Acton Academy students have been advancing far faster than in traditional schools, averaging as much as three grade levels gained each year. By using a more efficient learner-driven model, we are able to free up massive amounts of time for students to pursue their own learning interests through collaborative projects, apprenticeships, and life-integrated learning.
What is your tuition?
Tuition is $8400/year plus a $300 enrollment fee. While students are required to provide their own Chromebooks, tuition covers all other school supplies and field trips.
Do students have homework?
While there will be work that needs to be completed on days Heroes are at home, we believe it is important that students do not have any evening or weekend homework. We believe that children need time to play, relax, and be with family and friends, and are committed to ensuring plenty of learning during studio hours so that time outside the studio can be free for other important pursuits. We also believe family time is sacred and those relationships need to be nurtured on evenings and weekends without the distraction and conflict that homework can bring.
Why do you call your space a "learning studio" instead of a "classroom"?
A studio is a place where someone goes to learn, practice, or study. A classroom implies a space where a group of people are all being directed in the same activity at the same time. At Solid Roots Academy, we want to create a learner-driven environment where children and young adults can learn, practice, and study at their own pace while being encouraged by others. Traditionally, we perceive a classroom as a temporary place you go to learn something until your real life begins and you ‘graduate’. Pursuing knowledge and wisdom in a community learning studio helps communicate that we believe learning to be a lifestyle that doesn’t end at graduation.
How do you track a student's progress?
Heroes at Solid Roots Academy demonstrate progress through student portfolios, learning exhibitions, peer reviews, goal monitoring, online dashboards, learning badges, and a once-a-year-standardized test. In place of traditional letter grades, we use a system of badges which are not earned until a student has reached mastery in that specific area, thus ensuring students successfully learn and process what they are studying. Badges are translatable as transcripts to other academic institutions. Completion of 80% of the required badges at 100% mastery translates to a grade of 80%.
Why do you call the adults "Guides" instead of "Teachers"?
We believe that children are natural learners who need adults to inspire them to wonder rather than prescribe to them an educational path that the student doesn’t own for themselves or feel passionate about. We believe that with the proper guard rails set in place by a Guide, a student will be inspired to pursue a Hero’s Journey and Learn to Be, Learn to Do, and Learn to Learn. We also believe along with Charlotte Mason that, ‘God the Holy Spirit is Himself, personally, the Imparter of knowledge, the Instructor of youth, and the Inspirer of genius’. We believe that when a teacher sets himself up as the ‘grand showman of the universe’ to inform the student of some truth, that adult is robbing from the student the joy of discovering a treasure of knowledge. Therefore, we seek to guide and let the students play the active role in their own education.
Is the Acton Academy a Montessori school?
We respect and incorporate Maria Montessori’s philosophy but, we are not a Montessori school. We also use the latest interactive technologies, hands on projects and the Socratic Method for discussions.
Is Solid Roots Academy a religious school?
We believe each student is created by the triune God to have a relationship with Him and to bring Him glory. We bring God the greatest glory by being who He created us to be and utilizing our gifts, skills and passions to make the greatest impact in the world. We believe the living God revealed himself to all mankind through the inerrant words found in both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. We expose children to the importance of their spirituality and we stress the historical importance of Christianity to the development of Western Civilization. Solid Roots Academy is not a place of religious indoctrination, but rather a community that is a safe place for our students to discover and dig deep into their faith journey. Knowing each person needs to work out their faith in various ways, we welcome questions of every kind and approach faith study in a different manner than you would find in a traditional Christian school or homeschool program. Our staff agrees to a statement of faith, but our students are welcomed at any point in their faith journey.
Who was Lord Acton?
Lord John Emerich Edward Dahlberg Acton (1834-1902) was a Victorian scholar of Freedom who saw liberty not as a license, but as the freedom to do what was right. He was suspicious of power for the sake of power, which led to his most famous quote: "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." At the Acton Academy, we celebrate his defense of economic, political and religious freedom.
What do you mean by a hero's journey?
We believe that each of us has a special calling in life, and a series of trials and tests that must be faced with integrity and purpose, in order to live a satisfying and fulfilled life. Our mission is to prepare your child for his or her special journey.
What is an "independent learner"?
Someone who can research questions, follow instructions, solve problems—admit that they don't know something and figure out a solution when they hit a roadblock without asking an adult for help — participate in discussions, and strive for mastery.
What do you mean by a "running partner"?
Running Partners are classmates who meet together regularly to set goals and hold each other accountable for meeting those goals. Running Partners encourage and inspire each other by asking good questions, listening and providing affirmation.
Will children be grouped into grades?
We believe that children learn best when working with children younger and older than themselves rather than split up into groups based solely on age. In addition to individualized curriculum, all ages of students work together in groups.
Does Solid Roots Academy serve children with special needs?
We are not trained to serve children with serious learning disabilities but have been able to serve young heroes with dyslexia if they receive special training and believe that many minor learning disabilities are commonly misdiagnosed.
What do you mean by "every child can change the world"?
We believe each of our students will find a passion — something they love and have a gift to do. They will use this gift to serve others and fulfill a need they are passionate about in the world. This may be by becoming a shoe-shiner who tells stories and makes people's day just by doing his job with love and vigor; it may be by becoming a coach who sees the light in a child’s eyes and guides her to pursue a dream; it may be by becoming a father or mother who leads a family on a Hero's Journey; it may be becoming an entrepreneur or business leader guided by compassion and integrity; or it may be by becoming an artist or writer who brings beauty to people's lives.
Why do you focus on teaching the "American Experiment"?
We believe in liberty and justice and the ideals of the American revolution as the cornerstones of civilization. In addition to experiential learning, we will study the American documents and the true meaning behind them, as we examine other cultures and forms of government.
Do you accept the Arizona Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESA)?
Yes, we are registered as an ESA vendor in Arizona and available on ClassWallet. Typically each learner receives around $7,000 per year to apply towards tuition from ESA’s. To register your child for an ESA, click here.