Accomplish Important Work and Play Well With Others

Discovery Studio

AGES 6 - 12

The Discovery (Elementary) heroes are independent learners who find great joy in learning, in a tight-knit community that upholds the highest standards of excellence. Discovery heroes ask great questions, have fun and welcome others, set and track goals, build a solid foundation in math, reading, writing and Civilization, explore, are curious and develop a love of learning through hands-on project-based learning.

Acton Studios provide a modern approach to education for your childs journey.

The Ethos of Our Studios

Our learner-driven communities are run mostly by the young heroes where closely connected families and lifelong learners are bound by clear covenants, and "Learning to Do" and "Learning to Be" are even more than "Learning to Know."

  • Learn to Learn: Children work to achieve mastery in the core skills of reading, writing and math, earning badges rather than grades. In mastery learning, children work at their own pace, using online platforms that track progress towards their goals. Mastery learning prevents learning gaps; self-paced learning provides differentiation - no more boredom in the classroom.

  • Learn to Do: Children engage in real world projects we call Quests, that challenge them to apply their skills and knowledge. They don't just read books about physics and take a test. Rather they build and test marble runs, build boats and bridges in real life. Acton learners demonstrate learning through end-of-session exhibitions. 

  • Learn to Be: Learners engage in Socratic discussions to encourage deep thinking and reflection about themselves and the world. In addition, they take ownership of their learning by setting their own goals and participate in the self-governance of their class. They practice and celebrate character traits such as hard work, integrity, persistence, kindness and gratitude.

1

Character Matters

Character is foundational to a purposeful, productive and fulfilling life.

2

Growth Mindset

Embracing failure and growth is central to all we do.

3

Freedom & Responsibility

Freedom and responsibility with guardrails.

4

Community & Accountability

Our studio culture engenders trust and resilience.
Acton Academy Madison West, is a community of learning where children from Blackhawk, Fitchburg, Middleton, Shorewood and more get a modern educational developement.
Children from Blackhawk, Fitchburg, Middleton, Sherwood and other areas being taught educational goals by Acton Academy Madison West.
Learning at Acton

Joy + Rigor = Mastery

Embracing rigor is part of saying 'yes' to a Hero's Journey. Deep learning brings a special sense of joy, but the mastery required for a Hero's Journey goes even further, requiring commitment, discipline, and hard work toward a worthy goal
  • Hands-on projects, exploration and collaboration
  • Core skills: reading, writing and math
  • Practical life skills and studio maintenance
  • Goal-setting and accountability
Learning at Acton

Learner Driven Communities Run by Heroes-in-the-making

  • Young heroes learn in tightly bound communities with extremely high standards of excellence, where self-management and self-governance are celebrated daily.
  • Learners create and sign a Contract of Promises describing how each individual will act and the consequences for violating community norms.
  • Running Partners and Squads encourage younger and older heroes to listen, affirm, set goals and hold each other accountable.
  • Servant Leader badges celebrate warm-hearted and tough-minded decisions that build character.
Nurturing a philosophy of learning in Madison West, Blackhaw, Fitchburg, Middleton & Shorewood.
Our Philosophy of Learning
We believe clear thinking leads to good decisions, good decisions lead to the right habits, the right habits forge character, and character determines destiny.
Acton Academy badges to help your childs journey in their education with Madison West Acton Academy.
Measuring Mastery

Earn badges to prove you've mastered skills

Young heroes celebrate the mastery of tools, skills, and character by earning badges and taking part in public exhibitions.
  • Learners use badges to track academic progress in Core Skills like reading, writing, math and spelling and character development in Servant Leader Badges.

  • Young heroes deliver public exhibitions of their work at the end of each four to six week sprint.

  • Portfolios of student work in electronic and hard copy capture rough drafts, photos, video and other creative work.

  • Self-management and self-governance skills are measured by peer reviews at the end of each session.

Personalized Tools

personalized educational tools to help your childs education in Madison West, Blackhawk, Fitchburg, Middleton, Shorewood.

A School for the 21st Century

Latest News, videos & updates from Acton Academy

Spark Studio, Year 3, Session 3, Week 14

We had a great week! We kicked it off with a visit to the UW-Planetarium. The Planetarium was an old-school analog light projection, which was very cool. The heroes learned a new things about constellations and galaxies while exploring some of what they already knew in new ways, like seasons and sunsets and sunrises. Spark Read more…

Spark Studio, Year 3, Session 3, Week 13

Houston, we had a…..great week! The Spark heroes continued to explore outer space! They learned the Earth is 4.5 billion years old and throughout this time, the Moon has been our planet’s constant companion. This week they explored the moon’s phases and its role in causing the tides. They learned that gravity is different on Read more…

Spark Studio, Year 3, Session 3, Week 12

Spark returned focused and ready to learn this week! We kicked off our space-focused session. During our circle times, we focused on weather as a bridge to our space topics. We learned about Doppler radar and satellites, and how they help show us what’s going on with the weather. We also watched some videos of storm Read more…