“We had escaped the trap of obsessing about homework, PTA policies, and grades on tests. Like freeing birds from cages, we were loosening our grip on our children and they were learning to fly.”

– Laura Sandefer

Learn about day-to-day life at Acton and lots of details on Acton’s systems like badges or Eagle Bucks

• Acton Academy Main Website (LINK)
• Acton Elementary Blog (LINK)
• Acton Parent Blog (LINK)

“Students in the study schools exhibited greater gains in achievement than their peers, had higher graduation rates, were better prepared for college, and showed greater persistence in college.”

– Linda Darling-Hammond​

• The Atlantic – What Happens When Students Control Their Own Education? (LINK)
• Dr. Zuhal Cubukcu, Eskişehir Osmangazi University – Teachers’ evaluation of student-centered learning environments (LINK)
• Gates Foundation – Insights on Personalized Learning Implementation and Effects (LINK)
• Brown University – Research on Student Centered Instruction (LINK)
• NPR – When the focus is on the student, not the class (LINK)

“No research has ever found a benefit to assigning homework (of any kind or in any amount) in elementary school.”

– Alfie Kohn, Author of Unconditional Parenting​

• University of Chicago – Learning by doing helps students perform better in science (LINK)
• Joan James and Theresa William – School-Based Experiential Outdoor Education: A Neglected Necessity (LINK)

Critical Thinking, Collaboration, Communication, and Creativity

“Sitting in rows and listening to content delivered through a lecture is slowly being replaced with active learning environments where students are prompted to ask questions, seek out relevant information, and apply information, not just remember it.”​

• Tech4Learning – Combining the 3 R’s and the 4 C’s (LINK)
• National Education Association – Preparing 21st century students for a Global Society: A Guide to Four C’s (LINK)

“77% of academic leaders rate the learning outcomes in online education as the same or superior to those in face-to-face classrooms.”

(Allen & Seaman, 2013)​

• University of Central Florida – Blended Learning (LINK)
• Vanderbilt University – Blended & Online Learning Research (LINK)
• Dr. Meltem Eryilmaz, Atilim University – The effectiveness of Blended Learning Environments (LINK)
• Saloom Aslam – A Comparative Study of Blended Learning versus Traditional Teaching in Middle School Science (LINK)

“When students are engaged and motivated and feel minimal stress, information flows freely through the affective filter in the amygdala and they achieve higher levels of cognition, make connections, and experience “aha” moments. Such learning comes not from quiet classrooms and directed lectures, but from classrooms with an atmosphere of exuberant discovery.”

– Alfie Kohn​

• Alfie Kohn – The case against grades (LINK)
• Dr. Judy Willis – The neuroscience of joyful education (LINK)
• Jeffrey Schinske and Kimberly Tanner – Teaching more by grading less (LINK)
• NYTimes – A New Kind of Classroom: No Grades, No Failing, No Hurry (LINK)
• The Atlantic – Love of Learning More Predictive of Success than Grades (LINK)

“A recent study, a review of 26 previous studies looking at the impact of physical activity on academic performance, found that kids who get extra physical activity in school do better in reading and math.”

– CNN​

•  NYTimes – Why kids shouldn’t sit still in class (LINK)
• HuffingtonPost – The real reason kids shouldn’t sit in class (LINK)
• CNN – Move over, ‘sit still!’ Why kids need to move in school (LINK)

“Multiage does not try to fit the child to the pre-determined curriculum, but rather chooses a broad-based curriculum to fit the needs of the child.”

– Sandra Stone​

• The Atlantic – Inside a multi-age classroom (LINK)
• Sandra Stone – The multi-age classroom: What research tells the practitioner (LINK)
• Fosco et. al – Multiage Programming Effects on Cognitive Developmental Level and Reading Achievement in Elementary School Children (LINK)
• David Pratt, PH.D  – On the merits of multi-age classrooms (LINK)
• Center for Evaluation and Education Policy – The advantages and disadvantages of multi-age classrooms (LINK)
• Harvard Education – Multi-age Classrooms: An Age-Old Grouping Method Is Still Evolving (LINK)