IGNITE: An Acton Academy

The best lessons are sometimes learned outside, with a map in one hand and a marshmallow stick in the other.

During last year’s Survivor Quest, Eagles stepped outside the studio and into real-world challenges. They practised:

🧭 Navigation
🏕️ Shelter building
🔥 Fire making
🩹 First aid
🧠 Quick thinking under pressure

They worked together, solved problems and learned that confidence is built by doing hard things, not merely reading about them.

Naturally, no survival experience is complete without one essential provision: marshmallows.

Which survival skill would you want to master first?

What would you choose as the perfect school pet?

During our Pitch a Pet project, Eagles researched different animals, considered their needs, costs and suitability for a school environment, and then pitched their recommendations.

To bring the learning to life, Zoo to You visited IGNITE with some unforgettable animal guests—including this very large tortoise.

The winning proposal? Two hamsters, who became a part of the IGNITE community.

Which animal would you have pitched—and what would your best argument have been?

ProjectBasedLearning RealWorldLearning StudentVoice ExperientialLearning ZooToYou SchoolPets EducationReimagined

This was our family in 2018—before IGNITE had a name, a building, or a community of Eagles.

Like many parents, we were beginning to ask bigger questions about education:

What kind of environment would help our children become curious, capable and confident?
How could school prepare them not only for tests, but for life?
What would learning look like if children were trusted to take ownership of it?

Those questions eventually led us to Acton Academy—and to the creation of IGNITE.

What began as a search for the right education for our own children became a mission to help more young people discover their strengths, develop real-world skills and find their own unique path.

Every meaningful journey starts with a question. Ours started here.

LearnerDriven StudentLedLearning EducationReimagined FutureReady CuriousConfidentCapable FindYourCalling EveryChildHasGenius

Digital programming. Video game design. Big Question essays. Escape room teamwork.

Our middle school and high school Eagles worked hard this session, building new skills and stretching themselves in big ways.

After 5 weeks of effort, they chose to celebrate together with a trip to the mall and an escape room challenge .

Hard work matters. So does celebrating the journey. 🎉👏

HighSchool KitchenerWaterloo WaterlooRegion AlternativeEducation

Applications for September 2026 are now open.

If you’ve been exploring IGNITE, this is the moment to decide.

We have space for 14 families across all studios.

This isn’t the right fit for everyone. But for the right families, it changes everything.

Book a tour. Start your application. Link in bio.

Do you know someone who would be a good fit for our team?

We are looking for:

🌎 World changers

📖 Story Tellers

♟️ Game Makers

🙋‍♀️ Question Askers

🤔 Creative Thinkers

All around amazing people, who love working with young people!

Check out the positions we have posted for an elementary studio guide and middle school guide, or, for associate guide.

See the link in bio to learn more or email us at [email protected].

Does Acton work?

When the first Acton Academy began, even the founders weren’t completely sure. A school with no traditional teachers, no grades, and no tests sounded like a radical experiment.

But across the global Acton network today, something powerful is emerging. Older learners are building businesses, completing apprenticeships, discovering their callings, and developing a deep sense of purpose about who they are and where they want to go.

At IGNITE: An Acton Academy, we’re only four years into our journey. We don’t yet have high school graduates—but we are part of a global community of schools learning from one another and growing together. We are inspired by their stories and celebrate the growth, courage, and purpose of each learner who steps forward to make a difference in the world.

This week, learning stepped beyond the studio and into the real world.

Our Eagles heard from entrepreneurs across very different paths: real estate, bookkeeping, trades, manufacturing, and family business. They didn’t come to deliver job titles or polished success stories. They shared the full journey: starting later than planned, getting their hands dirty, hearing “no,” taking risks, and carrying the responsibility that comes with freedom.

The impact was immediate.

Next session, our middle school and high school Eagles begin Apprenticeship Prep, where curiosity turns into exploration and real work begins to take shape.

This is what learning looks like when it’s connected to life.

Change the World. 🌎 Become a Socratic Guide at IGNITE: An Acton Academy.

We are seeking exceptional humans to serve in our:

Discover Studio (7 to 11 yo)

If you are interested in education and innovation and searching for a calling that intersects those, this might be your chance.

Being a Guide at Acton Academy is more like being a leader of a small, fast-paced startup. We believe that every young person who enters our doors deserves to find a calling that can change the world. More broadly, we intend for IGNITE: An Acton Academy to be a catalyst of change in Ontario. This journey needs innovators and leaders, called to a higher purpose, and perhaps that’s you.

Learn more and fill in a short questionnaire to get started, and learn if you’re ready to change the world!

🔗 Link in Bio.

T-21 days until our Eagles boldly heed the call to adventure and cross the threshold into the 2025-26 year at IGNITE: An Acton Academy! 🦅✨

While we’re not wishing summer away, the excitement is building. Looking back at the first days of past years has us smiling and reminiscing — and we can’t wait to create more memories like these! 📸💛