Acton Academy Frisco

Learner-driven gardening by our Gardening Club!

*Research what fruit or vegetable to plant
*Create a plan for the bed
*Prepare the soil
*Plant and water

Our Gardening Club leader, Braden, presented his proposal to our landlord, Mr. Bob, to get his guidance and approval. He then revised the plan and led the club through the ex*****on of the new plan.

Our heroes used teamwork, conflict resolution, and perseverance to get the job done.

Anyone want to guess what they planted?

Our Entrepreneurs nailed it! So proud of all of you!

The Acton Childrens Business Fair and our Acton Shark Tank Challenge would not have been possible without the financial support and mentoring support of our amazing sponsors!

Thank you to Anai Guardado of Results Roofing, Brad Sharp of Sierra Mind, DFW Party Rentals, Brian Wysong of Tumbleweed TexStyles, Neetu Rishi of The Success Door, Dr. Mark Wagner and Mallory Wagner of Highland Village Family Dentistry, Fred Hammond of Hammond Home Healthcare, Luke and Cristina Majewski and the Frisco Fresh Market!

Our young entrepreneurs are so grateful!













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Thank you Andrew Donaldson of Texas Republic Bank for taking the time to help our heroes understand loans, interest rates, credit scores, compound interest, and what banks look for in an entrepreneur’s pitch when evaluating loan applicants. We are always grateful for the time and wisdom our mentors donate. Thank you Andrew!

Entrepreneurship Quest is underway with ideation and cost analysis behind us, the learners are gaining feedback on their prototypes! Children’s Business Fair here we come!

The answer to yesterday’s mystery question…The Hero’s Journey is not about the destination, but the hero’s transformation from the difficult journey itself. These heroes voluntarily chose to put in a lot of extra work and sacrifice free time by coming in early and staying late, just to put themselves through speaking in front of a group of strangers. (With no extrinsic reward.) Our heroes understand that challenge = growth. Thank you Downtown Advisory Board for giving them the opportunity to not only present their studio’s ideas for the new 4th Street Plaza and gain public speaking experience, but for providing a challenge through which they were transformed.

A sincere thank you to the Frisco Heritage Center for fabulous service and for helping us make our school’s exhibition a success. In addition to the charm, cleanliness, and versatility of the facility space, Cheri Russell was wonderful at each visit and helped us with technology issues in advance to ensure a seamless event. We love the Frisco Heritage Center!

Acton Academy Frisco updated their address.

Our Session 3 Exhibition included a simulated City Council meeting complete with proclamations, citizen input, reports from Development Services about Frisco’s Master Plan, and the Acton Design Team’s presentation of ideas for the new 4th Street Plaza and Parking Garage. Our heroes became experts on how to design a plaza, including safety, anchor points, activating space, and historical themes. Most importantly our heroes set SMART goals to achieve 2 minutes of public speaking experience, asking the audience for specific feedback on eye contact and voice projection, among many other things. We are so proud of each of our 16 Acton heroes who all faced their nerves head on and pulled through in front of a large crowd in a new environment. Go heroes go!

Our learners are ages 6-10 years old and when we announced they would collaborate on a PowerPoint presentation none of them blinked. No resistance. Struggles, yes. Perseverance, yes! But saying “I can’t” is not in their vocabulary.

It’s Exhibition time! Our Spark heroes will engage attendees with their learning about the Human Body while our Discovery heroes will conduct an accurate simulation of a Frisco City Council meeting to discuss the real life 4th Street Plaza project. All of our heroes will then transform into authors and conduct a book signing so our community can get the first glimpse at our authors’ books! Acton Academy Frisco’s exhibitions are public events and our heroes want and welcome feedback to improve their learning experience.
Join us to get a glimpse into the learner driven experience at Acton Academy Frisco.

We were blessed to have Frisco City Council Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Angelia Pelham visit today to provide wisdom, feedback, and participate in ideation on our learners’ 4th Street Plaza design. After hearing her point of view we will reevaluate our designs to consider cost, environmental effects, and maintenance. We also will use her guidance to improve our own Town Hall Meeting process! A special day at Acton Academy Frisco.

After our studio-wide brainstorming session on the design for Downtown Frisco’s new 4th Street Plaza, our learners could see the synergy when they were able to build on each other’s ideas. Collaboration at Acton Academy is practiced on most days. Working with a group is definitely a skill worth practicing. Learning to actively listen to another person’s idea even when you are itching to share your amazing idea, is hard! They did it and they can’t wait to share their designs with the community!

Acton Heroes carve out intentional time to reflect each day, each week, and at the end of each session. One part of session reflection includes examining the Road of Trials Map and moving their personal avatar to the spot that illustrates the struggle or victory they experienced this session. This story map does not show a start or finish line, an end goal, or checklist. This map illustrates the pivotal moments in the heroes journey which allows the practice of navigating through challenges, practicing perseverance, and learning from that experience. Deep learning during the heroes journey IS the goal, and it begins with intentional reflection.

A supportive culture of a tight knit, mixed-aged studio takes time to develop. We see special moments all the time, where heroes go out of their way to help each other. Last week we had a day when those moments were on full display from launch to closing. Heroes excited to mentor in core skills, help with transition time, and include our younger heroes in games (here, taking a knee when someone gets hurt). Heroes running to grab the first aid kit, offering to solve problems the guides were not aware of, and using the peace table for conflict resolution with a positive attitude show us that our heroes are on their way to running their own studio!

Mr. Asa came by to coach our Friday crew in fitness training. Now that our learners know what push-ups, squats, and lunges are, next time we will set SMART fitness goals and get into our challenge zones.

A few months after introducing a school currency (Kindness Coins), one hero created a swing pushing business! He hired an employee and wrote this contract. The pusher also will ask you about your favorite things and shout them out to you while you enjoy a fast ride after two mega-pushes! This hero will be well-prepared for our Entrepreneurship Quest and Children’s Business Fair. This is what happens when children are given freedom to follow their interests.

Morning affirmations are a helpful tool to foster self-worth and confidence, while starting out the day with a positive mindset. We don’t even notice the negative thoughts we sometimes have - but we can change that by intentionally using affirmations. Say it! I AM CAPABLE!

A learner driven trip to Costco with a 4 year old and 6 year old:

Identified what is needed.
Made a list.
Guided my driving.
Presented the membership card.
Checked their list which doubles as the map.
Learned to orient themselves using aisle numbers and map.
Identified the aisle numbers increase in order.
Asked for help locating string cheese.
Thanked the employee.
Calculated the ounce per dollar on single serving mac and cheese versus the box.
Noticed the brand that was low in supply and made conclusions.
Found ways to fit items in a full cart.
Made hard choices within guardrails (Do we choose applesauce or orange cups?)
Presented receipt at exit.
Chose to play in the landscaping rocks in the parking lot.
Helped load car.
Suggested human chain to unload groceries at home.
Refilled and organized all snack containers in pantry.

I don’t always have time to be learner driven during off school hours but when I do it’s always worth it.

Katherine from All the Write Colors stopped by to introduce how to start writing a book. Learners used stickers, crayons, pencils, laptops, and audio recordings to write about any fiction or non-fiction topic. Our heroes were in flow and asked to extend their time! When everyone finishes their book, whether it’s tomorrow or weeks from now, Katherine will return for our publishing party. Exciting for us to receive the gifts of her wisdom, knowledge, and experience today. 🙏

In progress: History of Frisco Quest Scavenger Hunt! Two teams solving clues to compete for their train ticket to tomorrow’s challenge at the Frisco Heritage Museum. So nice that three historic landmarks border our property!

Welcome back to school with an everything is awesome dance party! Our guides committed 100% to dancing outside in 40 degrees- Cristina and Andy are beyond awesome.

Welcome back to school from one of our awesome guides Cristina! Everything is awesome dance party.

It’s Exhibition Day at Acton Academy Frisco! Looking at each of their projects (like this pulley system as part of their Physics Quest - Newton’s Toy Workshop) I feel so privileged to be part of each of our genius’s lives. They are so inspiring.

We could have unlocked the gate, but then they would not have had the opportunity to struggle. 20 minutes of ingenuity, industriousness, and teamwork to retrieve the ball stuck under a car 10 feet away was 20 minutes of real learning.

From car designing with play dough to learning about gravity, our Spark geniuses jumped right into Newton’s Toy Workshop quest along with our Discovery studio. They all completed challenge #1, building vehicles powered by gravity, then using thrust.

“The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery every day. Never lose a holy curiosity.”
- Albert Einstein

At Acton Academy our heroes administer first aid, because they are capable (and they completed their training). Lauren helped another hero, I would call that kindness!

It is always a joy to meet with fellow Acton founders at our quarterly dinner, this time at our campus. Continuously encouraged and inspired by these world changers who work so hard to bring relevant education through the learner-driven model to our communities in Dallas/Ft. Worth.

An unexpected garden. I would call this creativity!



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Today: what we are allowed to recycle in our city! And other waste management tips.

Receiving feedback on evacuation plans created by our Discovery Studio. Community Helpers Week 👍

Ready to welcome our founding families and our new Heroes and their families! We are back!

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10 months ago I woke up before sunrise to prepare for our first day at Acton Academy Frisco. Today we begin our last day of the school year and I am reflecting with gratitude for so many experiences this role has given me. At the top of the list, witnessing our learners navigate the hero’s journey. Today we celebrate their growth in heroic character traits such as leadership, perseverance, and courage. It has truly been an honor to work with our special heroes.

We are launching our second year this Fall and looking guides for our Spark studio (ages 4-6). Complete job description available upon request by email. Thanks!

After time to reflect on our Exhibition, our learners spent their last day of Session 5 tending to their rapidly growing Community Garden bed. The heroes designed their own ribbon cutting ceremony complete with the national anthem and speeches. It was a meaningful way to celebrate their hard work on this session’s Community Garden quest.

After each learner finished five mini-presentations they performed and narrated the photosynthesis process. See if you can identify the Sun, chlorophyll and chloroplast, mitochondria, and the growing plant! Our heroes came up with this day before the Exhibition. Their ideas are always better than ours!

10:30 am: our public speaking mentor Neetu Rishi of The Success Door gives our heroes feedback after working with each learner. Thank you for the feedback!

It’s Exhibition Day for the Community Garden Quest. Energy is high and our heroes are rehearsing and giving feedback. 👍