Top 5 Reasons I LOVE Beacon Academy
The benefit to starting a school is that you get to make your ideal school a reality. So that’s what I did. I figured out all the things I wished that school would be, and did that. So there are TONS of reasons why I love Beacon Academy for my family, but I’m going to give you my top 5, and explain why those elements are so valuable to a family.
#1 Wholesome Learning Environment
When my oldest daughter started full-day kindergarten, I realized just how long a full school day is. Seven hours is a LONG time to be away from home. As many parents are, I was always very intentional about how we were spending our time at home (e.g. lots of time outside, not much screen time, etc.), and I was particular about creating a wholesome environment for our family at home. Sending my kids to school for 7 hours each day, not knowing what kinds of things they would hear, see, and learn that were not-so-wholesome was disconcerting. I wished that there was a school that was kind of an extension of our home for my kids to be spending their time. Strangely enough, years ago when I first came across the “Acton Academy - A Day in the Life” video, one of the things that really tugged at my heartstrings was when I saw kids and teens coming into school, taking off their shoes, and making themselves at home in their studio (what we call our classrooms).
So, that’s what we do. Learners walk in the door in the morning, take off their shoes, hang their coats, and make themselves at home. They greet friends, they find a comfortable spot, they plan out their day, and then they get to work. They can eat their snack whenever they are hungry. They can get up and move around the studio (or even open the door and take a walk outside if they really need a brain break). When people come to visit our school, they are always surprised at how peaceful the studios are. I credit that peacefulness to having a wholesome school environment. That’s not to say that it’s always hearts and flowers—there are definitely conflicts that arise, or times when a learner is overwhelmed. But we really try to make our space an extension of home as much as possible.
#2 Real-life Skills
When I first had the opportunity to observe in a Montessori toddler classroom, the absolute favorite thing I observed was a 2-year-old girl making muffins. It was one of the most inspiring things I’ve ever seen, and I had never to that point even considered the possibility of a child that young baking. The teacher had prepared a tray on the shelf with all of the ingredients. I watched as the little girl took the tray from the shelf, mixed together all of the ingredients (with some effort, and there was certainly some flour that made it onto the floor), and spooned the batter into the muffin pan. She brought the pan over to her teacher, who then put the pan into the toaster oven they had in the classroom. The girl could then share the muffins she made with her friends when they were done baking. My mind just exploded! I couldn’t believe what I had seen, and I thought to myself, “what are my children capable of that I’m not letting them do? Or, what are they capable of that I’m not taking the time to teach them?”
Our young people spend years of their life in school learning about math, literature, science, etc. and yet so many high school graduates do not even know how to set up a doctor’s appointment, or basic car maintenance, or how to even cook a meal! What about the ins-and-outs of finances? Creating a budget, credit cards, taking out a loan, or how to grow your money through investments? These skills are valuable life skills that unfortunately many young people have to learn the hard way as adults because they are so busy during their school years in school, doing homework, and trying to stack up their extracurricular advantage.
I want our school to be a place where young people have the opportunity to learn those valuable life skills that will aid them in being successful adults. Right now our preschool learners are given lots of opportunities to practice these real-life skills by preparing their own snacks, washing dishes, taking care of a garden and their community. Our elementary learners prepare a community meal once a week (including washing their dishes and laundry afterwards), maintain a clean studio, keep a garden, and budget “dollars” during our micro-economy Quest. As we add middle and high school, we’ll also add more real-life skills to our learning design.
#3 Daily Leadership Opportunities
So far I’ve just mentioned practical skills, but I also want my kids to develop skills that will shape a successful career. Employers are looking for team members who work hard, who know how to solve problems, and who collaborate well with others. The last couple of years have seen a rise in small business creation. Starting a business takes leadership, business sense, and—probably most importantly—grit. All of these success skills are at the forefront of what we do in the studios every. single. day.
The really cool thing about what we do at Beacon Academy is that these skills are all practiced in ways that are relevant to the learners themselves. We don’t give them a case study about a problem to solve together. They see real problems in their community and work to fix them together. Older learners teach younger learners who are struggling (and honestly, younger learners teach older learners too!), they lead Socratic discussions to explore different ideas, they lead Town Hall Meetings when they solve problems they are seeing in their studio, they plan exhibitions and give presentations every 6 weeks, they set personal goals and practice time management each day. Learners are constantly reflecting on how things went, and how they can improve, then they set new goals to help them be intentional about progressing. These are all skills that cannot be taught with a lesson plan—they need to be practiced! Regardless of what field they choose to go into, by the time Beacon Academy learners graduate from high school, they will have had 12 years of practicing valuable skills for a successful career.
#4 Field Trips
The world is the best classroom! There are so many amazing resources in the community for learning that go untapped. I don’t want my kids to miss out on all of the learning that can happen from real people and places—experts in the community, and the natural beauty that is all around them. One of the signature experiences of our elementary program is that we go on field trips every two to three weeks. It’s usually tied to something that we are learning in the studio, but sometimes it’s just to get out and experience something new.
#5 More Time with Family
This is a big one for me, and we make this a priority at Beacon Academy! No achievement should ever come at the expense of relationships with the people who are most important to you. There are three things that we decided to do to give families more time:
We have a 4-day school week, so that families can spend the 5th day together to do something fun. (The added benefit to this schedule is that learners come to school fresh for learning each week.)
We do not assign homework. Learners have plenty of time at school to get the things done that they need to (every now and then a learner will not use their time wisely at school, so they’ll bring some work home with them, but that’s the exception not the rule).
We take week-long breaks throughout the school year so that families have time to take trips together, and learners have a much-needed break after working hard for an exhibition.
There are so many more things I could list off as things that I love about Beacon Academy. Everything we do is the outcome of careful consideration for learners and their families. If you’d like to learn more about us, I invite you to come see it first hand! I’d love to walk you through and tell you more. Schedule a tour with me here.