Pomegranate, an Acton Academy affiliate, is a transformative learning community for courageous, self-driven, and kind learners aged 10 to 14. Young heroes embark on a journey of discovery, mastering real-world skills, learning to work hard, tackling complex computational challenges, communicating effectively, and cultivating the passion and skills needed to make a meaningful impact in the world.
Why pomegranate?
Hear about Acton from this interview with Middle School and Launchpad heroes at the original Acton Academy in Austin, TX.
learn better & fasteR
At Pomegranate, education is revolutionized through the integration of cutting-edge technology. There are no classroom-wide lectures or large group instructions (except during Science, History, and Writing). We replace traditional teaching methods with adaptive game-based programs for core skills (aka academics), allowing each student to follow a customized academic journey, focusing on their strengths and receiving personalized assistance from a Guide whenever necessary. This enables students to grasp concepts at their own pace and accelerate learning in just ~3 hours per day. The rest of the school day is dedicated to developing purpose skills and life skills while pursuing passions, quests/workshops, and apprenticeships fostering a dynamic and engaging learning environment tailored to each student's needs and interests.
pursue purpose, Growth & Life Skills
We believe core skills combined with life skills, growth skills, and purpose skills is the surest path to discovering one's purpose and calling. Our focus is on fostering Growth and Purpose Skills alongside Life Skills.
If learning to Do (Life Skills), learning to Be (Purpose Skills), and learning to Learn (Growth Skills) challenges are accepted, students will absorb amazing amounts of learning to Know (Academic Skills) — but in context, and in a way they can use and won’t soon forget.
learn in mixed-age studios
Pomegranate students learn in mixed-age studios, not in single-grade levels based on age. This structure encourages collaboration among peers of different ages, creating a supportive environment for their learning journey. Imagine a learning environment resembling a tech startup rather than a typical school. Traditional desks and assigned seats are gone. Children learn in areas that suit them best: whether it's by themselves, outdoors on the grass, or with friends at communal workstations. Our learning environment empowers children with the autonomy to discover where they can concentrate and learn most effectively.
hold each other accountable
Students hold themselves and each other as accountable as anybody in a high-performing organization or company.
-
Goal setting measures progress through daily, weekly, and longer-term goals
-
Servant Leader Badges celebrate transformation into an independent learner and a purposeful leader.
Accountability to self
-
Badges are used to track academic progress in Core Skills like reading, writing, math, and spelling and character development as well as showcase other excellent work or mastery of useful skills.
-
Points track effort doing focused work.
-
360 Reviews measure self-management and self-governance skills as well as leadership and warm-hearted and tough-minded contributions to the studio.
Accountability in the studio
-
Public exhibitions at the end of each quest (every ~5-8 weeks) allow students to subject their work to a real-world test in front of family, friends, and customers.
-
e-Portfolios show personal growth and prove what a student can do. The students make their own webpages and track all of their core skills and major projects on their own webpages. For example, they may post their book report in a written form or via a recorded podcasts and their science experiments recorded and posted as a video.
-
Competitions outside the studio allow students to compete against world-class projects.
accountability to the World
pursue mastery, not grades
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.
Each studio is equipped with a level-specific Badge Map. These Badges are aligned with our Core Skills curriculum, hands-on workshops, and real-world quests. Throughout the year, students work towards earning all the Badges on their unique Badge Map. Once a student has achieved all the required Badges, which is equivalent to mastery, they advance to the next level until they successfully complete their Badge Map.
MEASUREMENT TOOLS
-
Documents progress in goal setting, points, badges, Quest deliverables, Hero Bucks, 360 Reviews
-
Provide feedback and analytics for Core Skills mastery to Guides and parents.
-
Benchmark progress year to year in math, reading, writing, and critical thinking via standardized tests.
Enjoy 21st century learning
-
Self-paced mastery of reading, writing, math
The latest in educational technology allows for self-paced mastery of reading, writing, and math skills in only 3 hours of academic learning per day.
-
Life Skills Quests & Exhibitions
Dive deeply into biology, chemistry, physics, engineering, finance and psychology through immersive quests and public exhibitions.
-
Effective thinking & communication
Deep Socratic discussions about heroes, history and self-governance to hone critical thinking skills and the ability to powerfully think, write and speak.
-
Real-World Apprenticeships
Prepare for the real world through challenging apprenticeships.