Limited Enrollment for 2023/2024
Acton Academy Pittsburgh
helps Pre-K - 12th grade students discover and grow their unique strengths
because the world needs them.
School, as we know it, was designed in 1893
Our school was born different. Acton Academy is one of the newest and most innovative (and downright coolest) school designs in the world. Each Acton school was founded by parents who believe there is a better way to educate their children and help other like-minded families in their community.
What is Acton Academy?
What exactly is the difference between Acton Academy and other schools?
- Acton Academy uses the latest technology in a self-paced learning environment that is designed to foster responsibility, goal-setting, and teamwork. Acton students are empowered to thrive in a world that needs independent, motivated thinkers and learners.
- We believe students learn by doing. Whether it’s launching a startup business, creating a tidepool habitat, playing a musical instrument, painting a mosaic, or programming a robot, Acton students are building real-life skills in the classroom every day.
- We believe the learning experience is much richer when the teacher (“Guide”) offers insightful questions and facilitates hands-on learning. Guides use the Socratic method, always responding to students’ questions with new questions. This exchange hones students’ critical thinking skills. No boring sit in your desk teacher-led lecture-style learning at Acton!
- Acton Academy is “student led.” This means young people take ownership of their education and peer relationships. Acton students learn to think independently, take responsibility and embrace challenge. They are being prepared to bring their own unique genius to the world.
- We encourage our students to develop personal virtues such as honesty, hard work, responsibility, kindness and empathy. Armed with purpose and good character, we believe our students will launch into adulthood prepared to find their calling and change the world.
Watch This Short Award Winning Documentary About Acton Academy
Are you frustrated with the old, traditional educational model that teaches students to spit out facts and pass state-mandated tests?
Our promise to your child
We believe each of our students will find a passion – something they love and have a gift to do – finding and pursuing this gift we call the Hero’s Journey. Our mission is to equip our students with the skills and tools they will need to find and pursue their life’s purpose.
- Begin a Hero’s Journey.
- Learn to be a curious, independent, lifelong learner.
- Develop a deep respect for economic, political and religious freedoms.
- Cherish the arts, wonders of the physical world and the mysteries of life on Earth.
- Discover his or her most precious gifts and learn to use them to solve difficult problems.
Don’t just give your child an education.
Help them find their calling in life.
Who We Are
Karley O’Keefe
Elementary Guide
Hi! My name is Karley O’Keefe, and I am so excited to work at Acton Academy Pittsburgh! I was born and raised in the Pittsburgh area and have lived here all my life. My biggest passion is working with children and helping them to grow to be their own, unique individual. I truly believe that each child has an exceptional purpose in life, and I am fortunate to get to help them find that purpose. I’ve worked with children in multiple different settings in the past including a daycare center, at a social group program for adolescents diagnosed with autism, at a child advocacy center, and as a babysitter and nanny. The use of engaging and interactive activities is great for children, as I have realized in the past, and are just a small part of the philosophy presented by Acton in which I strongly believe in. I am so grateful and thrilled to be a part of Acton and its community!
Outside of work, my hobbies include both playing and coaching softball, painting and completing arts and crafts, and spending time with my family and friends. I am recently engaged and am preparing for those next steps in life. At the same time, I am working towards a Master’s in Education and am expected to graduate in May of 2023. I cannot wait to inspire children and allow them to reach so many goals set for themselves in my future!
Caysen O'Keefe
Middle School Guide
I worked at a preschool for around 2.5 years. I loved working with the kids. During the pandemic, I got to lead some of the school age kids in Socratic discussions. I never saw the kids so engaged in something! Leading those discussions were easily some of the best times I had at the daycare center.
After the Preschool, I moved to St. Louis to work for a mentor of mine, Andy Frisella, at a company called 1st Phorm. I learned a tremendous amount about building a culture, implementing and holding a standard, and the importance of self development.
Recently, I moved home to help a close friend of mine build his businesses. I am currently doing operations and marketing work for his athletic training facility and managing his lawn care business.
I have been bought into Acton’s philosophy for a very long time. I believe being a part of Acton Academy is part of my own hero’s journey. I couldn’t be more excited to be working with kids again especially in the Acton community!
Joan DeLuca
Spark Guide
I was born and raised on Long Island, New York, the third of ten children. My family moved to western Pennsylvania in 1978, when the company I worked for in New York City decided to relocate because of their involvement in the iron and steel industry.
Retiring from business to raise my two daughters, I went on to home educate them, which opened up to us a whole new world of people, activities, and opportunities. The girls graduated from home school high school, one going on to receive a degree in actuarial science and the other studying to work with the deaf.
Presently, I have seven grandchildren, who are also being educated at home. While the challenges never fail to knock, the possibilities never fail to come calling.
My professional career, initially in business, naturally turned more to the care and education of children, and in recent years, I have been employed at a hybrid home school.
I cherish time with family and friends, have a keen interest in alternative medicine, enjoy walking, swimming, good wine, and a great love of the ocean.
I was born and raised here in Pittsburgh, Pa. I grew up in the Mars Area where I graduated high school. Then, I went on to go to Penn State to get my Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood and Elementary Education with my minor in Special Education. Once I graduated, I worked at a charter school in Baldwin Township for 4 years teaching 3rd Grade. Currently, I am working on my Master’s Degree at Point Park University. I am thrilled to be at Acton Academy now!
Laura Sandefer
Advisor
Laura lived on both US coasts and in between as a child, then settled into Vanderbilt University for her undergraduate studies in the College of Arts and Science. After being awarded the highly competitive Walter Wattles Fellowship at Lloyd’s of London, Laura worked in the aviation insurance industry in New York City.
Deciding to follow her calling into the world of education, Laura returned to Nashville and earned her Master of Education at Peabody College. This led her to her work at the Oklahoma Arts Institute, creating fine arts education programs for teachers and talented high school students.
Laura married Jeff Sandefer and is the happy mother of Sam and Charlie and step-mother to Taite. It is the inspiration of these children that led Laura and Jeff to co-found Acton Academy.
Jeff Sandefer
Advisor
Jeff Sandefer lives a dual life as an entrepreneur and a Socratic Guide. As an entrepreneur, he founded his first company at age 16 and went on to found or co-found seven successful businesses.
As a Socratic teacher at the University of Texas, Jeff’s students five times voted him the school’s Outstanding Teacher and Businessweek named him one of the top Entrepeneurship professors in America. Jeff went on to co-found the Acton School of Business, an MBA program perennially ranked by the Princeton Review among the best in the nation. In 2012 The Economist honored him as one of the top fifteen Business School professors in the world.
Jeff is a graduate of the Harvard Business School, where he served for over twenty years on the school’s governing committees.
Dawn O'Keefe
Spark Guide
I am excited to start a new journey at Acton Academy, along with my son Caysen and the rest of the Acton team. He has told me so much about the school and I believe I have the ability to help make Acton the best that it can be.
I have been working with children my entire life. I began working at Wee Care Children’s center when I was 14 years old. I continued working there as I attended Clarion University and obtained my teaching degree in Elementary Education/ Early Childhood. After graduating from Clarion, I took on a full time teaching position at Wee Care. I eventually became the preschool director and was in charge of the preschool and school age programs at the center. I have continued to work at Wee Care until now. I have always loved working with children and helping them to learn and grow. I have seen through my many years how children learn through playing and having fun. Children can learn in many different ways. I love watching children every day doing new things and accomplishing new things while having fun!
Working with children is my passion, and I hope that I can continue helping your children become the best version of themselves.
Ronnie and Meghan Esposito
Founders
“Traditional schools are killing the genius in our kids”, David Osborne said on a podcast as I was driving to work one morning. “Imagine if Picasso’s teachers told him to drop the paint brush because he was already good enough at art and needed to focus on calculus”, he continued.
These words hit me so hard. What should my wife and I do with our kids’ education after this year? We have three children, the oldest in a startup Montessori program which wasn’t going to be moving forward after the year ended. We were so confused.
We love the Montessori style education but we didn’t have a program close enough to enroll. I kept listening to this podcast to see if David would reference the school where his kids were enrolled. It was called Acton Academy and it sounded like the most perfect school for our children.
Need To Know MORE About What Acton Academy Can Do For Your child?
At Acton Academy, we call our classrooms "Studios" because students are learning through movement, exploration, and hands-on activities. Find out how our learning design can help your child reach their full potential.
Spark Studio
Ages 4 - 6
The Spark Studio community is designed specifically for the child, and the entire environment is created to facilitate the primary child’s learning process.
Maria Montessori observed that children learn by doing and wrote that the “hand was the instrument of the mind”.
Independence, coordination, order, self-discipline and concentration are developed. Children work individually and cooperatively with materials that engage their curiosity.
Elementary Studio
Ages 7 - 10
The Elementary Studio is where children develop a deep love of learning and kindness in relationships with others. This studio builds a foundation of learning and discovery through personalized Core Skills, exploratory Quest projects and play.
Core Skills – reading, writing, math and computer science – are self-paced and mastery-based using adaptive technology. Students explore the arts, sciences, history and natural world through hands-on projects each afternoon.
Middle School Studio
Ages 11 - 14
The Middle School Studio is for students ages 10-14 who have already proven that they are able to work independently.
They will have opportunities and responsibility to expand their education including apprenticeships each year with heroes in the community.
Students continue collaborating, building their character and friendships with their studio-mates who will challenge and support them through peer review of their work.
Launchpad Studio
Ages 15 - 18
Our hero has faced many challenges up to this point and has come out on the other side. Now comes one of their biggest challenges yet: high school.
As the hero prepares for the end of their school journey and the beginning of the next one- whatever that may be.
Launchpad works to help them create as many tools as possible to assist in their future quests in life. This is where their responsibility as the oldest members of the Academy really takes shape.
We Are accredited To
INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF LEARNER-DRIVEN SCHOOLS
Don’t just give your child an education.
Help them find their calling in life.
Core Skills
Self-paced mastery of reading, writing, and math skills through deliberate practice and the latest educational technology.
Character
Develop character, uncover personal gifts, and create genuine relationships with others as you learn about yourself.
Curiosity
Learn critical thinking and powerful communication skills through Socratic discussions on topics from heroes to history to self-governance.
Here Are A Few FAQs We Get A Lot:
Acton Academy Pittsburgh offers grades Pre-K to 12th.
We start Late August and close early June.
We respect and incorporate Maria Montessori’s philosophy, but we are not a Montessori school. In addition to Montessori methods, we use the latest interactive technologies, hands on projects and the Socratic Method for discussions.
While we expose children to the importance of mindful spirituality and stress the historical importance of Christianity to the development of Western Civilization, we do not promote any one religion.
We believe that each of us has a special calling in life, and a series of trials and tests that must be faced with integrity and purpose in order to live a satisfying and fulfilled life. Our mission is to prepare your child for his or her special journey.
Someone who can research questions, follow instructions, solve problems—admit that they don’t know something and figure out a solution when they hit a roadblock without asking an adult for help — participate in discussions, and strive for mastery.
We are not trained to serve children with serious learning disabilities but have been able to serve young heroes with dyslexia if they receive special training and believe that many minor learning disabilities are commonly misdiagnosed.
We believe that each of us has a special calling in life, and a series of trials and tests that must be faced with integrity and purpose, in order to live a satisfying and fulfilled life. Our mission is to prepare your child for his or her special journey.
Running Partners are classmates who meet together regularly to set goals and hold each other accountable for meeting those goals. Running Partners encourage and inspire each other by asking good questions, listening and providing affirmation.
We believe that children learn best when working with those younger and older than themselves rather than split up into groups based solely on age. In addition to individualized curriculum, all ages of students work together in multi-age groups within each studio (Elementary, Middle, and launchpad (HS)).
At Acton Academy Pittsburgh we believe in learning to be and learning to do and an important part of this is encouraging kids to take responsibility for their own behavior and hold those around them to a high standard. When something isn’t working, we want our students to work together to solve the problem, not look for an adult to solve it for them. This creates a sense of independence and confidence that will serve them well in all areas of life.
Yes the school is accredited through the International Association of Learner Driven Schools and we are also a Pennsylvania Licensed Private Academic School.
At Acton Academy Pittsburgh, we believe in the power of balance. Using the incredible, self-paced eLearning tools now available, we are able to provide the rigor needed for learning math, vocabulary, spelling and grammar in about 90 minutes each day, while freeing up the rest of the day for engaging, project-based learning. The two are highly complementary.
See Learning in action
Empowering Students to Change the World:
Do you want your child to feel like life is an endless stream of opportunities?
Are you ready to learn more about Acton Academy?
- Step 1. Visit our campus and ask lots of questions.
- Step 2. Begin your family’s application.
