Launchpad Studio
Where learners figure out who they are, what they're good at, and what they want to do next.
Launchpad is our high school studio, opening in 2027. Our own Middle School learners move up into it first, and it's open to learners from outside Acton who are a very good fit.
Where things stand
Opening in 2027. Here's the Plain Version.
What we know
Launchpad is our high school studio, for ages 16–18.
Our own Middle School learners are the first to move up into it.
It's also open to learners from outside Acton who are a very good fit.
The first group will be small, and those learners will set the studio's culture and traditions.
Already laid out
The daily schedule: see A Day in Launchpad below.
Tuition: the same as our other Acton studios.
Three badge plans: see Badge plans below.
How families join
Tell us about your family. We personally review every inquiry and reach out to learn more.
◀ You are here
Enrollment. Families of learners who are a very good fit are invited to enroll.
Launchpad opens in 2027. The first group starts the year together.
Thinking about Launchpad?
If Launchpad might be in your learner's future, telling us about your family now is how we get to know you.
What it's for
One Big Question
"What will I do next, and how will I get ready for it?"
Launchpad is the final studio at Acton. Learners take everything they've practiced, like setting goals, working through hard problems, and learning from mistakes, and put it to work on that question.
The answer looks different for each learner:
College · A trade · A business · A gap year · A first job in a field they care about
Where does Launchpad fit in the Acton journey?
Each studio builds on the one before it:
Spark (ages 4–7): I love learning. I belong. I am capable.
Elementary (ages 8–11): I can manage myself. I can contribute. I can learn from mistakes.
Middle School (ages 12–15): I can take on difficult challenges. I can communicate. I can test myself in the real world.
Launchpad (ages 16–18): I know myself. I can lead myself. I can create value.
Launchpad is where a learner who has spent years trusting themselves gets ready to step into the world.
We don't think there is one right path. The goal is for each learner to leave Acton knowing who they are, what they're capable of, and with real experience behind them.
I know myself.
Learners do the honest work of understanding their strengths, interests, values, and the kind of work that gives them energy.
I can lead myself.
Learners set their own direction, manage their own time, and keep commitments without an adult reminding them.
I can create value.
Learners test themselves in the real world by doing work that other people rely on and are willing to vouch for.
Badge plans
Three Badge Plans
Every Launchpad learner chooses one of three badge plans. Each plan lays out the badges a learner works toward for the path they've chosen.
Highly Selective Colleges
For learners aiming at Ivy League and other highly selective schools.
Traditional College
For learners headed to college on a traditional path.
Career, Business, or Trade
For learners launching a career, building a business out of Launchpad, or taking a trade-school route.
A badge plan prepares a learner for a path. It isn't a promise of admission anywhere.
Graduates
Where Acton Graduates Have Gone
Launchpad is new to Pittsburgh, but not to Acton. Acton is a network of 300+ schools in more than 30 countries, and its Launchpad graduates have gone in very different directions.
College
Graduates have gone on to universities including Georgia Tech, UC Berkeley, and the UT Dallas Honors College.
Careers
Some went straight into work that grew out of their apprenticeships, with job offers before they finished high school.
Ventures
Others started businesses and creative projects of their own.
Every learner's path is their own. These are examples, not promises.
A Plan for After Acton, Tested Before You Leave
Across Acton schools, the center of Launchpad is the Next Great Adventure: a clear, tested plan for what comes after Acton. It's more than picking a college major.
It means looking for the place where a skill you're working to master, a field you care about, and a real need in the world all meet.
Searching
Learners study their own strengths, personality, and interests, research real roles and paths, and talk with family, friends, and peers.
Exploring
Learners test ideas through action: apprenticeships, interviews with people doing the work, books, practice, and portfolio projects. Each experience ends with a reflection: Do I want to go further down this path?
Committing
Learners go deep on one path, with a plan and the work to back it up.
What if my learner changes their mind?
That's normal, and it's part of the point. Learners don't choose a Next Great Adventure once and stop there. Testing an idea and deciding it isn't the right fit is useful information, not a failure.
Why focus on a process instead of just a plan?
The goal isn't just one plan. It's a process a young person can use for the rest of their life, whenever it's time to choose what's next.
Real Work, Earned. Not Assigned.
Middle School learners begin testing themselves outside the studio. In Launchpad, that becomes a central part of the work.
Launchpad learners pursue apprenticeships where they work alongside adults, contribute to real organizations, and find out what a field is actually like day to day, not just how it looks from the outside.
Learners find and earn these opportunities themselves. Guides coach them, but they don't hand out placements. Along the way, learners learn to:
- Reach out to professionals
- Ask for an opportunity
- Show up on time and prepared
- Take honest feedback
- Do work someone else depends on
- Reflect on what they learned
Over time, this adds up to a portfolio of real work and relationships with adults who know what the learner can do.
The work
What Learners Work On Each Week
Alongside apprenticeships, Launchpad learners keep building academic skills, take on bigger projects, and practice saying what they think. As the oldest learners in the building, they also help lead it.
Core Skills
Mastery, not seat time.
Read more
Launchpad learners keep building strong foundations in writing, math, reading, and other academic skills, with more independence than ever. Learners work at the level that challenges them. Guides provide lessons, feedback, and accountability, and help each learner see what they're ready for next. Learners keep working until they can show what they know.
Quests and Exhibitions
Real roles, real audiences.
Read more
Quests are hands-on projects where learners take on real-world roles and challenges. In Launchpad, Quests go deeper and carry more responsibility. They may explore the sciences, engineering, finance, entrepreneurship, and other fields at a more advanced level. Learners may also design their own projects connected to their Next Great Adventure. Quests end with a public exhibition, where learners present their work, answer hard questions, and defend what they've learned in front of real audiences.
"Quests ask learners to move beyond knowing information and begin using it."
Thinking, Writing, and Speaking
Take a position. Defend it. Listen.
Read more
Launchpad learners read serious books, write often, and take part in Socratic discussions about history, ethics, leadership, and hard real-world decisions. Guides don't tell learners what to conclude. Learners have to think, take a position, defend it, listen to people who disagree, and sometimes change their minds. The goal is for a learner to express an idea clearly enough to persuade an employer, a college, a client, or a community.
Leading the Community
Someone others can count on.
Read more
Launchpad learners are the oldest in the building, and younger learners watch them closely. They may mentor learners in younger studios, lead parts of studio life, and help solve problems in their community. Leadership here doesn't mean being in charge. It means being someone others can count on.
Curious how this would work for your teenager? We're happy to talk it through.
A day
A Day in Launchpad
Each day is broken into work sprints with a shared purpose or goal. Here's how a Launchpad day runs.
Morning
- 8:30Arrival
- 8:50Daily Launch (Socratic discussion)
- 9:05Core Skills: focused, independent academic work and goal setting
- 11:30Lunch and free time
Afternoon
- 12:30Quest or Next Great Adventure work: projects, research, deliberate practice
- 2:45Studio maintenance
- 3:00Closing Group (Socratic discussion)
- 3:15Dismissal
Off-site work
Apprenticeships and off-site work may take learners out of the studio for parts of the week.
Flexible by design
Learners arrange their work blocks around their goals, apprenticeships, and commitments.
For parents
Handing Over the Keys, One Step at a Time
In Launchpad, the adults' job is to be needed less and less, without letting go all at once.
Guides coach. Learners drive.
Adults at Acton are called Guides. In Launchpad, Guides act more like coaches than teachers. They challenge learners, ask hard questions, connect them with resources, and hold them to high standards. By the time learners leave Launchpad, they should be ready to run their own lives, and confident that they can.
Freedom that grows with responsibility.
Watching a teenager take on more freedom can be hard for any parent. Launchpad is built so that freedom grows as a learner shows they can handle it. Learners who manage their commitments earn more independence. Learners who struggle get coaching, honest feedback, and another chance to try.
Parents stay part of the journey, with regular updates on progress, goals, and next steps.
Questions
Questions Families Ask
Straight answers to the questions we hear most. If yours isn't here, ask us. We'd rather talk it through than guess.
Do we need to be a current Acton family?
No. Launchpad is also open to learners from outside Acton who are a very good fit. Tell us about your family, and we'll reach out to learn more.
What does Launchpad cost, and what's the schedule?
Tuition is the same as our other Acton studios, and the daily schedule is in A Day in Launchpad above. For current tuition or any other details, call us at 724-201-3655.
What about college?
College is a great path for many learners, and two of the three badge plans are built around it. If college is part of your learner's plan, we'd rather talk it through honestly with you than give you a pitch.
Is it a fit?
Could Launchpad Be Right for Your Teenager?
Launchpad asks a lot of a teenager. Here's an honest look at who tends to thrive, and who might not.
May be a good fit for a teenager who wants to…
- ✓Figure out what they're good at and what they care about
- ✓Do real work alongside adults
- ✓Earn more freedom by handling more responsibility
- ✓Read, write, and think at a deeper level
- ✓Take on challenges without a script
- ✓Lead and serve younger learners
- ✓Build a plan for life after Acton and test it before graduating
- ✓Help set the culture and traditions of Launchpad's first group
May not be the right fit for a learner who…
- ×Wants to be told exactly what to do
- ×Mostly wants a traditional high school experience
That's okay. We'd rather say so up front.
See If Acton Is Right for Your Family
Acton is different from a traditional school, and it won't be the right fit for every learner or every family. Tell us a little about your learner and what you're looking for. We personally review every inquiry and will reach out to learn more.
Contact Us
Acton Academy Pittsburgh, 3500 Brooktree Road Wexford, PA 15090 USA
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