Acton Academy is small private K-9 school in Austin. The core promise is that each student will “Begin a Hero’s Journey.” Through real-life challenges in the one room schoolhouse, “Our young people at Acton are learning that courage, grit, and perseverance matter far more than regurgitating facts,” said Laura’s husband and Acton co-founder Jeff Sandefer.
In addition to curiosity and character, Acton students learn to cherish the arts, the wonders of the physical world and the mystery of life; they learn to treasure economic, political and religious freedom. The student-centered model is gaining notoriety and replication in other cities and countries.
On a mission. Raised with a servant’s heart by a minister and Montessori teacher, Laura spent her early career in insurance working in London and New York. With an interest in teaching, she left business and earned a master’s in education at Vanderbilt.