A lot of parents ask what our long-term plans are regarding school size, location, and middle-school and high-school offerings. The answer is yes! We do plan to offer a middle school (that’s when apprenticeships start) and a launchpad (our name for high school). Our first goal is to grow our elementary school to ~75 heroes over the next few years across the Spark and Discovery studios.
In terms of location, we lease over 8,300 sf of classroom and indoor activity space on the sunny garden-level of Westminster Presbyterian Church (we are a non-religious school), so we have plenty of room to grow and can lease additional space, as needed. When the weather is too cold or too wet, we play gross motor games (tag, four square, hula hoops!) within our 4,000 sf Fellowship Hall, which serves as indoor gym, cafeteria and indoor drama and exhibition area.
In addition to our indoor spaces, our outdoor options are myriad. We are situated across the road from Nakoma Park where our heroes explore the creek, playground and fields. We take walking field trips to UW Arboretum. And we have quite the sledding hill!
In addition, we have access to a large patio outside our building where our learners can work on projects and core skills in the fresh air during warmer months. And this coming Spring, our learners will be building and installing raised garden beds where they will grow their garden and explore plant science!
Being partnered with the church location-wise has the added benefit of giving our school community immediate opportunities to engage in community service and intergenerational activities. For instance, we are planning food and coat drives, meal-packing for children without weekend meals, and senior-learner read-together activities.
One day, we would like to build our own campus. For the foreseeable future, we absolutely love our location and community in the heart of Madison’s Nakoma neighborhood.
Come explore what Acton Academy Madison West has to offer. Schedule a tour HERE. Want to map us? We are located at 4100 Nakoma Road, Suite 100, Madison, WI 53711.
