What happens when you stop asking what school is supposed to look like and start asking what kids actually need to learn, grow and become capable humans? We visited Acton Academy in Greenville to find out.
I went to tour a school.
Which, if you know me as a homeschool mom of four, probably sounds a little suspicious. 😂
But hear me out.
I first met Carrie, the woman behind Acton Academy, after being part of the Bloomin’ Mama panel. We connected over motherhood, education, entrepreneurship, faith and approximately 47 other things.
Eventually, Carrie invited me to come see what she was building.
So I did.
I expected a school tour.
We talked for three hours.
And somewhere in those three hours, I started thinking differently about what education — and even homeschooling — could look like.
First, I really love homeschooling
This wasn’t a someone please get these children out of my house school tour.
Although, to be fair, I have those days too. 😂
I genuinely love homeschooling my kids.
I love that we can learn math with jalapeños at the kitchen table. I love random field trips. I love following rabbit trails based on whatever they’re fascinated by that week. I love getting to watch the exact moment something finally clicks.
But I also have four kids, all six and under.
And I run All Things Greenville.
Some days I’m trying to answer an email while someone is yelling about a bug, somebody else can’t find the shoe that’s somehow directly beside them, the baby is climbing something she absolutely should not be climbing, and I’m deciding whether identifying the species of caterpillar in our backyard counts as science.
It does. I’m counting it. 😂
So when Carrie invited me to visit Acton, I wasn’t looking for someone to convince me to stop homeschooling.
I was curious about another way of doing education.
And what I found wasn’t quite what I expected.
At Acton, even the language is different
They don’t call them classrooms.
They’re studios.
Teachers are guides.
But changing the vocabulary isn’t what interested me.
It was what was actually happening inside those studios.
If a child asks a guide a question, there’s a pretty good chance the adult will respond with…
another question.
What do you think?
What have you already tried?
Why do you think you’re frustrated?
How could you solve this?
What do you need to move forward?
Which, as a mom, I find both brilliant and slightly inconvenient because sometimes I would personally just like someone to TELL ME THE ANSWER. 😂
But that’s kind of the point.
The goal isn’t simply to raise kids who know the right answers.
It’s to help raise kids who know how to think.
Kids who can problem-solve.
Kids who can communicate.
Kids who can make decisions.
Kids who can try something, get it wrong, figure out why and try again.
Kids who learn to lead themselves before we’re asking them to lead anyone else.
Learning doesn’t only happen at a desk
This is where my homeschool-mom brain really started lighting up.
Because the more Carrie explained Acton, the more overlap I saw with what I already love about homeschooling.
Learning doesn’t only happen sitting at a desk.
Karate counts.
Building something counts.
Growing a garden counts.
Going to the theater counts.
Serving somebody counts.
Starting a little business counts.
And learning how to work through conflict with another human being REALLY counts. 😅
At Acton, students work through goals and badge plans at their own pace. Their learning includes hands-on projects and “quests,” field trips, the arts and opportunities to experience things outside the walls of the studio.
As students get older, that can expand into apprenticeships and other real-world experiences that help them start discovering their interests and gifts.
And that brought us to a question that kept coming up throughout my conversation with Carrie:
Instead of only asking,
“What does my child know?”
What happens if we also ask,
“Who is my child becoming?”
The Hero’s Journey
One of my favorite things Carrie introduced me to was the idea of the Hero’s Journey.
Think about almost every great story.
At some point, the hero has to leave what’s comfortable.
They step into something unknown.
They face challenges.
They meet mentors and people who walk beside them.
They struggle.
They fail.
They get back up.
And somewhere along the way, they discover they’re capable of more than they realized.
Carrie believes kids deserve room for that journey, too.
That means adults don’t necessarily remove every obstacle the second something becomes difficult.
Sometimes learning gets messy.
Sometimes kids have to work through frustration.
Sometimes they have to figure out how to resolve a disagreement.
Sometimes they have to try again.
Because independence, grit, emotional intelligence, responsibility and leadership aren’t things you can entirely teach on a worksheet.
Eventually, you have to practice them.
And I thought:
That’s a really beautiful way to look at education.
Actually, it’s a pretty beautiful way to look at life.
To understand this Acton, you have to understand Carrie
The longer I sat with Carrie, the more I realized this story wasn’t only about an educational model.
It was about the person building this particular community.
Carrie has spent the last several years growing Acton slowly and intentionally.
At one point, because apparently I can’t go anywhere without my business brain coming with me… I asked her about marketing.
Her answer was essentially:
“I haven’t really done it.”
Ma’am. 😭😂
Most of their growth has come through word of mouth.
But what really interested me was why Carrie hadn’t been in a rush to fill every available spot.
She wanted to build the culture first.
The right guides.
The right environment.
Students learning how to lead.
Families who understand what they’re building together.
A community where kids can be known, challenged and trusted with responsibility.
Instead of growing as quickly as possible, Carrie wanted to make sure the foundation could actually support the growth.
And now she feels ready to introduce more Greenville families to what they’ve been quietly building.
Then my school tour turned into a three-hour conversation
Again, we were supposed to have a tour.
Three. Hours. 😂
We talked about education.
Motherhood.
Business.
Our kids.
Faith.
Calling.
What we’re building.
And all the things we’re still figuring out.
Somewhere in that conversation, I realized I’d been carrying an assumption I hadn’t really questioned:
If I choose to homeschool my children, I have to provide every piece of their education myself.
But… do I?
I don’t want to hand my kids off and stop being involved in their education.
I don’t want to recreate traditional school at home.
And I haven’t suddenly stopped believing in homeschooling.
I love it.
But maybe getting support doesn’t mean giving that up.
Maybe support looks like finding other adults who see something in your kids that you see, too.
Maybe it means giving them a community where they’ll be challenged in ways I can’t always challenge them at home.
Maybe it means letting somebody else pour into their gifts.
Maybe education doesn’t have to fit perfectly into the three boxes we’re used to seeing:
Public school.
Private school.
Homeschool.
Maybe there’s some really beautiful space in between.
Who might want to learn more about Acton Academy?
I don’t think Acton is going to be the right fit for every child.
And I actually appreciate that Carrie doesn’t pretend it will be.
But if you’re a homeschool parent who loves the freedom of homeschooling and has also found yourself thinking…
I wish we had more community.
I wish my kids had more opportunities to learn alongside other kids.
I wish someone else could challenge them in areas where I’m struggling.
I want my child to love learning instead of simply completing school.
Or maybe you’ve tried a more traditional educational environment and it hasn’t felt like the right fit for your child.
Acton Academy is worth knowing exists.
And if you’re thinking, Nikki, I’m not making a giant educational decision because you spent three hours talking to a woman and then wrote a blog about it…
GOOD. 😂
Neither am I.
In fact, one of my favorite things Carrie told me about was their Shadow Days.
Instead of expecting parents to make a major decision based on a website or a tour, kids can actually experience the studio.
They can meet the other students.
See how the environment works.
Participate.
And have a voice in whether it feels like somewhere they could thrive.
And honestly?
I think two of my little homeschoolers might be doing exactly that. 👀
Not because I’ve suddenly stopped believing in homeschooling.
Quite the opposite.
I’m starting to believe that building the education we want for our kids doesn’t mean we have to build every single piece of it ourselves.
Sometimes you meet someone who has been quietly building a piece you didn’t even know you were looking for.
And maybe you let them come alongside you.
That feels pretty freeing. ❤️
ALL THINGS GREENVILLE
Curious About Acton Academy?
Founded by local Nikki Luther, All Things Greenville began with a simple goal: to create a place where neighbors could connect, support local businesses, and celebrate everything that makes the Upstate special.
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