We know you likely have many questions about what Greenfields Academy is and isn’t. Here are the answers to our frequently asked questions.
What grade levels do you offer?
What is Acton Academy?
Is Greenfields Academy a Montessori school?
Is Greenfields a religious school?
What do you mean by a hero’s journey?
How much homework will there be?
What is an independent learner?
What do you mean by a running partner?
Do students at Greenfields Academy study a foreign language?
Does Greenfields serve special needs children?
What do you mean by “Every child can change the world?”
Why do you focus on teaching the American experiment?
How much will the school grow? Will you add higher grade levels?
Where did the name “Greenfields Academy” come from?
What grade levels do you offer?
We don’t have formal grade levels. We believe that children learn best when working with children both younger and older than themselves. In addition to working on their individual curricula, students will work together for some time each day in multi-age groups.
We will serve students ages 5-10 for the 2014-2015 school year. We plan on extending the school up to 14-year olds in 2015, and through 18-year olds in 2016. When the school is expanded, students will be divided into classrooms based on age groups: 5-10 (elementary school), 11-14 (middle school), and 15-18 (high school).
We observe the typical kindergarten cut off of September 1st, but are open to discussion.
What is Acton Academy?
Acton Academy is our model school. It started in Austin, Texas and its model will be used in seven schools in 2014. We are excited and inspired by what they have shown is possible and are thrilled to be able to bring the Acton experience to Chicago. Learn more at http://www.ActonAcademy.org.
Is Greenfields Academy a Montessori school?
While the Greenfields Academy respects and uses the Montessori method in many of its practices, it is not a pure Montessori school. We also use project-based learning, the Socratic method and the latest in educational game-based software.
Is Greenfields a religious school?
No. While we look at religion and its import in history and the world, we are a non-sectarian school and are not affiliated with any religion.
What do you mean by a hero’s journey?
We believe that each of us has a special calling in life, and we will each undergo a series of trials and tests that must be faced with integrity and purpose, in order to live a satisfied and fulfilled life. You can watch this video to hear the students talking about the hero’s journey.
Our mission is to prepare your child for his or her special journey.
How much homework will there be?
We believe that children need time to play, explore, relax and be with family and friends. There will not be any homework assigned.
What is an independent learner?
An independent learner is someone who can tackle challenging questions, follow instructions and solve problems. They can admit that they don’t know something and attempt to figure out a solution when they hit a roadblock, without immediately turning to an adult for help. An independent learner participates in discussions and strives for mastery.
What do you mean by a running partner”?
A running partner is a classmate who meets with you on a regular basis to hold you accountable for the work you promised to do the last time you met. Running partners are good listeners who also provide affirmation when you need it.
Do students at Greenfields Academy study a foreign language?
We believe that it is important for students to be fluent in at least one foreign language. They will study Spanish or Mandarin as part of their core curricula.
Does Greenfields serve special needs children?
Unfortunately, we are not equipped to serve children who need specialized attention because of serious learning challenges.
What do you mean by “Every child can change the world?”
We mean that every one of our students will find a passion – something they love and have a gift to do. They will use this gift to serve others and fulfill a need they are personally passionate about in the world.
This may be by becoming a shoe-shiner who tells stories, making people’s days just by doing his job with love and vigor; it may be by becoming a teacher who sees the light in all children’s eyes and guides them to pursue their dreams; it may be by becoming a dad or mom who leads his or her children on a hero’s journey; it may be becoming a business person guided by compassion and integrity; or it may be by becoming an artist or writer who brings beauty to people’s lives.
We can’t tell you how your child will change the world.
We can only help them find their calling and set them on their journey.
Why do you focus on teaching the American experiment?
By focusing on the American experiment in our study of history, we aim to teach the value of liberty and justice as the ideals for the human experience.
There is no political agenda here. It is about freedom of speech and religion, and the value of free markets to help bring about the opportunity for prosperity.
In addition to experiential learning, we will study America’s founding documents and the meaning behind them. These concepts will then be applied to real-world projects. Our graduates will have a working understanding of these ideas. We will also study other cultures and other forms of government, and in doing so, students can discover for themselves why America is unique.
How much will the school grow? Will you add higher grade levels? Will there be more locations?
In order to maintain our focused mission and quality daily experience, we plan to grow purposefully. We will add years as we grow so that we ultimately have an elementary school program, a middle school program and a high school program.
Students will be divided into classrooms based on age groups: 5-10 (elementary school), 11-14 (middle school), and 15-18 (high school).
We plan to have no more than 40 students in each of these groups for a maximum school size of 120 students. This ensures that each student will be known deeply by at least two adults and will not fall through the cracks. We plan on opening additional campuses as more families choose to join us.
Where did the name “Greenfields Academy” come from?
We set out to reinvent education, which freed us from trying to reform traditional schools. We didn’t have to tinker around the edges. We didn’t have to worry about changing the minds of entrenched stakeholders. We could focus on students and families. We could take a truly greenfield approach to building our school.
Greenfields /ˈgrinˌfild/ {noun): projects that are not bound by prior work.
Academy /əˈkædəmi/ {noun): a place for learning or training.
Greenfields Academy 