Acton Academy is hiring!Position: High School (Launch Pad) Guide
Do you want to change the world? Do you want to contribute something meaningful to the people around you? Do you crave working hard with a mission-driven, world-class team of entrepreneurs changing the vision of school?
Acton Academy is a private school with a learner-driven community whose mission is that each person who enters its doors finds a calling and changes the world. We combine elements of Montessori with Socratic guiding, hands-on experiential quests, and interactive technology. Underlying our method is an application of the Hero’s Journey, creating a lively learning environment that feels more like an adventure than school.
About Our Launch Pad
Launch Pad is our high school program for learners roughly ages 13-18. There are no grades, no teachers standing at a whiteboard, and no multiple-choice tests. Instead, our young heroes run real businesses, complete real apprenticeships, tackle rigorous core-skills and core-knowledge work at their own pace, and build a transcript of real-world accomplishments. Learners govern themselves through a Socratic community with real contracts, real freedom, and real consequences, preparing them not just for college, but for a self-directed, meaningful life.
What Makes This Role Special
As a Launch Pad Guide, you won’t be a traditional high school teacher. You’ll be a Socratic guide, a fellow traveler, and an accountability partner for teenagers navigating one of the most important stages of their Hero’s Journey. You’ll ask hard questions instead of giving answers, hold learners to high standards without rescuing them, and help them discover a calling rather than hand them a curriculum. You’ll work alongside young adults who are launching real ventures, seeking real internships, and making real decisions about their futures.
What We’re Looking For
Preferred Experience and Skills:
- Managing mixed-age groups of teenagers or young adults
- Experience with project-based, apprenticeship, or entrepreneurship-based learning
- Coaching or mentoring experience, especially with adolescents
- A passion for disruptive education and preparing teens for real life, not just college
- Deeply curious and ready to learn and work hard
- Excellent writing and interpersonal communication skills
- Entrepreneurial thinker, comfortable with ambiguity
- A deep respect for teenagers’ ability to set goals, run ventures, and manage their own learning without heavy adult intervention
- Kind-hearted and tough-minded; an independent worker
- Calm demeanor, especially under the pressure of real stakes and real deadlines
Your Superpowers Should Include:
- A deep belief that teenagers are capable of running real projects and making real decisions
- Strong understanding of Socratic questioning and the Hero’s Journey framework
- Ability to guide without rescuing — letting young heroes learn from real-world consequences
- Comfort holding high expectations for academics, character, and professionalism alike
- Skill in helping teens build networks, find internships or apprenticeships, and launch ventures
- Excellent communication skills with both learners and families
- A growth mindset and love of continuous learning
What You’ll Do
- Facilitate Socratic discussions and core-skills work across academic and real-world topics
- Guide learners as they design and run their own businesses, internships, and independent projects
- Help learners set ambitious goals, hold themselves accountable, and reflect honestly on their progress
- Support a self-governed community with real contracts, elections, and consequences
- Prepare learners for public exhibitions and real-world presentations of their work
- Help learners build a portfolio of accomplishments and connections for college, career, or entrepreneurship
- Partner with families to support each learner’s unique path through the Hero’s Journey
What We Offer
- The opportunity to work inside an innovative educational model that is genuinely changing the vision of high school
- A supportive community of families and colleagues who share your values
- Professional development and growth opportunities within the Acton network
- Competitive pay, commensurate with experience
- The reward of watching young heroes launch real ventures and step confidently into adulthood
Our Core Beliefs
- Each young person has a unique gift that can change the world
- Learning to be, learning to learn, and learning to do are equally important
- Teenagers rise to the level of freedom and responsibility they’re given
- Character and professionalism develop through real stakes and real consequences, not lectures
- Parents are the primary educators; we support and complement their efforts
Job Type: Full-time Salary: Competitive pay, commensurate with experience
Sound Exciting?
To Apply:
1. Please submit your resume along with a cover letter sharing why you're passionate about child-led learning and how your experience aligns with our mission. Submit to [email protected].
2. Follow the instructions in this document:
Job Types: Full-time, Part-time
Pay: From $50,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Health insurance
- Life insurance
- Paid time off
- Professional development assistance
Work Location: In person
