Hero's Journey Academy is part of the network of over 300 Acton Academies around the world. We follow the same exact Learning Design (curriculum) and learning model that our owners helped create at the original Acton Academy campus.

One of the top questions we are asked by parents when touring our private school is "What curriculum do you use?" Learn more here.

The school is accredited through the International Association of Learner Driven Schools (link https://ialds.org).

We are currently accepting applications for children aged 5 to 10 years old. As our school's original founding students grow older each year, we will progressively extend our enrollment to encompass middle school and eventually high school.

Our campus is located at 316 E Hwy 30, Gonzales, LA 70737 US.

Our school year extends over a 10-month period, typically in line with Ascension public school calendar, allowing ample time for students to immerse themselves in diverse educational opportunities and achieve their academic goals.

We know this is an important question for any family, and we challenge you to think in terms of a growth mindset! (How can we afford this amazing opportunity for our family?) Annual tuition for all during the 2023-2024 school year: $6,299. It can be broken into 10 Monthly payments, weekly payments, or tuition can be paid upfront for additional savings. There is Non-refundable registration deposit of $299 to confirm enrollment, or $500 for an entire family. Sibling tuition discount of 10% per additional learner. We do not offer scholarships or financial aid at this time. Don't worry, we DO NOT require parents to work fairs, sell chocolate, etc...😉 Tuition + registration covers ALL materials. The are NO additional fees or charges throughout the year with exception of occasional field trips that average around $15. Tuition is adjusted annually for inflation.

Our Montessori studio is the perfect base for young learners to begin an Acton journey! We respect and incorporate Maria Montessori's philosophy but our Elementary studio is not a Montessori school. We also use the latest interactive technologies, hands on projects and the Socratic Method for discussions.

Hero's encourages exploration and independent learning, however, we leave the teaching of specific doctrine up to individual families. Children and families of all faiths are welcome at Hero's Journey Academy. Learners explore the importance various religions have played throughout history, but we do not promote any one religion.

Lord John Emerich Edward Dahlberg Acton (1834-1902) was a Victorian scholar of Freedom who saw liberty not as a license, but as the freedom to do what was right. He was suspicious of power for the sake of power, which led to his most famous quote: "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." At the Acton Academy, we celebrate his defense of economic, political and religious freedom.

We provide a 21st century learning environment using the latest in educational technology for self-paced mastery of reading, writing, elective courses, and math skills. Students are placed according to ability so that our program can meet the student right where they are. Students move on to the next level only after the content has been mastered, which ensures there are no learning gaps.

Students celebrate the mastery of tools, skills, and character by earning badges, assembling portfolios, and taking part in public exhibitions. Public exhibitions allow students to present work to experts, customers, or the public for a real-world test. Parents use our online platform JourneyTracker and school app to monitor progress in Core Skills like reading, writing, math, and character development. Electronic and hard copy Portfolios capture rough drafts, photos, videos, and other creative work. Once a year, we offer the Iowa standardized test, and you know what? Most of our students score 1-2 grade levels ahead of the national average.

We believe that children learn best when working with children younger and older than themselves rather than split up into groups based solely on age. In addition to individualized curriculum, all ages of students work together in groups.

We believe in the power of balance. Using the incredible, self-paced eLearning tools now available, we are able to provide the rigor needed for learning math, vocabulary, spelling and grammar in about 90 minutes each day in our elementary studio, while freeing up the rest of the day for engaging, project-based learning. The two are highly complementary. Our Montessori studio is mostly hands on using Montessori works, with the occasional use of technology to enhance learning and prepare them for the next studio!

Our students experience varied and unique art and music workshops throughout the year ranging from cake decorating, painting, sculpting, to making and recording their own music.

Although we do not offer formal team sports, many of our students participate in our afterschool sports program, and/or our evening martial arts classes. Our school embraces a deep commitment to physical fitness and overall health awareness. Hero's Journey Academy students explore a variety of physical activities that have ranged from martial arts, hiking, dance, yoga, to rock climbing. Our students are very active, and we strongly support good sportsmanship and teamwork.

You will need to provide your child with a healthy lunch each day. They will have access to a full kitchen. We are not a peanut free facility, however learners are not allowed to share food due to allergies. We have a healthy snack store and we believe that it's important to help young people develop healthy lifestyle habits.

We believe that each of us has a special calling in life, and a series of trials and tests that must be faced with integrity and purpose, in order to live a satisfying and fulfilled life. Our mission is to prepare your child for his or her special journey.

Someone who can research questions, follow instructions, solve problems—admit that they don't know something and figure out a solution when they hit a roadblock without asking an adult for help — participate in discussions, and strive for mastery.

We are not trained to serve children with serious learning disabilities but have been able to serve young heroes with dyslexia if they receive special training and believe that many minor learning disabilities are commonly misdiagnosed.

We believe each 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 passionate about in the world. This may be by becoming a shoe-shiner who tells stories and makes people's day just by doing his job with love and vigor; it may be by becoming a coach who sees the light in a child’s eyes and guides her to pursue a dream; it may be by becoming a father or mother who leads a family on a Hero's Journey; it may be becoming an entrepreneur or business leader guided by compassion and integrity; or it may be by becoming an artist or writer who brings beauty to people's lives.

We believe in liberty and justice and the ideals of the American Revolution as the cornerstones of civilization. In addition to experiential learning, we will study the American documents and the true meaning behind them, as we examine other cultures and forms of government.

We are not a childcare facility, however we do offer early drop off service at 7:30am and an INCREDIBLE sports based after-school program!