Acera is a K-9 independent school serving students in Massachusetts. Students take a systems view, solve problems and think creatively.

Our goal is to inspire curiosity, catalyze intrinsic motivation, and teach kids to think like scientists, innovators, makers, and leaders. That’s why electives like “The Psychology of the Iliad” or “Philosophy and Contemporary Issues” are so impactful: they blend disciplines and enable students to construct authentic understanding.

Hands-on learning leads to stronger knowledge retention. Because students are building, experimenting, simulating, and discussing, they actually remember more of what they learn; instead of convergent thinking, students learn to take a systems viewpoint and think critically and develop lots of ways to solve problems; knowledge retention happens along the way because learning is pinned onto something meaningful. Projects become the vehicle for understanding: building a marble run to explore Newtonian physics, or creating a podcast to synthesize research and express ideas clearly.

The school’s approach is constructivist and inquiry-driven. Kids build concepts and academic skills from doing, experimenting, and discussing—an approach that’s more work for teachers, but vastly more effective for students.

4 Passes to Peabody Essex Museum