The Future is Here!
Truly Free Schools
What's the Problem?
Education is stuck in a 20th century model, but it is now the information age. With the Library on Congress available to all in the palm of their hand, distributing information is no longer a problem. Teaching children to love to learn is the problem, as children crave freedom.
What's the Solution?
The solution is to give children the freedom to learn, to select what to learn, and when to learn, at their own pace. The experience of Acton Academy, and before that, Montessori early learning schools, shows that when they are given that freedom, they will actually self organize into "tribes" and learn far more together than they so studying independently in an online school.
Online schools create a few very well educated individuals, while many don't do well at all. No Teacher Schools create learners who love learning and love to learn with others and no one is left behind.
What is Acton Academy?
No Teacher Schools is a clone of Acton Academy. The founder of Acton Academy wants to focus on building Acton Academy, and, as amazing as he is, does not seem interested to build an industry instead of a single brand.
Right now, Acton Academy has 270 very small schools worldwide, with an average enrollment of less than 100 students each. With an ideal size of 120 students, and that can be staffed by just two adults, the market for "guided studio schools" is massive.
Acton has huge demand from people wanting to start more schools. So the supply side for school operators is huge. And, as so many churches have gone empty since Covid, the real estate supply is also very good.
The business of the enterprise that will launch No Teacher Schools is to train new operators, help them get open, and provide ongoing support.
The financial model is to charge the same 3% of revenue network membership fee that Acton charges its members.
And No Teacher Schools will support multiple brand names with slightly different objectives, such as religion specific schools or disability specific schools.
What is a Guided Studio School?
It's a school where students choose their own paths of education, both individually and in a "tribe". Instead of teachers, Socratic guides are available to help the students as necessary by asking "two choice" questions, and never ever answering academic questions. It is the most disruptive model of education out there!
Since we are cloning Acton Academy, go to their website to learn more. Or go to the website of one of their best schools, Slope School in Provo, Utah.
How can a Private School compete with free Government Schools?
With a student to staff ratio of 60 to 1. The student to staff ration in U.S. public schools is about 12 to 1. That's 5X more efficient and staffiing is overwhelmingly the largest cost in schools.
The average U.S. school spends $16,000 per student per year, with most of that cost being staffing. We estimate that a No Teacher School can operate comfortably with only $5,000 per student per year. The average cost of a private U.S. school is a bit over $12,000 a year, so a No Teacher School has a huge competitive advantage.
Parents want a return on their educational investment. Parents who choose No Teacher Schools can expect their children to complete the program with their standardized test scores in the top 10% of all students. These kids will be the victors in the highest paying winner take all vocations. After all, who doesn't want their heart operation done by the very best surgeon or their criminal case defended by the very best attorney?
So while the cost of private schools is high, the return on investment is excellent. High earners have long known this and that is why they send their kids to private schools.
All enterprises eventually end up selling their goods or services in a competive market at a price very close to their costs, long term. The great student to staff ratio will keep No Teacher Schools competive forever. This is the future of education!
What is the competitive advantage of No Teacher Schools?
For now, as a one person enterprise, it's me. I was a founder of two now very large private schools in the Dallas area, Legacy Christian Academy and Corem Deo Academy, and I previously worked for Project SEED in the inner city schools of Dallas, as a Socratic teacher and I was also the local PR person. My eventual title at Legacy was Administrator, and at Coram Deo was Director of Administration and Athletics.
At first, both Legacy and Coram Deo were co-located in church buildings. I was the lead member of the team for finding and negotiating for the use of a church building, a large athletic complex, and a basketball facility for Coram Deo in its first relocation as it grew rapidly. At both schools, I was the primary liason between the schools and the property owners of all facities, including, at the time for Legacy, using public parks for athletic fields.
At Coram Deo, I supervised the creation of a new logo, a new school catalog, a new school software system, and the start up of varsity sports, among many other duties.
Why No Teacher Schools in Utah now?
There is already a hugely successful Acton Academy in Provo, Slope School. They charge $14,000 a student, have first class facilities, and a huge waiting list. School owner, Matt Clayton, who is the son of General Authority emeritus L. Whitney Clayton, was actually the COO of the entire Acton Academy at their Austin, TX headquarters for four years prior to coming back to Utah and founding Slope School for his own kids to attend here. He also has a second location in Lehi.
Starting next year, about 5000 Utah K-1 students will be eligible for an $8,000 a year Utah Fits All Scholarship Program, to be used at the private school of their choice. At the same time, commercial real estate has a huge surplus of less than ideal empty buildings, as the Amazon effect and working from home have dramatically reduced the demand for commercial buildings in less that prime locations.
So the demand side is now here, with even low income families empowered to pay private school tuition, and the supply side is here in those empty buildings.
This enterprise, No Teachers Schools, is all about trainind Guided Studio Guides, to fill this gap in the marketplace.
No Teacher Schools is an enterprise project of Treyeshua. His principle enterprise is Profitable Prophets.