25-26 Learning Arc

What is the Hero's Journey?

​At Acton Academy Lincoln, we believe in the power of curiosity, creativity, and challenge. Each year, we develop our learning design around a central, thought-provoking question that guides our learners through a transformative educational journey. This year at Acton Academy Lincoln, our learners will step into one of the most powerful and universal narratives ever told: the Hero’s Journey. Across seven sessions, they will live out this story for themselves,  facing challenges, discovering treasures, and returning transformed. Each Quest is a chance to live out the Hero’s Journey, giving our Heroes opportunities to grow in courage, creativity, and resilience.

A Deep Dive Into the Hero's Journey

he Hero’s Journey is a universal story. It’s a pattern in many foundational myths, from religion to classical literature to drama to popular culture. It describes the path of a protagonist who heeds a call to adventure, leaves behind their known world, overcomes great opposition, and returns to the starting place having transformed. The greatest triumph is the change and growth that takes place internally. At Acton, this story is our foundational narrative. The Hero’s Journey colors all that we do. It is the antidote to victimhood — for while a hero may not always win in the end, they do get back up, dust themselves off, and walk back into the fight. The Hero’s Journey (and a corresponding belief that every person who enters our door is a genius who deserves to find a calling that will change the world) is at the core of the Acton Academy mission. Every member of our tribe has to believe in the Hero’s Journey for our community to prosper — it is the special glue and the magic dust that makes Acton Academy a magical and transformational place. For the year, our learners will explore this narrative, all while living, developing a deeper understanding, and reflecting of their own Hero’s Journey.
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Session One: Call to Adventure + Meeting the Mentor + Crossing the Threshold

Quest | Build the Tribe - Oregon Trail

Our journey begins and ends with the Status Quo. From there, Heroes are presented with the opportunity to accept their call to adventure. Along the way, they’ll meet mentors who provide guidance and encouragement, and then take the courageous step into the unknown.

To kick off the year, learners will explore these initial stages of the Hero’s Journey by “Building their Tribe” in an Oregon Trail–style Quest. They’ll develop survival skills, face obstacles, and discover what it means to come together as a strong, resilient community. The session culminates in a community wide campout!
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Session Two: Allies, Tests, and Enemies

Quest | Architecture

In this session, the Hero’s Journey deepens as struggles and trials appear. Heroes will stumble, fail, learn, and grow- discovering the value of allies, the challenge of enemies, and the power of persistence.

For Quest, learners will take on the role of architects, practicing the skills required to design a new building. This Quest carries real-world implications as it runs in parallel with Mr. Zach’s work on the design for our new land and building! Who knows, design ideas from learners may just inspire elements of our future campus! Meanwhile, Spark Heroes will take on the role of Lego architects, bringing their imaginations to life through hands-on creations.
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Session Three: Approach (Growth and New Skills)

Quest | Space Explorers, Cartography, and the McCarthy Trials

With new skills in hand, Heroes approach bigger challenges and prepare themselves for trials yet to come. Our Spark Heroes will blast off as NASA explorers, charting the mysteries of outer space, while our Elementary Heroes will become modern-day Magellans, cartographers working to circumnavigate the globe. In the Studio, Heroes will wrestle with the question, “Are enemies created or discovered?” as they immerse themselves in the McCarthy Trials.
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Session Four: Monster / The Cave

Quest | Geology, Edison’s Lab, and Chemistry I

Every Hero’s Journey leads to a confrontation with the monster.  A fearsome obstacle or test that requires courage, transformation, and sometimes even a symbolic death and rebirth. In Session 4, Heroes come back to rebuild their tribe and face their “monsters” together. 

While slaying these monsters, Spark Heroes will become geologists, uncovering the hidden stories of the earth. Discovery and Odyssey Heroes will don lab coats in Edison’s Menlo Park lab, experimenting like history’s great inventors. Adventure/LP Heroes will step into the kitchen as chemists, tackling complex reactions through the art and science of cooking.
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Session Five: Treasure + Result
Quest | Music and Entrepreneurship
In Session 5, the Hero emerges with their treasure! Not a pile of gold, but transformed with wisdom, new abilities, and confidence to tackle any obstacle ahead.
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In this session leading up to the Children’s Business Fair, Heroes will test their entrepreneurial grit by building and launching their own businesses. The Spark Studio will explore the creative world of music, theatre, and drama, discovering the treasures of self-expression and performance.
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Session Six: Return + New Life
Quest | Entomology, Mechanical Engineering, and Chemistry II

As we near the end of the year, the Hero returns to the known world, but as a changed person who has brought back the lessons, skills, and treasures they’ve gained along the way.

Sparks will step outside as entomologists, studying the fascinating world of insects. Discovery and Odyssey learners will become engineers, designing and building their own arcade games. The oldest learners will return to chemistry, this time as rocket scientists!
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Session Seven: Resolution + Status Quo
Quest | Growing Curiosity and Fashion Design 

In our final session, we come full circle. Having returned transformed, Heroes bring their gifts back to their community.

The Spark Studio will pursue Growing Curiosity, by diving into Hero-selected topics that inspire them. Elementary and Adventure Heroes will step into the world of fashion design. From the perfect soccer cleat to an ideal cooking apron, hiking pants, or dance leotard, learners will create clothing and gear designed to fit their passions, personalities, and needs.
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Living the Hero’s Journey
As we navigate these seven sessions, our learners will be challenged to think critically, act courageously, and reflect deeply on what it means to live a Hero’s Journey in their own lives and communities.


By the end of the year, they will not only know the Hero’s Journey as a story, but they will also have gained insight into their own Hero’s Journey.


We invite you to join us on this exciting journey at Acton Academy Lincoln as we explore, question, and discover together!