An Open Letter To Lincoln Families

An Open Letter to Lincoln Families

Building a Fiercely Independent School in Lincoln, Nebraska

​Dear Acton Lincoln Families,

We are building a school that's redefining education. Traditionally education has focused on standardized test scores and memorizing facts. (Control, regurgitation, oversight.) At Acton Academy Lincoln, it’s about deep learning and bringing a love of learning (true mastery) back to the forefront. But more importantly, it’s about raising the next generation of leaders that will move us closer, not further, from the founding ideals of America. It’s about raising human beings to be personally responsible, respect individual liberty, value freedom of religion, and exude patriotic reverence for country.

This defines the spirit of the private school my wife (Heidi) and I have started to build here in Lincoln, Nebraska. We will be a school for anyone, but I know full well we won’t be for everyone.

​Heidi and I first came across the Acton model a little over a year ago. Acton is a decade-old micro-school concept that puts the child in the driver’s seat of their education and focuses on building strong human beings. We opened our doors last fall in the middle of a pandemic when other schools around the country were closing theirs. Why? See that opening paragraph again. I believe we need strong young leaders now more than ever.

Before Acton, we were simply two parents seeking an education option that would help us raise happy, healthy children who wouldn’t be placed in a box or sat at a desk to passively take in the information being presented to them for the next 12 years. We wanted them to be the driving force behind their learning and to discover the world for themselves.

We wanted them to be personally responsible for the decisions they made and the consequences of those decisions.

We wanted children who would think critically about the world around them, question authority when it needed to be questioned, and respect it when appropriate. 

We also desired our children to know what they believed and how to defend said beliefs, know what they stood for, and ultimately know why they were put on this earth.

We wanted them to do all this while loving everyone who stood in opposition to their beliefs and understood why it is vitally important that we have the freedom to believe and worship in our own way in our country. 

Speaking of country, we were seeking an educational option that taught them to love their country and know its true history. The perfect implementation of the American ideals may have proven to be beyond our grasp so far, and that’s okay; because each generation has the chance to change that. Each leader elected, each vote cast, has the ability to move closer to that founding vision.

When we discovered Acton, we realized this was our chance to build the very school we had worked so hard to find, one that baked all the things we desired for our children right into its DNA. 

As we set out to build this school, we knew it had to be an independent, exempt school. We wanted the freedom to build something more powerful and freer than the confines of state-mandated curriculum, standardized testing, and bureaucracy. Why? See the opening paragraph again...

As a small, private micro-school, we operate as a small business. We make business decisions that are in the best interest of our customers: the children first, and the paying parents second. We are not here to teach your children to hate their country, their race, their religion, or their gender. In fact, we aren’t here to push an agenda, unless you consider the first paragraph an agenda, and then we are here to push the hell out of that agenda. Why? Because critical thinking leads to good decisions, good decisions lead to the right habits, the right habits forge character, and character determines destiny.

Acton Academy Lincoln exists to empower character-filled human beings for life. Our graduates will be the leaders our country needs to help America finally live up to her ideals, allowing Freedom of Religion and Individual Liberties to live on for future generations, and have personal responsibility return to the home, the workforce, and society as a whole.

Be Blessed,

Zach Harsin

Acton Academy Lincoln Co-Founder

​P.S. 

Parents, if you agree with me and want to see your child thrive in a setting like this where they can discover and grow their unique strengths, then Acton is for you! We still have a few seats left for the fall of 2021. You can request an info kit here >>

If you disagree with me, I would love to hear from you. We can disagree and do so respectfully. That is Acton. I have stated my belief and made my stance knowing you may have a different opinion and you’re entitled to stating and defending your stance. But let’s not do it in online comments. It won’t solve anything. Let’s do it face to face over lunch or coffee. We may both grow and learn something from the experience.