Acera School in Winchester | Military Town Advisor

Posted: June 26, 2026

My child graduated from Acera this year after joining in 1st grade.

Here are some of the reasons we chose Acera and why we highly recommend it. Math classes are flexible - kids learn at the level they're ready for, regardless of age. Class sizes are small - teachers genuinely know each student. The curriculum is engaging and rigorous, and teachers get to design it themselves rather than following a government-mandated script. There's no teaching to the test. There are no grades either, because the focus is on building intrinsic motivation for learning. Lower grades have no homework, giving kids time to explore passions outside of school. Upper grades do get homework, but it's meaningful and reasonable.

The teachers are absolutely fabulous kind, caring, engaging, and knowledgeable. They truly understand gifted children and their complexities. Creativity is a central pillar of the school. With AI reshaping the job market, fostering creativity in schools feels more important than ever. And the atmosphere is just something special kids actually enjoy coming to school. They're kind to each other, form deep friendships, and feel like they belong.

In my experience, kids who tend to thrive at Acera are curious, creative, and often have advanced abilities that go unrecognized or even work against them in traditional school settings. Think kids who are two or three grade levels ahead in math. They often are bored in public schools and feel that they don't belong there.

That said, Acera isn't the right fit for every family. It might feel challenging if you prefer grades and homework, want detailed day-to-day visibility into your child's work, like the predictability of a standard curriculum, or tend to expect perfection. And on that note no school is perfect, Acera included. We're all human, things happen, and mistakes are growth opportunities for everyone involved.

One note on learning disabilities: I believe kids with mild to moderate LDs can do very well here. Just budget for some targeted outside support not because the school doesn't care, but because they work hard to keep tuition accessible for all families.

Overall, we are very happy with our years at Acera and wouldn't change a thing. We're deeply grateful to Courtney, the brave and dedicated woman who founded this incredible school, and to Heather, who has been leading it for the past two years. Heather is truly everything you'd hope for in a Head of School!

Posted: January 17, 2026

My son started at Acera last year, in middle school, and my elementary age daughter joined him this past fall. Both kids *adore* Acera. I cannot say enough about how life changing this was for my son, who had become entirely disengaged with his public school. We were actively planning mental health days for him just so he would keep going with something to look forward to. Acera has completely changed his perspective. He's excited to go to school, has found his "people" there, really enjoys how he's challenged in math and science, and is just a happier kid all around. My daughter was doing fine in public school, but loves being at Acera. The ability-based math has been transformative for both students, who are several grade levels above their age in math. The choice of electives and creativities are fantastic. The "creativities" aren't typical art or gym classes, but instead things like hiking in the Fells or 3D printing. The "electives" give middle school students a chance to learn something unusual, like ethics or HS astronomy. And because the school uses a trimester system, kids get 6 choices every year. They may not get their first choice all the time, but even then, the classes are amazing. A prior review mentioned the playground, which in all honesty, can be a little unsafe, but the kids LOVE it. And there is supervision, so I've never been worried. It's not typical playground structures, but instead more like European adventure playgrounds, which give kids a lot more flexibility and require more creativity to play in. It's really a selling feature for most kids!

Posted: April 27, 2025

My son started 5th grade at Acera this past year. Within months he was transformed into a different child. He started to love learning again. He LOVES his 5th grade teacher, Ms Anastasia. She had built strong trust with my son and has been such a strong support in his growth and leaning. My son says he likes his teacher so much, he wishes she was his mom :) He started to be laugh again. He comes home smiling and he is always happy. He calls himself smart and found his people. He found his strengths and tools within. He has a growth mindset and willing to push past his comfort zone. I told Acera the most important thing was for my son is to learn to trust teachers again due to past negative experiences in public school and Acera listened and has been extremely responsive and supportive in helping my son gain back that trust. My child is very advanced and possess a heightened capacity to understand and engage in advanced conversations due to having a strong vocabulary, advanced language comprehension, and a natural curiosity that drives him to seek deeper explanations. However, he is not socially mature, so it can sometimes lead to challenges in navigating social situations including teachers and friendships and Acera continues to work hard to help my son navigate these difficulties. Acera listens when I have a concern about my child or the school. A team of support staff and teachers are ready and willing to support our family on any concern. In Lexington public schools, he felt stupid and felt misunderstood by peers and teachers and learning was boring and school became a chore. He came home most days frustrated, miserable, exhausted, disengaged. A child that used to love learning started saying he "hated" school. When he came home from public school from being bored but drained, he sat on his ipad and looked unhappy. Since starting at Acera he comes home and does projects, works around the home building things, does 3 days of Acera afterschool activities plus pottery, skiing, and swimming. My son loves Acera so much that he asked to go to school there year round. He is now signed up for summer camp most of the summer. My son is the founder of something called "The Outpost" on the playground. A team of children have worked together to build it and maintain it. They resolve conflict, learn friendship, understand different personalities, handle rejection and success. My son says he learned that being a leader is a helper not a boss. We are so grateful.

Posted: March 18, 2025

Has your kids ever been bored in class? Finished the work early? Had to sit quietly? Been given extra work (at the same level) or asked to teach other kids? Ever been told there's nothing else to learn today? Are they in a social environment where being "smart" is something to hide, rather than embrace? Losing that spark?

The kind of kid who thrives at Acera is one who is curious and loves to learn, and who would enjoy being around other kids who feel the same way. The teachers make sure there is no ceiling to the learning, while standing on a standards-informed floor. Social-emotional learning is an integral part of the experience, too. So we get to have smart kids who don't lose that spark of curiosity and who are compassionate.

There is nearly zero gifted public education in Massachusetts. We're at the bottom of the nation in that category, even while being well-regarded for general education. As parents, our option are: tough it out ("our kid will be fine, just not great"), supplementing with afterschool acadmics; leave the state; or consider private school.

My kids have been at Acera for over a decade, and I have seen the school really blossom in that time. I won't pretend that everything is always perfect. I have trouble believing any school could be. But the mission and vision of the school is very good and followed at all levels. Communication and collaboration is always possible. We are currently on-boarding a new Head of School for next year, who will continue this tradition.

The staff really know my kids. We talk and make a plan for the year. They meet my kids where they are, making sure there is always appropriate challenge and growth. They see them for who they are, warts and all, and help them to be the best version of themselves.

There's jut such a wonderful spirit of curiosity and of safe, supported risk-taking. It's ok to fail. You learn a lot. Acera is also part of the "adventure playground" movement, where little risks at play now train kids to be safer as they grow up. Also way more creative and fun than plastic structures!

Finally, I've met a lot of great people among the other parents. We have similar struggles and stories about raising our delightful, gifted, challenging children. If the school interests you, check out an Info Session or other public event, and ask to talk to a current parent to learn the ins and outs.

Best wishes on your parenting adventure!

Posted: January 25, 2025

There are certain things you should know before applying: 1) there is no school nurse, 2) all K-8 students have recess together with minimal supervision on a playground that is more like a junk yard so kids can build resilience, and even when temperatures are below 20, kids are out there without jackets, boots, or proper gear, 3) there is no school lunch or snack provided, 4) if your child is 2E you will pay an extra $10,000 for a support plan, 5) they will ask you to donate to their annual fund at a minimum of $1000, plus there is a 4-5K facilities fee for new families, 6) there is no art, music, PE, or world language; instead there is a creativity day once a week where kids choose something to do instead of their academics, but these are more like crafts or tech choices, 7) kids come from all over the greater Boston area making it challenging to arrange play dates, 8) teachers have complete autonomy and there is not a visible curriculum, which is partially because they change it every year, 9) a lot of Acera kids are advanced in math but behind in writing, 10) some of the most attractive things such as the woodshop or the baking class are really only available to about 8 kids per term, and theres no guarantee your child will have those opportunities, 11) upper school has electives such as metaphysics but theres no guarantee that your child will learn the basics of American History or Civics, 12) the school frequently refers to their strong beliefs that this is how gifted education should be, but the school is not accredited so theres no oversight ensuring that they are fulfilling their own mission, and 13) the school predominantly serves white boys, many of whom have multiple exceptionalities.

The great thing about Acera is the warm community (with some exceptions on the staff). Many people love it here, but you do need to understand the quirks to make an informed decision because its just as expensive as an independent school with better facilities, extracurricular programs and transparent curriculum. To each their own!

Posted: November 26, 2024

We entered Acera in 2021-2022; our gifted son in 4th-7th grade (so far), and our gifted, autistic (2E) daughter K-3rd. Our overarching thought, after four years, is - for the type of learner that fits within the learner profile Acera can serve - there is no better school for developing students into inquiry-based learners.

This review is about our son. He is a math, history, ethics, reading, D&D/LARP/Minecraft, comedy, etc kid by nature. The Acera Upper School curriculum is Core (4 times/week), Math (4 times/week), Two electives (2x/week each), two Creativities (1x/week), and Passion Project (2 times/week). Classes are taught in large learning blocks of 1-2 hours, for deep learning. In math, my son has no ceiling, and took Algebra 1 class in 6th grade, is now in a Math Concepts class (7th grade - graph theory, continued fractions) before Geometry in 8th. His core teachers have been fantastic with creating their yearly class themes and having fascinating and rigorous science, writing, and art work around those. For example, in his "Preserved" theme in 7th grade, his class went on a 3-day/2-night camping trip to Old Sturbridge Village, making their own food and sleeping in tents, and wrote essays on the ethics of preservation (what is preserved, what isn't, how ethical is the preservation?), and made an art model of one focus object to display. They also read Station Eleven and Cabinets of Barnaby Mayne, really diving into deep books with book groups, guided questions, and writing.. Some electives to highlight have been Revolt, Rebel, Resist: Indigenous Resistance to Colonial Powers, Astronomy, and Language of Prints.

Acera has allowed my son to go as deep as he would like, without a ceiling, and to think and analyze holistically. Now, not every elective or teacher has been perfect. But, four years in, I am amazed what Acera has taught him about inquiry, thinking, ethics, rigor, research, and following his own interests to complete high-level work. He is well prepared as a learner and thinker. Acera has also shored up his relative weaknesses (handwriting, art) and provides amazing socio-emotional support.

Reflecting on his time at Acera, we feel it has been successful because: he is interested, engaged, and motivated in learning; we are unconcerned with "did he learn Standard 3.4.1 in 6th grade?"; and his Core Classroom Teachers have been unparalleled, amazing teachers. We feel lucky our son fits into the learner profile that Acera can serve.

Posted: November 3, 2024

Acera has been an amazing place for our child, who is currently in lower school. When we attended Math Festival, an open house event, our child fell in love with the school, prompting us to move here from overseas. We did plenty of research and attended several open houses but did not come across a school like Acera.
Over the years, our childs classes have been 11-13 students per class, with one main teacher and various specialists coming in throughout the day. They learn through projects/hands-on activities and everyday, our child tells us about the fun activities they did at school. For example, in second grade literacy, they responded to a fictional NASA Mission in 2044 where they are astronauts completing a mission to the Tharsis Volcanic Region of Mars. They then created an infographic display comparing volcanos on Mars and Earth, studied different lava flows, and delved into the chemistry of volcanic soil and its effects on ecosystems.
Another highlight is Creativity Wednesdays where students split up into groups across grade levels to learn through creative outlets such as Textile Arts, Woodblock Printing, Dance, Cooking, Stop Motion, Creative Computing, Digital Modeling, Physic Simulation, etc. Our child enjoys learning with students in other grade levels and many of the activities have a collaboration aspect. Every student I have talked to loves Creativity Wednesdays.
As someone currently pursuing a Master's in Education, I've shared my experiences with classmates who teach at K-12 schools, and they are amazed by what Acera offers. One of my professors even uses Acera as an example in our discussions! When we talk about "ideal" schools in class, many characteristics align closely with Aceras philosophy, such as the absence of traditional grading. Instead of grades, teachers provide detailed feedback on students' learning styles and their academic and social-emotional goals. Aceras scheduling is also a very impressive point for my classmates. Math is taught at the same time across the whole school to have flexibility of switching in and out of different math levels as necessary. Acera can accommodate all students, even if they are multiple years ahead.
Overall, our child, who was previously bored at her old school, now loves and enjoys school every day. As a parent, I appreciate how responsive the administration and staff are to any concerns I raise.

Posted: October 28, 2024

Weve had children at Acera for ten years now, and I love the range of their interests, accomplishments, and capacity for rich friendships. Choosing a school for a child too curious and intellectually energized to learn and thrive in a traditional classroom is a challenge. Bright, gifted children can easily become isolated or bored in one-size-fits-all settings.
I am grateful we stuck with Acera. Our daughter met number theory at Acera in 7th grade after several years of compliant boredom, caught the bug, and is now about to graduate from college as a double major in math and computer science. Our twelve-year-old is perpetually exuberant about school, is fascinated by Model UN, reads voraciously, gets up a 6 to play Bach, and is an omnivore for knowledge. He loves his kind and creative friends. He has never been bored.
I appreciate that no school is going to seem perfect. When we first joined Acera was a fairly new institution, setting out to reinvent education for gifted children, and refreshingly willing to experiment. There were times when it seemed over-ambitious in taking on a few children for whom the school was not a good fit, resulting in disappointment all around. Course corrections have addressed this as the school has matured, and the school seems to us to be in a very good place now.
Sometimes schools for bright kids focus on acceleration. Its true that Acera is a school where some 6th graders take AP Physics and Calculus, while other children write novels. But its also a school that leaves space and time for normal development, where homework leaves room for outside interests; where friendships transcend age boundaries; where children learn to wrestle with ideas, to think with hands as well as heads, to figure out the elements of a strong community. This is not a competitive school, and the passion to learn grows from within.
Acera is in a small industrial park, close to woods and fields. Theres a fun adventure playground, generous classrooms, gathering spaces, large maker space, and a wet lab, connected by a lively commons. The school gets international visitors, and shares its vision with educators across the spectrum of public and private education. Teachers tend to be really interesting people, great with smart, thoughtful, inventive children who want a chance to discover stuff. Parents are a diverse friendly group with a shared view of education thats more than just a steppingstone to financial success. Its worked for us.

Posted: October 28, 2024

Acera is an amazing school for the right child. The teachers are each stars and they are allowed the freedom to build wonderfully creative curricula that keep both the teachers and the kids engaged. The interdisciplinary work is admirable. Math classes are assigned by level vs grade. Grammar is actually taught at the elementary level. We have seen our child's writing go from meh to wow in a couple of years! Highly recommend for curious and high level learners!

Posted: October 27, 2024

We're so lucky we found the Acera School for our middle schooler. We came to Acera because of COVID and the challenges at our excellent public school, but we stayed because we found it was truly a magical place. Our child was often bored and not always challenged, even at our excellent public school. But at Acera, they are always engaged deeply in the hands-on classroom experience. The teachers are amazing at immersing the kids into the learning process and do everything they can to follow the children's needs, interests, and passions. The community has been incredibly welcoming and our child has found a group of classmates that have fostered their intellectual pursuits and are a ton of fun every day. Now almost 5 years into Acera, our child is sad to graduate. They LOVE going to school every day. We are struggling to find a high school that would match up to Acera. Overall, we believe Acera prepares the kids extremely well for even the most challenging high schools.

Posted: October 27, 2024

Posted: October 25, 2024

We recently moved our son from public school and have been thrilled with Acera. After years of him feeling bored and disengaged in school, he now comes home so enthusiastic. He loves the small class sizes (there are 3 kids in his math class!), the range of interesting electives, the hands-on approach, and the whole environment. As parents, we have been really happy. There is a vibrant community.

Posted: October 25, 2024

Acera is a rare gem of a school with the great purpose of helping bright kids be engaged and able to reach their truer potentials. It's also a non-religious and co-ed private school which in itself seems a rare find near Boston. The level of choice and tailoring to students' interests is pretty astounding and they have attracted great and passionate teachers who are excited to teach Acera kids. I've also been surprised on how much the teachers and administration cares that parents and students are happy.

Posted: October 25, 2024

Posted: January 18, 2024

Our bright daughter was slipping away in public schools, and Acera brought her back to us. It is more than a school; it is a dynamic and nurturing community for kids who LOVE to learn. The small classes at Acera are led by exceptional educators emboldened by the passionate administration and teach HOW to learn about the world around us. I wish I could have gone to Acera myself. Highly recommend.

Posted: January 18, 2024

Posted: October 30, 2023

I highly recommend Acera school without any reservations! I wish I could have gone to a school like that when I was a kid.
Our kids are very happy at Acera. It is truly an exceptional school. Acera is a private school that is small and geared towards gifted children. The teachers at Acera are great: enthusiastic, experienced, energetic and love teaching. Many have advanced degrees such as PhDs. Our kids love going to school so much that they always miss it while on vacation (how often do you hear that from kids)!
Acera school has highly individualized learning plans and small classes. Math class placement is based on ability, so no one is held back because of age. Our kids study math several grades above their age level. Learning is project-based. There are no formal grades, but the kids get plenty of individualized feedback.
Acera education is based on best practices. It incorporates growth mindset and deliberate practice principles. Students learn math not only in regular math classes, but also in the woodworking elective class. In such a class, one of my kids made a wooden boat and a knife, and both of these projects required applied math to complete. Students learn science not only in regular science classes, but also in the context of real-world applications, such as neighborhood ecology.
The school is small and kids and teachers know each other well. All the teachers (not just the core classroom teachers) know our kids by name. The kids are given opportunities to study with many teachers. The kids are developing long-lasting friendships with other kids at school, friendships that often cross class and age boundaries.
The school is nimble and adapts quickly to change. As the school was making a switch to remote education during Covid, our child's teacher prepared individualized textbooks for the entire class over a few days, and the students used these for remote learning. During the remote learning time, the teacher met with our child daily for one-on-one conversations. No wonder that during the pandemic, the school thrived and enjoyed an influx of students who fled public schools, which often could not adapt quickly enough to remote education.
Students go off from Acera to become successful in other, more conventional, public schools, and get admitted to the best universities. In short, Acera is a model of what great education should be!

Posted: October 30, 2023

Posted: October 24, 2023

The experience my children had at Acera school was unimaginably bad. My daughter and two other children were told they couldn't come to school for two days with no reason given, and after two days we were told it was because they were at the center of a "campaign" against a teacher (which seemed to mean they complained, including to the school, about things that a teacher had done). My daughter, for example, had a month before this asked a counselor to ask the teacher to stop saying things to my daughter like You should go after [boy] now that [girl] is gone. There was a private online chat in which a large number of students had shared incidents of behavior of this teacher that had made them uncomfortable and upset. Many of these incidents had been shared with the school already, both by students and by parents.

Next, the three children were all told they couldn't come back to school for what ended up being 7 more days because kids were feeling bullied. The school made a big deal of this, had classroom conversations and sent an all-school newsletter about this "bullying" that they said had occurred, ostracizing these children by labeling them as bullies. However, over many months, the school refused to answer any of our questions about what they claimed my daughter did, whom she had bullied, or how. Six months later, we finally learned, unofficially from a staff member who had been at the center of this, that no child had ever even suggested they were bullied by my daughter or the other two kids who were kept from school, but the school administration refused to ever admit that children were wrongly kept from school.

I could never have imagined that school administrators could act so unprofessionally. While teachers at the school told us that what the school did to the children was appalling and shameful, they seemed unable to take any real steps to repair the harm that was done by the administration, and their acquiescence sent strong, dangerous messages to the children.

I know plenty of children make it through this school without terrible things happening to them at the hands of the school administrators. But as we shared what happened to us with others, many parents and some teachers told us they were not surprised by this sort of thing happening at the school, and told us about many similarly bad things that had occurred over the past several years. What happened to our family is part of a definite pattern.

Posted: October 24, 2023

Posted: October 23, 2023

Acera wants to be a lot of things--a STEM school. A school for kids who are "gifted." A school where kids can be creative and experiment. But the school just doesn't live up to the hype. The STEM component is pretty weak. It's actually more of an artsy-craftsy school. Some kids are very bright, but many, many of the kids in this group also have emotional or behavioral problems and disrupt classes. I tend to think their parents sent them here because the public schools couldn't deal with their extreme needs and thought, correctly, that a private school would be more responsive. Overall, I also found the curriculum to be lax. Also note--I am a liberal person, but some things here are ridiculous. I referred to my child in an email by gender (my child uses pronouns that correspond with the birth sex). The person who emailed me back referred to my child as "they" and kept doing so, although I was using gendered pronouns. And, no, my child does not have "secret" pronouns that only the school knows about--this email episode was before we had even enrolled and the only contact had been by email with me and no one had met my child. In other words, Acera made my child a "they" by default. The location is also depressing. It's in a former office building in an office park in an industrial part of Winchester. The building is surrounded by concrete and parking spaces, except for a very small play area in back. I think the top administrators are responsive but some of the young/new teachers and camp counselors seem very entitled. When I mentioned one time that my child felt isolated, they tried to blame him and said something like, "I don't think he's interested in what we're doing. If he doesn't want to be here, there's not much we can do.") The person with whom I had that exchange quit shortly after. There are some good teachers but definitely some who are just phoning it in because they're planning to move on. Teacher turnover is pretty high. We did one session of camp then a year of school then left.

Posted: October 23, 2023

Posted: October 18, 2023

Our daughter attended Acera for 5th, 6th, and 7th grade. The teachers and staff are exceptional and committed, including navigating COVID better than any other school I've heard about from friends or elsewhere. Our daughter is now in 9th and is excelling (straight As) in a very competitive High School. As a result of Acera's approach to math (small classes based on aptitude, not age), she's several years ahead of her grade level in math. She's taking 2 AP courses as a 9th grader and will likely take even more next year. While at Acera she was able to explore topics she was interested in (learning almost as a side-effect) including building an invention using Arduino, creating 3D interactive computer models, and programming a complex animated simulation of pollution and water flow between the Great Lakes. More important than the content, Acera taught her how to deeply explore concepts, how to manage her own time, how to take good notes, and how to study - the skills to be an effective student and life-long learner. These skills have allowed her to be a top student in all of her classes.

Posted: October 18, 2023

Posted: October 11, 2023

Our daughter transferred to Acera midyear from public school, in an effort to find a better academic fit for a gifted student. She loved Acera from her first day there. She loved her teacher, felt welcome by the other students, and the potentially difficult mid-year transition to a new school was very smooth. She started coming home from school telling us about all the things she's learned rather than telling us she's bored, as in the past.

Now in her second year at Acera, our daughter feels academically challenged and emotionally supported. She reports that class discussions are interesting and engaging. She does not have much homework, but often feels inspired to look more into something she's learned at school on her own at home. The homework she does have is thoughtful and not just busy work. She loves her teachers ad has great friends.

Acera provides a wonderful balance of challenging academics and creative learning, where the kids learn while having fun. The small class sizes enable the teachers to attend to each student's individual needs. Math instruction is uniquely set up to fit each student's needs and ability. Kids are encouraged to explore their interests and teachers will sometimes actually shift lessons to include a new topic that a group of students may be interested in. As parents, we find the Acera community to be welcoming and engaging. School administrators encourage parents' input and listen to their opinions in planing for the future.

Overall, we could not be happier with Acera for our daughter. She is thriving and enjoying learning.

Posted: October 11, 2023

Posted: September 15, 2023

My son graduated from this school after 7 years there, and now is a very successful high schooler! He still brings up his time at Acera as so formative for his love of learning, his ability to advocate for himself, his desire to be challenged, and his creativity. One thing that drew us to this school was they prioritize "safeguarding the spirit and curiosity of each child" and that was so true for my son. Thank you Acera - see you at Alumni night!

Posted: June 24, 2023

The school bills itself as a STEM school, but that is false advertising. They say your child will be in a small math class, perfectly tailed to their ability, but the math classes are larger than they say, and there aren't nearly as many levels as they say. I would guess roughly half the students are in an appropriate math class, but the other half are not. There is very little real science. "Core" class is language arts and social studies, and then there are "electives" and "creativity classes" which in theory could be on science topics, but in practice are most of the time are art classes. What is billed as "science" often has very little science content. The reality is that this is an arts focused school, largely for kids who haven't done well in other schools and have learning and behavioral challenges. That may be what some kids need, but they should be more honest in their advertising.

Posted: June 24, 2023

Posted: September 27, 2022

I attended Acera for 8th grade several years ago. While there are some big projects and essays, they are ungraded and require minimal effort. There is also almost no homework, and when there is there was no way for the teachers to verify that the students did the homework. Many of the classes are completely unnecessary and teach absolutely nothing. The teachers are very nice but average at communicating concepts. (Except for Michael and Ruma, you were both great!)

While the academics of Acera are below average, the main gripe I have with Acera is the culture. While on the surface the students are welcoming, a significant portion of the students and teachers (not all, but most) have extremely far-left views which the teachers insert into the education creating a toxic echo chamber. (For the record, my political views are center-left.) There is absolutely no room for disagreement. If anyone says something that could possibly be interpreted as racist, classist, or homophobic then they will be shut down and ostracized by most of the people in the room. Everyone who doesn't fully agree with the narrative has to keep their mouth shut, even when the class is supposedly engaging in open discourse. This is also contradictory to Acera's student demographic - there were no black students in my grade at Acera and only two or three in the entire middle school.

The one positive is that Acera allows your students to advance above grade level in math, so if your child is intelligent enough then Acera can provide a stepping stone to college mathematics. Acera also has very good mental health support systems and sex education.

I really wish I could have visited Acera before going, but I couldn't because of Covid. If I had visited I would have almost immediately crossed it off as an option.

Posted: September 27, 2022

Posted: May 8, 2022

I have been a middle school studenet at acera for 3 years and am leaving to go to public school. I found that some of the classes were unessesary and dint contribute to my education, and their was not mandatory science or history classes. the teachers are avarage. The students use very explicit language and most students being at acera their whole schooling can not take on more then an hour of homwork a night. Their is no P.E and very little grass and greenery, mostly all concrete. Students are not very athletic. If you want to go their please visit first.

Posted: May 8, 2022

Posted: January 12, 2022

Our daughter has attended Acera for 3 years. The school has been an incredible catalyst for her approach to learning and confidence in the learning environment. She is thriving in math, inspired by science and her writing skills have improved beyond our expectations. The project based learning is excellent and what she truly enjoys about Acera. Topics ranging from ocular engineering to ecology, digital animation and wood turning are some examples of the electives. They also take on current topics such as social justice and climate change, which fills a void when the news is impossible to avoid, (especially for older kids) and the kids can talk about difficult subjects in the classroom with peers and teacher-led discussions.

Posted: January 12, 2022

Posted: January 7, 2020

I went to this school from grades 4-9 and it was a great school. While it wasn't perfect, I liked how I was able to drive my own learning experience and create my own projects for IMP a ASTEAMS.

Posted: January 7, 2020

Generally not too much, but occasionally will pile up.

Posted: January 7, 2020

With small classes, teachers really get to know students individually and are able to focus more on an individual.

Posted: January 7, 2020

The school is small, and develops character through its core capacities. As said above, teachers get to know students well, and are able to work with them to build character.

Posted: January 7, 2020

Teachers are good leaders, and students are encouraged to take on leadership roles themselves. This is generally good, but occasionally a student managed event will fall apart because no adult was there to help.

Posted: January 7, 2020

With small class sizes, teachers are able to make sure students are able to understand the material. Different learning styles are welcomed and worked with well.

Posted: January 7, 2020

There isn't much bullying, but the school seems to believe there is none, and it is hard to get help when you feel bullied.

Posted: November 26, 2018

We're incredibly pleased with our child's middle-school experience at Acera. The math in particular is fantastic, a very high level of content and tough homework that requires thought and creativity. Likewise for the biology lab, the astronomy elective, the independent science-literature research project... Language-arts learning is an integral part of all classes, even math. In a nutshell, the work is challenging and engaging and the teachers are skilled and very supportive.

Posted: November 26, 2018

Posted: November 12, 2018

Teachers at Acera are not just doing the job of teaching. They are TEACHERS... from the inside-out, from bottom to top. Teachers during my time at Acera were ALWAYS willing to put more time into discussing / designing education.

Posted: November 12, 2018

A school that uses the latest and greatest in science of learning in order to drive school policy and decisions? Sounds like a no-brainer.... but VERY few school leaders would dare to do this. School leaders at Acera do... and that is exceptional.

Posted: November 12, 2018

That's the name of the game really. Acera knows that EVERYONE has learning differences... and approaches each student as such, building a real human relationship before even tackling academics and 'differentiation'.

Posted: November 12, 2018

Teaching at this school has really showed me what it means when teachers are up-to-date on the latest evidence behind decision-making. This is a place where evidence about learning drives decisions... and homework is not an exception.

Posted: November 12, 2018

As I said in the above text-fields... I had the pleasure of teaching at Acera and make no mistake... IT. IS. EXCEPTIONAL.

It is a place where learning is prioritized over 'education'. It's a place where the question is always about learning... and not about what the school system is doing or what the trends are. It is a place where people who are PASSIONATE about learning gather, and imagine what a school might be, even if school did not exist before. Just have a visit... it's hard to put in words, but have a visit!

Posted: November 6, 2018

ACERA has been a great school for both of our children. We have been part of the school for 4 years and both kids love it and look forward to going back in the fall or after vacations. The leadership is strong and committed. They have laser focus on doing whats right for the kids and helping them become the best that they can. We had the pleasure to work with 4 different teachers and they were true partners in helping our kids blossom as individuals in a community and academically.

Posted: October 30, 2018

Beyond what we had hoped for and exactly what we needed this year! Our son has gone from a bored, anxious, unmotivated student to an engaged, relaxed learner who is glad to go to school and creates his own follow-up projects based on what hes done that day and teaches us specialized vocabulary from his classes in architecture and woodshop. Couldnt be happier so far.

Posted: October 30, 2018

There is no homework for elementary students, until at least the higher math classes. This is in-line with current research on the (non-)utility of homework with younger students. We are happy that our current second grader is not spending time after school on homework, especially rote and repetitive work which is often assigned in other schools.

Posted: October 30, 2018

Effective teachers, to us, are ones who inspire our son to learn and who teach him new material at his level. We know this is the case because he actually wants to tell us what he learned after school! This is our first year here and this is completely opposite from his experience last year in public school.

Posted: October 30, 2018

Our impression is that this is one of the schools goals. We can say for sure that his current core classroom teacher integrates this into many situations.

Posted: October 30, 2018

In our personal experience, the leadership at Acera has been impressive. The result of the admissions process (thanks to leadership in this department) is a community of students whose needs are not otherwise met in school due to lack of gifted funding in MA. This has produced a group of parents who are so thankful for and proud of their school which benefits the group as a whole. Others have noted a high teacher turnover, and we realize this could be said about many schools, public and private, including the school our son attended last year. After speaking with other parents who do have first-hand knowledge of a recent situation, we are glad that the leadership was willing and able to make what sounded like a necessary change for the students involved, even though it was in the middle of the school year.

Posted: October 30, 2018

I would give this statement an even more positive rating if I could! This is in a nutshell why we are at Acera and why we are so pleased with it so far. Giftedness is a learning difference which was not at all supported in his school last year. This year he is taught at the level he is ready to learn, even if it is at different levels- like 2nd/3rd grade math and 5th/6th grade literacy.

Posted: October 30, 2018

We have not yet encountered bullying, which is a complete change from his school last year.

Posted: October 29, 2018

Acera does not believe in overloading children with pointless repetitions for homework. Homeworks mostly only starts in the Middle School, except for Math, where it begins earlier. Homework assignments are typically focused on kindling a creative spark or in-depth research, not route repetition.

Posted: October 29, 2018

The school is focused on supporting non-traditional learners, allowing students to focus on the area of strength and growth. School's moto is that no student is held back in how much they can achieve.

The teachers work diligently to provide a supportive environment and individualized attention to work on students' weaknesses as well.

However, this is a small private school, and they do not have resources for support and intervention in cases of a extreme emotional or behavioral needs. Traditional public school receive significant extra government funding and staffing to support those cases, and private schools do not.

Posted: October 29, 2018

I have several children in Acera, and they love the school. In fact, they are sad when the school closes for vacations and no-school days.

In school the kids get to engage in real science and research. They (and their parents) love the environment, where peers are interested in learning, discussing topics ranging from Mayya history to submarine design, to fractals, to comparative advantages of python over Scratch, to city planning, to intellectual property law, to better tax code design.

Posted: October 29, 2018

The school has some amazing teachers, who are great at identifying kids' individual strengths and needs. Much as anywhere, there's a lot to be said about the match between a teacher and a kid (or their family), but the school does a good job of trying to maximize such matches, which is possible thanks to multi-age classrooms. In the past, when we've had experience with ineffective teachers, those teachers were replaced quickly.

Posted: October 29, 2018

One of the concerns we had in sending our kids to a school that bills itself as a school for gifted kids was whether all kids there would be "Type A" personalities, and whether it would be too competitive for our kids, who tend to be much more about playing together, sharing and caring -- which is also the values we were hoping to encourage in them. What we found was that our fears were completely unfounded. The school is tremendous about both teaching students to work and play together, and, at the same time, encouraging each kid to develop their own individual leadership style. If you ever wonder about Acera's students' character, come over during recess, when the whole school is outside together, and upperclassmen are playing or teaching elementary kids, and when integrity and compassion are easy to spot even in everyday ordinary activities.

Posted: October 29, 2018

One of my children is twice exceptional -- meaning that they are both gifted, and, at the same time, have learning difficulties in one area. We've seen the school to be very supportive of their learning style and to work with us to improve this child's overall experience.

Posted: October 29, 2018

If I were to give one advice to parents considering Acera, it would be this: please consider it for your girls. Somehow it's more typical to think of a STEAM school for boys (especially those who are bored in other schools), but girls sometimes tend to fit in better in other environments, and so it may be that a family thinks that they are doing well enough. I used to think that we knew our daughter, and that she was happy in her previous school, and that we were transferring our kids to Acera because it would be a great fit for our son. I had no idea just how wonderful, and how needed it was for our daughter also.

This is my family's 6th year at Acera, and we foresee another 6+ years there (that's what happens when you have children of very different ages). We are extremely passionate about Acera, which is not to say that we find it absolutely problem-free. As with any school, private or public, there may be issues that come up. What I've been impressed with is how the school deals with those issues. We've felt that our concerns were heard and addressed.
The level of flexibility of the school is really unparalleled, as well as the level of instruction. Where else can your 6th grader do Algebra II and Precalculus material? And not because the school is about pushing kids ahead, but because this is truly the right level for them, and they are enjoying it and are coming home energized and excited about their math classes (and even homework)?

Not only does the school excel at science teaching (Real CRISPR work as a 6th grade lab, anyone?!), but in the past few years they've really stepped up in the Humanities/Social Sciences areas. The Middle school has some amazing electives, including the US Government & US Courts electives, Geography, Ancient History, Astronomy, Learning about the Holocaust, etc.

Posted: October 29, 2018

There is no homework in the elementary school, except for high-level math classes, and I think that's absolutely the right approach, which is funny, because I used to be one of those parents who used to think that if kids aren't getting homework, then they are "not learning anything." But as my kids have been growing up, I've seen how much of the homework in other schools and afterschool activities (like Russian School of Math) is really just worksheets, which do little to improve one's understanding of concepts.

And to the extent there is homework at Acera, I've found it to be non-rote, but interesting, challenging work that prepares kids for the kind of work they'll be doing in high school and college and beyond. E.g. my kids who are in Middle School right now spend a fair amount of time doing lab pre-work and lab write-up assignments, and that work involves online research and making independent analysis and judgements about the information presented, while learning to organize it in a way that real life scientists do.

Posted: October 25, 2018

This school has been a game changer for my child. After years of frustration for him with school, when we started at Acera, he bloomed. He is so genuinely happy and excited about what happens at the school, and spends his evening sharing all the cool ideas and projects he is working on, both at school and on his own, thanks to the inspiration he gets from school. I work in teacher education, and see tons of schools, and this place is like none other - and it shows everyday in the level of joy my son experiences in learning. It is a place where children are accepted, inspired, challenged, and set on a path to be life long learners and thinkers. Thank you Acera!

Posted: October 25, 2018

The school really believes children should be playing and doing their own explorations (and we all know how busy many of our kids are afterschool!) so they have a very minimal homework in Elementary, and then this grows in Middle School.

Posted: October 25, 2018

The teachers here are absolutely amazing. When my son has had challenges, they really come together to problem solve with and for him. My 10 year old son LOVES school so much, he is really bummed if there is a day off!

Posted: October 25, 2018

A super strong focus on character development through student reflection, learning, ethics, and teachers and staff that really model character through compassion and leadership.

Posted: October 25, 2018

A strong, committed leadership team runs the school. The founder is an incredible visionary, and has hired smart, caring people to lead the day to day work of the school. I always feel welcome here.

Posted: October 25, 2018

Yes! When my son has had challenges, there is a team approach to figuring out what supports and strategies would work for him.

Posted: October 25, 2018

With so much focus on character, the teachers are really careful to intervene and communicate about any issues of bullying. It is not tolerated, but instead worked with from a lens of coaching and support wherever possible.

Posted: September 17, 2018

We had high hopes for our child at Acera, which bills itself as a school for gifted children with a focus on innovation. Unfortunately, the school has grandiose plans, and certainly knows how to hype it up at the open houses, but they have a real difficulty in executing those plans. A major part of the problem is the revolving door of teachers. They cant seem to retain what seems like up to 75% of the teachers. There are only a handful that have been there more than a few years. It seemed like every month, we got a long email about who was leaving for various reasons, and who new was replacing them, and how great the replacement was. I would go to pick up my child and not recognize many of the faces in and around the school. I think the administration quickly grabs who they can to fill an open spot for those who leave or are asked to leave (which happens constantly throughout the year, very disruptive to the kids), without carefully considering if it is a good fit. Many did not have the credentials to fill the role they were hired for. At one point, the founder claimed that all the teachers at the school are gifted. This is definitely not the case. After only one year here, we started looking elsewhere and have moved on.

Posted: August 25, 2018

The teachers love and respect my children and what is unique about them. They feel happy and loved at Acera!

Posted: August 25, 2018

The public school was destroying my child. He was bored, sad, and wilting. Acera is a very special place. He is blooming again.

Posted: August 25, 2018

This school does something very unique, it listens and respects the students as citizens of the world. It gives them room to grow, experiment, and be imperfect on their road to growing up! It is not easy to be a change maker who challenges the status quo of what learning should be. The leadership of this school does that!

Posted: August 25, 2018

In my opinion, to be gifted is to learn differently than most of the children around you. There are kids at Acera who talk a mile a minute and bounce with energy, there are children who are quieter and more introspective and calm, there are those who excel at math, while others build, and some are amazing performers. This isnt the school where the kids sit obediently at their desks. And yes, some kids struggle with social interactions, just like some struggle with reading. But at Acera, all are welcomed and loved. The teachers lift of the children and focus on strengths while working to mitigate areas of weakness. All of the teachers here have a high level of understanding of these kids and what it means to be gifted!

Posted: August 25, 2018

We feel blessed to have found this school. If you are looking for a traditional school where kids sit obediently in rows, this is not it. They are building future leaders here, and they do it well. My kids are so happy here, they love it!

Posted: May 17, 2018

Learning about Acera school by accident was one of the best accidents in our lives! There are a lot of great schools in MA and we had tried a couple of them before luckily learning about Acera. But Acera is not just a great school. Acera is a fantastic and unique environment that allows your children to find their voice, their hidden talents, their passion. It is an environment that not only allows but also encourages children to dream big and be fearless in their imagination and then guide them and equip them with the tools to convert their imagination to an actual reality. A lot of thought and planning goes into planning a dynamic curriculum at Acera each year so that it provides a context of interrelated themes for learning. There is no mold at Acera that everyone has to fit in to. At Acera individual differences are valued and allowed. At Acera your child, his/her dislikes, his/her hopes completely matter and are taken into account in their education. All of these allow development of confident individuals who will be ready to fearlessly take on challenges and care and dare to think of solutions for them and be the force of good and force of change. What better experience can a parent wish for more than this?

Posted: May 17, 2018

At Acera learning and nurturing curiosity has the highest priority and homework is there as long as it supports learning not as a repetitive task that must occur no matter what.

Posted: May 17, 2018

The teachers at Acera are exceptionally unique and talented individuals who are not only experts in the subject matters that they teach but they are also truly very passionate about their roles as mentors. They are fantastic role models for our children. They are fun, curious, smart individuals with tremendous entrepreneurial skills which allows them to develop deep and meaningful experiences for our children and dive deep into topics and go on tangents if necessary.

Posted: May 17, 2018

Just walk into the school and see it for yourself! Acera is a small, dynamic community of children and adults who thrive in appreciating integrity, compassion and respect for each other. The culture of community nurtures and strengthens these values at Acera even further.

Posted: May 17, 2018

The leadership at school phenomenal. The leadership is open-minded, progressive, open to new ideas, able to listen, open to change, flexible and welcomes criticism. The leadership is truly committed to the thriving of the children to become the best versions of themselves above and beyond everything and anything else and wants what is best for each and every child.

Posted: May 17, 2018

Not only there are specific programs at Acera to support special learning needs in case a child needs it, for every single child at Acera an individualized learning plan is developed at the beginning of the year. This is not a plan that is developed by the teachers only. The plan is developed after a "listening conference" with the parents of the child to learn more about the child's learning style, learning needs, and goals. This is also not a rigid plan and could evolve as the needs come up.

Posted: May 17, 2018

Posted: May 16, 2018

Acera does a good job accepting 2E kids who they know will be a good fit. My child was on an IEP in public school, and is receiving much better executive functioning and SEL support here.

Posted: May 14, 2018

The teachers at this school are exceptional. They understand the kids' individual learning styles. In the younger grades, the teachers teach empathy and respect for each other. They also teach that children can have different strengths, which eliminates unhealthy comparisons. For example, that some kids are good at math and others at verbal or artistic endeavors. The children learn from and respect each others' differences. The teachers at this school go above and beyond in making sure the kids are learning.

Posted: May 14, 2018

Our boys have been at the school for 5, 3, and 2 years. They have grown into independent, confident thinkers who respect their classmates and always try to do the right thing.

Posted: May 14, 2018

We were drawn to the school when our first child was being bullied in preschool for being smart. Acera has given him confidence and self esteem that I doubt he would have gotten at the public school. We have not experienced any bullying issues at Acera.

Posted: May 14, 2018

Acera has been wonderful for our elementary kids. They have learned to be independent thinkers and have developed wonderful friendships. Their exposure to math, science, and computers has been outstanding. They go to school every day with a smile on their faces. We have been very happy.

Posted: May 14, 2018

This school understands that excessive homework in the younger grades, especially if it's just "busy work", can be detrimental to children who learn quickly. The reason we have loved this school for our elementary-aged children is that the kids retain their excitement for learning, since they are not given boring homework every night. They are excited to go to school and actually dread snow days and lament the approaching summer vacation. The kids that do best at this school are kids who love to learn.

Posted: May 14, 2018

Unlike many private schools, which are driven by a kind of elitism, Acera seems to attract families who have been disappointed by the ability of their local public school to provide the kind of excitement and stimulus that they feels their child needs if they are going to grow into the potential that their unusual intelligence seems to promise. Our children are eight years apart, and for both of them the school has been a source of challenge, creativity, and passion for learning. Sure there have been a few bumps along the way, but we would rather have a few bumps than mind-deadening boredom.

Posted: May 14, 2018

Our daughter joined Acera in 7th grade, largely because her previous school no longer challenged her, and her natural curiosity and energy for learning were being frustrated by a one-size-fits-all approach to education, which left her bored, while superficially highly successful. By the time she was in 8th grade at Acera she was pretty busy in the evenings, but enjoyed it and found the work meaningful. She is now at probably the most academically demanding school in the Boston area, and is well-prepared, and still passionate about learning.

Our 6 year old son is in Lower Elementary at Acera and has no organized homework, but he often develops projects at home stimulated by what he has been working on at school.

Posted: May 14, 2018

Acera's philosophy of engaged and more individualized project-based learning places big demands on teachers, and there are times when the right balance between individualized learning and overall clarity of purpose in the classroom has been hard to maintain. Some children whose high intelligence has resulted in frustration with traditional education have brought their frustrations with them to Acera and take a while to adjust. This can be distracting at times for children who are excited by the opportunities the school offers and don't have trouble adjusting to the flexibility the school offers. Overall, this is a talented, imaginative and dedicated group of teachers who understand the special challenges that really bright children can bring to the classroom, and address those challenges thoughtfully. Some parents seem disappointed that the school doesn't provide a more rigidly controled (and often boring) environment, when that kind of environment is exactly whqat drove them to seek our Acera in the first place. Education is difficult, especially for bright kids, and always imperfect. The interesting thing about Acera is the founding director's fearless commitment to exploration and improvement, and her constant search for the right fit between teachers and the school, even when this means making tough choices.

Posted: May 14, 2018

The school's heavy emphasis on social andf emotional learning - and it can seem almost too heavy at times- is a natural counterweight to the temptation to push very bright students to do nothing but academic work, so that they can out-shine other children of their age - an approach that can be highly detrimental to children's well-rounded development.

Posted: May 14, 2018

Acera's founder and director has a very focused understanding of the multi-faceted challenges that many really intelligent children can face in school, and has worked over the past eight years to create a setting where those children can flourish, not only academically, but as human beings. This means teaching children to appreciate and value all the multiple aspects of their own intelligence, to develop their knowledge/understanding at a pace that makes sense for them, and to integrate their intelligence with human qualities of empathy, tolerance, and generosity.

The director's efforts to balance a real commitment to meeting the distinct needs of highly intelligent but sometimes demanding students with the need to maintain an orderly and purposeful environment inevitably makes some parents unhappy. The director is not afraid to deal with issues that can arise with complicated children.

Posted: May 14, 2018

Acera has develop a real interest and competence in supporting children with a extraordinary skills and knowledge sometimes mixed with real challenges, in such areas as executive function or ADHD. These combination are not uncommon in really bright children, and Acera continues to explore how best to support children like this.

Posted: May 14, 2018

For whatever reason, bullying has not been something that either of our children has ever witnessed at Acera. Perhaps this is because a diverse collection of bright kids tends to have a natural tolerance for differences.

Posted: April 3, 2018

Despite all the above issues with Acera, it's still the only school I have come across with the level of individualized learning that gifted kids need (especially if they aren't synchronously developed in all areas). We really agree with their philosophy of creating ability based groups for math and language and allowing kids to learn as fast as they want but without the pressure of tests. There are a few issues that could be worked through if only constructive feedback were truly welcome.

Posted: April 3, 2018

The support/ counseling staff is really not effective in dealing with bullying. They support staff don't have real empathy with students and their interactions don't seem very authentic. The kids don't have much respect for the counsellors either. As a result, when the counsellors tell the kids not to do something, the kids just ignore them. Or worse yet, the kids know that they can continue what they are doing when staff isn't looking. Again, the school hasn't quite figured out how to deal with this issue effectively and figured out consequences.

Posted: April 3, 2018

We have loved being at this school but Acera isn't what it used to be a few years ago. The constant turnover of teachers and losing some of the best teachers has been very disruptive. When you create a new and different model of learning, you find some things that work well and some things that require improvement. Given that the founder is in a mindset where she isn't open to feedback that doesn't reinforce her view of the world, it's hard to see how some of the issues at the school will be resolved. So while we've been grateful to Acera so far, we're no longer there.

What the school does well:
- creative teachers, engaging the students, getting them to truly love learning without the pressure of tests - this was why we stayed

What requires improvement:
- many disruptive kids with social/ emotional issues, knowing that they can get away with anything because there are no consequences to anything. This can get very frustrating to kids who want to learn but have disruptive classmates.
- Kids start to think that they are entitled to having creative and entertaining content created by the teachers, i.e. if they find some material boring and they're distracted, it's the teacher's fault for not presenting material in an interesting enough way. While it is possible for material to be presented in a mind-numbingly boring way (although I haven't seen that at Acera), creating this feeling of entitlement means these kids don't know how to challenge themselves to find the beauty in something when it's not presented in an interesting enough way...
- While it's great that kids don't get homework, they also don't get enough practice in something like Math. I am not advocating for a lot of homework and for the most part I like how math is taught at Acera. However I often find that the fundamentals are not very strong because the kids lack practice.

Despite the cons, we would have stayed at Acera if we believed in the leadership and that things were going to improve. But sadly we've only seen in decline over the past few years.

Posted: April 3, 2018

Most core classroom teachers that are absolutely amazing, and a couple of core classroom teachers that are OK. The problem is with the leadership, so there is a lot of turnover in staff and creates instability. As a parent, it's really sad to see some of the best teachers leave.

Posted: April 3, 2018

There are many kids with emotional/ behavioral issues and in general it feels like there are no consequences for their misbehavior. Even the kids say this amongst themselves. I asked my child if they reported an incident and they said "What's the point? It's not like they'll do anything about it. They'll just 'talk' to the child and nothing happens"...

Posted: February 4, 2018

Relies on evidence-based practices by grade. In lower grades, only math homework is given. Upper grades have more.

Posted: February 4, 2018

Flexible, responsive to the interests of the students and has leeway to shape their curriculum accordingly.

Posted: February 4, 2018

I dont know how they do it, exactly... but these is a great community here. All
Kids have their quirks and rough patches, but staff and teachers pay close attention to the dynamics, and identify areas where children who are struggling can learn from the situations they find themselves in, or the conflict they may have created. They truly do seek to foster kindness.

Posted: February 4, 2018

This is still a young school, so there seems to be. Lot of transition as they search for highly skilled teachers that can fit the pedagogy. They are still adding support staff as funding stabilized and needs arise.

Posted: February 4, 2018

Emphasis is on building community and helping kids negotiate/communicate respectfully.

Posted: February 4, 2018

After a year and a half, we are still very confident in the positive and challenging experience our child is having. We feel very supported (parents and child alike).

Posted: January 20, 2018

For a school with kids with so many behavioral problems, there's only one competent counselor. The principal of the school is extremely biased and just wants your money.

Posted: January 20, 2018

Ive been a parent of this school for a few years now and its been getting worse and worse. Theres quite a bit of instability and leadership is not effective. The directors at this school are not who I want my children to have as role models. I love the teachers here which is why weve kept our children here but its going down fast.

Posted: January 20, 2018

Posted: September 7, 2017

Such an awesome school! The kids all look so happy being there and everyone there works hard to keep it that way!

Posted: August 21, 2017

Acera is amazing! My son arrived at Acera in the 3rd grade after being severely bullied at his prior private school. He was gripped with fear and anxiety upon arrival and by the end of his first year, he had friends and a sense of belonging. On a scale from 1 to 10, he gave the school a 10, his teacher a 12, and us, his parents, a 9. He loves Acera. Looking back, it is easy to see why. Acera has open spaces that give him a sense that he can build anything he can imagine. One workspace has wood-working tools and materials, another has electronic benches and 3D printers, and yet another is a biological and DNA lab. Here are the woodworking projects my son brought home from 3rd grade. He built his own bubble gum machine, stool, cart, bridge, and marble maze game. He wrote computer programs that integrated music, animation and algorithmic thinking. He and his classmates ranked among the top 10 students in the state on a national mathematics test. He made friends and gained a passion for soccer, which he played at lunchtime with teams of students and teachers. My son has always had a passion to learn and Acera gives him the opportunity to soar, with a focus not only STEM subjects but also on developing leadership skills through a focus on group work. Working with others is hard among adults, can you imagine among 3rd graders? Acera places a lot of effort on getting students to work together, which of course, means teaching them to manage emotional and social conflicts in order to achieve a common goal. That is just hard work for young children, but it is exactly the kind of inter-personal development that yields lifelong benefits, such as advocating for himself, being flexible in interactions, and being part of a team. I could go on and on about the joys of Acera, but let me end with just one more. The teachers do not assign homework in the elementary school. That has given us a tremendous opportunity for extracurricular activities that enrich his life. He plays the piano, competes in chess tournaments, and takes on his own projects. While I have shared my sons story, it is not unusual. My conversations with other Acera parents highlight many of these same points, but also includes a rich assortment of other activities and joys, which only underscores how Acera is somehow providing unique magical experiences broadly.

Posted: December 16, 2015

Anova School, renamed Acera School, has moved from Melrose to Winchester, MA. I am a parent reviewing this school with a good amount of recent experience there.

Although the school bills itself as a "STEM school for gifted children", it really is not. They have a very charismatic school director who speaks very eloquently about the mission and goals of the school. She talks about accelerating gifted children according to their abilities, no testing, no homework, inquiry-based learning, and a rich STEM curriculum. This all sounds absolutely wonderful. However, I was taken in and now regret sending my child here.

This school has a very, very high percentage of gifted children who have social and emotional and attentional issues. Classrooms are chaotic. They spend a large amount of time each day working on social/emotional learning for the kids. The Middle School is particularly bad in this regard, where it more resembles a day treatment program than an actual school. Although STEM is emphasized in the marketing materials, my child didn't receive much STEM learning beyond what you can get at a traditional, rigorous private school. In addition, since there is a lack of structure, no testing or studying or notetaking or homework at all, the kids have no idea how to function when faced with things like deadlines or real work in outside middle or high schools, unless they are one of those naturally very well organized and self-motivated children. Be prepared to do a lot of supportive work at home and at your new school to deal with the fact that your child now has no idea how to settle down and do any real work at school.

Safety is also a significant concern at the school. Children are not well monitored, and at the Middle School level are left alone in classrooms for 60 or more minutes at a time to "work on projects". The playground is hazardous. Children are allowed to work with tools and equipment far too advanced for their maturity level without much supervision. They have been hit with hammers in the workshop, had their hair almost caught on fire in the lab, and been punctured deeply in the legs by materials on the playground.

I would avoid this school.

Base	Distance
Hanscom AFB	7.4 mi.
Coast Guard Boston	8 mi.
Natick Soldier Systems Command	16.8 mi.
Fort Devens	25.1 mi.
Londonderry Armed Forces Reserve Center	33.9 mi.
New Boston Air Force Station	41.5 mi.
Pease Air Base	45.1 mi.
Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (Kittery Maine)	47 mi.
Coast Guard Providence	47.2 mi.

Acera School

Winchester, MA 01890

Refine Search

National Ad

Acera School

Winchester, MA 01890

Refine Search

National Ad

Email Address *

*We take your personal information very seriously and will never give it to a 3rd party. If you don't enjoy the email series, you can always unsubscribe at anytime.*

We take your personal information very seriously and will never give it to a 3rd party. If you don't enjoy the email series, you can always unsubscribe at anytime.