I’ve been involved in education all my life, either as a teacher, a manager or a learner myself , at all levels, in Romania and abroad. While thinking ahead for my children’s education, I started looking beyond traditional education to see what opportunities were available. During this journey, ranging from researching, visiting and experiencing homeschooling, democratic schools and alternative education programmes, I happened upon Acton Academy and became fascinated. I looked more deeply into this model, and thought “This is the kind of school that I wish I had attended! This is what my children and all children should benefit from.” After much thought and consideration, I looked into creating my own Acton Academy, together with friends and parents driven by the same urge and beliefs. I visited the founding (flagship) campus out in Austin, TX and talked extensively with the founders, Laura and Jeff Sandefer, to understand the concepts, methods and standards we will use as their affiliate in Bucharest, Romania. In September 2019, Acton Academy Bucharest will open for elementary school children (ages 5-10), with the future aim to expand to middle school and high school students. Acton learners seek mastery of the core skills of reading, writing, spelling, and math. They also experience deep-learning “quests” throughout the school year which build the knowledge, skills, techniques, self-drive, self-reliance, self-confidence and the “grit” to be successful in the 21st century.