Yes! (Maybe? What even is a real school?!)

We’re an approved private school and registered as such with the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE).

A microschool means a school that is small on purpose.

Elements Academy chooses to stay a small school (on purpose) to keep student to teacher ratio low and allows children the opportunity to flourish in a cozy setting.

YES to individualized attention and home-away-from-home

NO to assembly-line learning and busy, crowded, chaos

Elements Academy as an organization, a school, and the individuals of which it is comprised, is committed to unpacking systemic issues in the education system (among other systems). We honor diversity, equity, and inclusion in our hiring, our enrollment, and our daily life.

We have honest and difficult conversations; we engage the children in real historical (past and present) lessons; and we hope the school can educate, inspire, and awaken this generation of children as allies for all.

We welcome (with open arms, if you’re the hugging type) families of all family structure, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, and ethnicity.

We gladly welcome children of all abilities.

“A disability is not a disability until the environment a person is in makes it one” - Jonathon Mooney

Teachers at Elements Academy are highly skilled in supporting children with all learning styles. Our approach is different than in public schools, so kids on IEPs or 504s are not singled out or receiving ‘special education services’ - everyone just gets what they need (and we don’t all need the same thing).

By the nature of our approach, many students who have been diagnosed with disabilities succeed with flying colors. Our program is built to serve the whole child and every student is guided to explore their inner genius.

Children who have been diagnosed with disabilities because they are unable to access the general education curriculum - one may ask, Is it the child? Or is it the system whom is disabled?

*Due to the nature of our community and sensitivity of our students, we are not the right fit for children who exhibit outwardly explosive or unsafe behaviors.

While we don’t have traditional grade levels, we serve students ages 3 through 18.

We believe that children learn best when working with those younger and older than themselves rather than split up into groups based solely on age. Students are separated into multi-age groups (ages 3-6; ages 6-11; ages 11-14; ages 14-18) and provided time to all be together, as well.

Yessss - we LOVE this question! We write the BEST progress reports. Twice a year, we provide families with a report that shows the skills each student has mastered and is working on; we also include anecdotal information about each student in each category so you get a really clear sense of your child as a student. It’s really awesome - most parents say it’s more information than they’ve ever received about their child.

YES! We are a private school and, as such, provide a full transcript upon graduation. Graduates may use that for colleges, careers, or just for fun!