All Research Innovation in Education Student voices From the classroom Students at work @CourtneyofAcera
Save the Date! Acera’s Innovator Symposium is October 24
What does an ocean-going robot do? What really is the secret life of bees? What does super-resolution microscopy look like? What can we learn about the earliest stages of heart disease? How can artificial intelligence help people make personal decisions? What will healing therapies… Read More
Category: Acera News, AceraBlogPost, Innovation in Education, Uncategorized | October 8, 2019 | kerry
Middle school students bring a modular classroom to life
“It’s really cool to see this built…and real!” The excitement and pride was palpable as students, teachers, and parents gathered on a sunny morning in June. Behind them, brightly colored ribbons – awaiting the ceremonial cutting – surrounded… Read More
Category: AceraBlogPost, from the classroom, Gallery, Innovation in Education, Students at work | September 23, 2019 | kerry
AceraEI secures $50k Amgen Foundation grant towards life sciences training for public schools
The Amgen Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the global biotechnology company Amgen, has awarded $50,000 to Acera: The Massachusetts School for Science, Technology and Leadership and its public outreach division, Acera Education Innovations (AceraEI). The grant will support… Read More
Category: Acera News, Blog, Innovation in Education | September 10, 2019 | kerry
If your kids loved that, then they’ll enjoy this!
What a wonderful summer! Hundreds of kids came to Acera to make, discover, inquire, write, design, and create. The journeys can continue after school with Acera’s Enrichment Programs. Space is filling up quickly, so register for Trimester 1… Read More
Category: Blog, from the classroom, Innovation in Education | September 4, 2019 | kerry
AceraEI offers free workshops for public school science teachers
Acera’s Education Innovation Initiative (AceraEI) is pleased to announce its third Life Sciences Change Agent Teacher (LSCAT) Workshop series in the fall of 2019! Gene Editing with CRISPR: October 18 and November 15, 2019 February 7 and March… Read More
Category: Acera News, AceraBlogPost, Innovation in Education | August 26, 2019 | kerry
Top five free actions to make schools better, and students happier
By Courtney Dickinson Kids often dread their return to school in the fall, and we – as adults – let them. Societally, we have made it a rite of passage to hate school, and we joke with students… Read More
Category: @CourtneyofAcera, AceraBlogPost, Blog, Innovation in Education, Research | August 13, 2019 | kerry
What I did on my summer vacation: the teachers’ version!
We love hearing about what students are up to over summer vacation, be it a cool STEM camp, a great trip with family, or time spent at the beach or in a park. And we’re equally interested in… Read More
Category: Acera News, AceraBlogPost, Innovation in Education | August 12, 2019 | kerry
Courtney Dickinson on what’s possible in education
Courtney Dickinson sits down with Allen Saakyan of Simulation Series to discuss why she founded Acera, her 10 Tools to Transform Schools, and her mission to help build the next generation of scientists, innovators, and leaders.
Category: @CourtneyofAcera, Acera News, AceraBlogPost, Blog, Innovation in Education, Uncategorized | July 23, 2019 | kerry
Creating a sense of purpose at school
By Courtney Dickinson I read an insightful piece in the Boston Globe this week on the link between happiness and having a sense of purpose. Simply put, people with a sense of purpose live longer, happier, and more… Read More
Category: @CourtneyofAcera, AceraBlogPost, Blog, Innovation in Education | May 23, 2019 | kerry
Biomes and Butterflies!
How do land and water ecosystems interact? How are their food webs structured? What role does a pollinator play? These are the questions studied by Acera students in Mr. Michael’s “Biomes and Butterflies” elective. The kids created their… Read More
Category: AceraBlogPost, Blog, from the classroom, Innovation in Education, Uncategorized | May 22, 2019 | kerry
Tech Hub enables students to emerge as community-minded technologists able to solve problems to benefit the whole school. More a philosophy than a place, Tech Hub can start as simply a cart in a cafeteria with one student fired up to be a knowledgable, technically skillful community member. Concurrently developing emotional intelligence skills and a wide array of technological abilities, Tech Hub members model and spread an attitude of fearlessness at using STEM tools to solve real problems.
Small children can understand big ideas, and computer science is no exception. Acera’s hands-on “Computers and Me” curriculum introduces early elementary students to computer science concepts, and is one example of many creative ways computational thinking and technical fluency can be developed throughout K-12 education, starting at age 5. Pilot-tested and ready to translate for adoption by public schools, these computer science learning approaches help students become facile and fearless.
What if math classes are organized based on what each student is ready to learn, rather than by age? This f
How can educators unleash the initiative and creativity inherent in all children? 
At Acera, we believe a school’s success can be measured far beyond its standardized test scores. How happy are its students? Do they feel a sense of purpose at school? Are they developing a capacity for perspective taking and problem solving? Can they stick to something even when it’s hard? Acera’s Education Innovation team is working to change how we measure education to include students’ wellbeing, habits of mind, and feeling of belonging at school.