Astra Nova School, successor to Ad Astra, is a non-profit online school founded by Elon Musk and Joshua Dahn on the campus of SpaceX.[1] The Washington Post said it was possibly "the most exclusive school in the world".[2] Some consider Astra Nova to be one of the world's most innovative schools, and represents the "next frontier in STEM education."[3][4][5]

History

Ad Astra (which means "To the stars" in Latin), was launched in 2014 after Musk pulled his five sons out of school,[6] saying in an interview that "They weren't doing the things I thought should be done."[7] Musk hired Joshua Dahn to design the new school and teach a small group of students, mainly Musk's own children and those of SpaceX employees, for free.[8][9] Grades, foreign language studies, and music lessons were notably absent from the school's curriculum.[10] The school left SpaceX campus in June 2020 when Musk's children graduated.[11]

In Walter Isaacson's biography Elon Musk, Musk states, "They went there until they were about fourteen but then I thought they should be introduced to the real world for high school. What I should have done is extend Ad Astra through high school."[12]

In August 2020, the former faculty and students of Ad Astra created the non-profit Astra Nova School.[13]

Curriculum

The curriculum focuses on first principles thinking, decision making, and collaboration.[14] It employs the use of various open-ended scenarios, called "Conundrums", that encourage constructive disagreement. Conundrums have been used in millions of classrooms in partnership with ClassDojo.[15][11] Synthesis, a venture-backed educational technology company founded in 2020, is also based on the work of Astra Nova.[16]

Operations

The school is currently run by Joshua Dahn and co-founders Dr. Rosemary Rohde and Tara Safronoff.[17][18] The school attracts talented students ages 10–14 and currently has an enrollment of 250 from around the world.[19]

References

  1. ↑ Cite web |title= Elon Musk lectures Ad Astra school students about first principles thinking in rare video |url=https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-elon-musk-ad-astra-school-lecture-video/
  2. ↑ Holley, Peter (2019-12-23). "Elon Musk created a secretive 'laboratory school' for brilliant kids who love flamethrowers". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2023-10-25.
  3. ↑ "Elon Musk's Experimental School Is Opening Up to Children for Online Learning". InsideHook. Retrieved 2023-12-09.
  4. ↑ Fourtané, Susan (2020-09-09). "Elon Musk's Astra Nova School Leads the Future of Education". interestingengineering.com. Retrieved 2023-12-09.
  5. ↑ "The Next Frontier in STEM Education". City Journal. Retrieved 2023-12-09.
  6. ↑ Kosoff, Maya. "Elon Musk creates a grade school". Business Insider. Retrieved 2023-10-25.
  7. ↑ Opam, Kwame (2015-05-22). "Elon Musk created his own grade school for the children of SpaceX employees". The Verge. Retrieved 2023-10-25.
  8. ↑ Harris, Mark (2020-07-05). "Would You Pay $7,500 to Educate Your Kid Like Elon Musk's?". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2023-10-25.
  9. ↑ "Elon Musk didn't like his kids' school, so he started his own". VentureBeat. 2015-05-24. Retrieved 2023-10-25.
  10. ↑ "Inside Elon Musk's Ad Astra School Where Grades and Traditional Classes Don't Exist". Yahoo Finance. 2018-06-26. Retrieved 2023-10-26.
  11. 1 2 Jones, Sarah (2022-08-10). "SpaceXCadets". Intelligencer. Retrieved 2023-10-25.
  12. ↑ "What drove Elon Musk — onetime Democratic 'fanboy' — to troll progressive politics". 2023-11-14.
  13. ↑ "The Next Frontier in STEM Education". City Journal. Retrieved 2023-10-28.
  14. ↑ "Behind Elon Musk's Management Philosophy: First Principles".
  15. ↑ "conundrums". Astra Nova School. Retrieved 2023-10-31.
  16. ↑ "Elon Musk's SpaceX lab school principles now molding young innovators around the world".
  17. ↑ Hollier, Shireen (2022-07-02). "Elon Musk Created A Private School For His Kids; Now, It's Been Shut Down". TheThings. Retrieved 2023-10-25.
  18. ↑ "The Future Elon Musks of Astra Nova School". 2023-11-14.
  19. ↑ "Astra Nova School". Astra Nova School. Retrieved 2023-11-14.


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