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. The Washington Post said it was possibly "the most exclusive school in the world".[1]
History
editAd Astra (meaning "To the stars" in Latin) was launched in 2014 after Musk pulled his five sons out of school,[2] saying in an interview that "They weren't doing the things I thought should be done."[3] 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.[4][5] Grades, foreign language studies, and music lessons were notably absent from the school's curriculum.[6] The school left SpaceX campus in June 2020 when Musk's children graduated.[7]
In Walter Isaacson's 2023 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."[8]
In August 2020, the former faculty and students of Ad Astra created the non-profit Astra Nova School.[9]
Curriculum
editThe curriculum focuses on first principles thinking, decision making, and collaboration.[10] According to The New York Times, Musk and Dahn split intellectual property of the school 50-50 [11] Ad Astra and Astra Nova use various open-ended scenarios, called "Conundrums", that encourage constructive disagreement. Conundrums have been used in millions of classrooms in partnership with ClassDojo.[12][7] Synthesis, a venture-backed educational technology company founded in 2020, is also based on the work of Astra Nova.[13]
Operations
editThe school is currently run by Joshua Dahn and co-founders Dr. Rosemary Rohde and Tara Safronoff.[14][7] The school accepts students ages 10–14 and currently has an enrollment of 300 from around the world.[15]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ 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.
- ^ Kosoff, Maya. "Elon Musk creates a grade school". Business Insider. Retrieved 2023-10-25.
- ^ Opam, Kwame (2015-05-22). "Elon Musk created his own grade school for the children of SpaceX employees". The Verge. Retrieved 2023-10-25.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Elon Musk didn't like his kids' school, so he started his own". VentureBeat. 2015-05-24. Retrieved 2023-10-25.
- ^ "Inside Elon Musk's Ad Astra School Where Grades and Traditional Classes Don't Exist". Yahoo Finance. 2018-06-26. Retrieved 2023-10-26.
- ^ a b c Jones, Sarah (2022-08-10). "SpaceXCadets". Intelligencer. Retrieved 2023-10-25.
- ^ "What drove Elon Musk — onetime Democratic 'fanboy' — to troll progressive politics". Los Angeles Times. 2023-11-14.
- ^ "The Next Frontier in STEM Education". City Journal. Retrieved 2023-10-28.
- ^ Higgins, Tim. "Behind Elon Musk's Management Philosophy: First Principles". WSJ.
- ^ Fahrenthold, David A.; Mac, Ryan (10 March 2024). "Elon Musk Has a Giant Charity. Its Money Stays Close to Home". The New York Times.
- ^ "conundrums". Astra Nova School. Retrieved 2023-10-31.
- ^ "Elon Musk's SpaceX lab school principles now molding young innovators around the world". 30 January 2021.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Astra Nova School". Astra Nova School. Retrieved 2023-11-14.