Place-Based Learning Meets Students Where They Live

At URBAN ACT Academy, our school, neighborhoods, communities, and city serve as both the setting and the springboard for student investigations. It’s an educational approach called place-based learning.

Start your URBAN ACT experience in Fall 2018.

Rigorous Instruction, Based in Real Life

In place-based learning, students learn traditional subjects such as math, science, social studies, and language arts by studying the world around them.

For example, our students study urban gardens to expand their understanding of environmental science, biology, public health, and economics. During their investigation, they may visit nearby gardens, explore the soil and its ecosystem, and map the locations of the nearest grocery stores to understand the problem of food deserts.

Wherever their observations and questions take our students, URBAN ACT Academy teachers develop exciting lesson plans to get students asking big questions, proposing their own answers, and trying out each other’s ideas.


A School Without Walls

How exactly do you build a school without walls? You find a great outside partner. URBAN ACT Academy has a unique partnership with Indy Parks to support our place-based educational model and environmental themes. Kids get outside, get busy, and get excited about school—and about what they’re learning.



Ready to put your passion for teaching into action?