Introducing our founder, Beth Ann Valavanis

Welcome! I'm so glad you are here. I wanted to take a minute to introduce myself.

I'm Beth Ann Valavanis, founder of Apollo Academy. Just like you, I'm a mom who was considering options for elementary school for my daughter. Distraught and frustrated with the lack of options in South Tampa, I looked to other cities to see what options were available. That's when I stumbled upon Acton Academy- I had never articulated my philosophy of education the way the Acton model is put into practice, but it was exactly what I was looking for. I knew that if I felt this way about education, then there had to be a tribe of families in our community who felt the same way. 

So I took my 15 years of business experience and launched Apollo Academy in August 2022 with a dozen like-minded families.

Why an Acton Academy?

I started an Acton Academy because the philosophy of learn to do, learn and be aligns with how our world works today. Learning to know simply isn't important anymore with the entire internet at the palm of our hands. I wanted a school that requires unique thought and daily practice of critically thinking so that my daughter can form her own opinions about the world around her.

I wanted an environment where my daughter would remain curious by fun challenges and games so that learning never seems like a chore. I wanted her to be able to spend outside in the Florida sun like any child in our community should do. I believe that children are far more capable than society thinks and I wanted to put my daughter in an environment that embodied that. 

I knew my daughter would thrive at a school that focuses on the whole self, not just what she knows, and would be encouraged to have authentic conversations, advocate for herself and try new things in a safe place where she will be cheered on to get back up when she falls.

Lastly, the freedom that Apollo Academy creates for my family sealed the deal. The concept of no homework resonated with how I envision my family growing and spending time together every night, not just on weekends when we can slow things down. We can spend time outside of school as a family and focus on our hero's journey!

Let's get to know each other. Schedule time to chat here.