Matt is a long time educator, having worked as a teacher, administrator, and athletic director in public and private schools at the K-12 level. He has also been involved in higher education as a corporate trainer, consultant, guest lecturer, and keynote speaker for schools including Stanford, Sacramento State, and William Jessup University, among others.

After being a featured at TEDx Santa Cruz in 2015, he quickly became a highly sought after keynote speaker for companies such as Honeywell, Gray TV, Sandia National Laboratories, and the Jack Henry Group.

Once Matt discovered the power of the Hero’s Journey that Acton Academy offered, he was compelled by a vision of bringing that type of community to the Placer County area. Acton Academy Placer will open its doors in the Fall of 2017 to a thriving tribe of heroes that will find their calling, and change the world.

Kelsy comes to us from Acton Academy Wausau, (Wisconsin.) She entered as the Lead Guide beginning in Fall of 2014. Acton Academy and the Hero's Journey is something that she believes every child should have the opportunity to be a part of, this revolution in education is SO inspiring. Prior to taking the role in Wisconsin, Kelsy worked at the San Francisco Schoolhouse for several years and in the summer months she worked at Live Oak Elementary as the Lead K-1 Summer School Teacher, also located in the Bay Area. Kelsy has experience working in a multi-age classrooms with highly individualizing curricula and really enjoys the challenge of meeting the needs of each child. Working with blended studios and helping foster relationships makes the day to day exciting and witnessing the growth of the children keeps her passionate about her work. Kelsy attended San Francisco State University for her college years, obtaining her B.A in Liberal Studies- with an Elementary Teaching Emphasis. Outside of the studio, you may find Kelsy living the awesome life of a wife and mama of two young girls. She enjoys traveling, hiking, running and camping.

Kyle grew up the oldest of three children, in pursuit of knowledge since he was very small. As an adolescent, he would entertain his younger siblings with invented games and stories, later using his talent for entertainment to become involved in musical theater and drama. At the height of his middle school years, he played the eponymous hero in a summer CMT production of Peter Pan. In high school, singing and acting gave way to more introspective outlets—creative writing, painting, and performance poetry.

His college years were dedicated to studying early childhood development and education. During this time, Kyle coached gymnastics and motor skill development at The Little Gym of San Jose. For 12 years, he acted as Program Director and head of curriculum. Under his guidance, his students would learn to be confident, competent movers no matter their talent or skill level. He relocated to Rocklin with his wife and son during the Summer of 2017, eager to be help build the future of education here at Acton Academy. He brings with him the philosophy that all students—no matter their age or circumstance—have genius within them. With patience and exposure, that genius can be realized.

Katie is coming to Acton after spending over a year at Merryhill Private Preschool here in Rocklin as the PreK 2 Lead Teacher. She began working with children at a young age and grew to love the process of helping them grow and learn! In 2011 and 2012 she continued her experience abroad both Japan and Germany, living on American military bases and teaching the elementary age children that lived there. This is where her passion began to flourish! While working at the Child Development Center on campus, she graduated with her B.A. in Child Development with a minor in Counseling from California State University, Sacramento in 2015. While attending CSUS, she studied and worked with Qualitative Researcher and Developmentalist Dr. Lynda Stone as her videographer. She personally helped Dr. Stone collect the data for the articles she was writing, exploring children’s cognitive development. In 2013 she also began to work at the afterschool program that Dr. Stone had created, which was based on similar beliefs and ideologies as the Acton model. She has experience in working with groups of children that vary in age, collaborating together on a project-based learning system, with the instructors acting as a guide. It was this experience, coupled with her experience working as a Teaching Assistant in 2015 for Dr. Stone that really set her passion in the right direction. After graduation, it was all about finding the right fit for Katie and she has found her home here at Acton. While Katie is not in the studio, she enjoys going on adventures! She has a daughter and they can be seen hiking, kayaking, bike riding, camping, dancing, and doing yoga! Katie loves to travel and plans to take her daughter to see the world with her on her breaks!

Deana is a guide at Acton Academy Placer where she works primarily with lower elementary students. She has been passionate about working with children since she was a child herself, providing childcare to families in the bay area throughout high school and college. After graduating from San Jose State University with a degree in Social Work, she moved to Sacramento and began providing behavior therapy to children with Autism. She has also acquired several years of experience working in public schools as a one-on-one instructional assistant to children with special needs. During her time working in the school environment, she realized her dream of becoming a teacher. Somewhere in the midst of her journey to earning a Master’s degree in Education and teaching credential, she found herself intrigued by the idea of allowing children to take charge of their own education. She began pursuing the minds of exceptional educational leaders and divergent thinkers, including Sir Ken Robinson, Maria Montessori, and Acton’s own Matt Beaudreau. She now asserts that children are capable of directing their own learning, and that every child is a genius who carries the potential to change the world if given the chance.

Outside of Acton, Deana is a wife and also a mom to three boys. She is passionate about environmentalism, human rights, and standing up against the exploitation of animals.

In Greek, the meaning of the name Alexandra is defender of mankind, and she has embraced the role by supporting her community in through all of her passions.

Alexandra and her husband Kyle moved up to Placer County in summer of 2017 to be a part of the education revolution with their son and cat, Rwanda.

As soon as Corbin was born, as any mother would, she began questioning if they wanted him to have the same educational path or begin exploring alternate schooling. It only took a year for Acton Academy to be introduced into their lives, and a second for Alexandra to agree to the move.

During her school days she felt most comfortable in the theater, math, photo lab, art room or outside playing any sport. She has always worked with children through; swim lessons, gymnastics, theater, assisted in backpacking trips, coaching soccer, hosting birthdays, babysitting and TA at her elementary.

In 2010 she took the opportunity to travel to Thailand and brought home the skill of Traditional Thai Massage. She has completed her hours with learning, mostly eastern modalities of massage, Abhyanga, Shiatsu and Swedish. Her goal is to be the World Champion Massage Therapist by the year 2022, if not sooner, also to live a lifestyle that lowers her family’s carbon footprint. Alexandra loves travel, backpacking, crafting old into new, cooking with her husband by her side and practicing Spanish with her son.

Lesley Day has been innovating in education for the last decade, from Middle School to Higher Education. She has a passion for guiding in creative and interactive ways so that students fully understand concepts they are tackling, while emphasizing and growing who each student is as an individual. She holds a Master's Degree from Liberty University, but also has an inherent understanding of how to connect with the adolescent mind that is part of her DNA. Many of her former colleagues (including the founder of Acton Academy Placer) consider her one of the best educators they have had the privilege to work with.

On a personal level, she has been married to her high school sweetheart for 19 years, and has two teenagers in the home in the form of a wonderful daughter and son. Together, the family spends a great deal of time on the soccer field, or taking various adventures to the mountains and ocean.