The first article written about Ad Astra declared that it was "the most exclusive school in the world." We had been operating for less than two months with nine students and two full-time teachers. A few years later, The Washington Post said that we "created a secretive ‘laboratory school’ for brilliant kids who love flamethrowers."

The school was exclusive because it was small. It was secretive because it wasn't properly zoned. The kids were bright, but kindness and eagerness to learn (and parents that worked at SpaceX) were the only criteria for admission. We had a chemistry lab but not flamethrowers.

The location at a rocket factory and our association with Elon Musk made Ad Astra one-of-a-kind. But beyond the hype and hyperbole, Ad Astra was special because we had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to design a school from first principles. We did not have limitations of any mandated structure or curriculum. Our only directive from Elon was to "make it great." And from the terror and opportunity of that challenge, Astra Nova was born.

If you go through a school-design thought experiment, it's almost impossible not to end up with something that echoes a traditional school. You can eschew traditional subjects, but one way or another, you end up with some form of math, reading, writing, and science. And if like me, you have the opportunity to hire brilliant colleagues who are experts in their fields, you do so without hesitation. But it's quite easy to fool yourself into believing that you are creating an innovative school that can scale to the world when you've only leveraged your advantages in a limited setting.

Providing a superlative experience and rich learning community for a few dozen families is not trivial, but it falls woefully short of our mission. True success, in my mind, is the extent that we design better learning experiences for students that are not our own. We do this directly by scaling ideas like Conundrums and Synthesis, and we do this indirectly by giving schools around the world some cover to try bold experiments. If Astra Nova does it, perhaps there is a principal or superintendent or politician that will empower educators to design more schools that children love.

At Astra Nova, we make progress by challenging ourselves to be maniacally creative; we design each year anew. And we focus our energy on what really matters to the development of our students: their disposition towards learning and complexity, their ability to work effectively in teams, and their capacity to make ethical decisions. Every class and experience starts with these principles.

So I humbly welcome you to Astra Nova School— a ten-year experiment that has been the challenge and joy of my life. We are a small team of dedicated educators and entrepreneurs who work with around 200 students across our programs. Ad Astra was the school at SpaceX that served 50 students; Astra Nova is the online school that aims to reach millions by sharing the insights from our work.

-Josh Dahn

July 20, 2023

Astra Nova is a non-profit school committed to meeting 100% of demonstrated financial need. We are based on Pacific Time (PT) and offer two programs: a full-time comprehensive program and a supplemental part-time program. We serve children between the ages of 10 and 14 on every continent. Interested in applying? Please go to astranova.org/xyz/apply