We believe that each person who enters our doors is a Hero on a journey to find a calling and change the world.

 

Our Story



As Rachel and I journey through this world together, the more I’m convinced that our story is being written right before our eyes. We have been surprised by the new chapters that unfold and there have been several twists and turns along the way. Some of them are inexplicable; many of them are nothing short of miraculous, but a common theme throughout our story has been ‘stepping into the unknown.’ Rachel and I were both born and raised in the East Bay Area and had no intent on moving to Redding. I had only ever visited once, on a road trip to Washington. Nevertheless, here we are. We’ve been here since the end of 2020 and if I am being honest—we kind of love it here.

 

Rachel and I have worked in education for many years. Although we want to see public education to be wildly successful, we also know that it is built around the idea of making students into automatons that primarily know how to follow directions. Obviously, this is not true of every classroom in this country, but, by and large, traditional education stifles students’ creativity, and sometimes functions to quell learners’ (epistemological) curiosity. We knew that we wanted a different experience for our boys, so we have been homeschooling them for the past several years. Last year, we took a chance and enrolled our eldest son, Judah, in Acton Academy Redding. The Acton way was foreign to us; however, Judah eventually flourished. We could see that he was on a journey, a hero’s journey, even if he didn’t fully recognize it himself. And we believe that every student deserves the same opportunity.


When we were presented with the opportunity to take over Acton Redding in 2023, we jumped in with both feet. We believe in the power of the Acton model, and we know that not only will it help learners identify and traverse their own heroes’ journey, but it will also help discover who they are and how to positively contribute to society. This is what we want for our six boys and we want Acton to be successful for your heroes, too!


Nearly 17 years ago, Rachel and I discussed starting our own school. This new adventure is one that has been on our hearts since the beginning of our marriage, and we are so excited for what is to come. Jessica and Matt Gile, the founders, have laid a strong foundation -- now, we are here to build and see what is possible for our family, for your family, and for the Redding community.


Jeremiah and Rachel Sims, 

Owners, Acton Academy Redding

Our Leaders

Rachel Sims

Owner, Acton Academy Redding and Head of School

Rachel Sims has over 15 years of experience in strategy and operations, developing and directing student-centered programs in the nonprofit world and in education. She was at the helm of a summer residential STEM program for under-resourced students for eight of those years and was instrumental in scaling it nationwide. While planning the path forward is one of her strengths, she is drawn to situations that necessitate walking by faith and breaking with tradition. In the past few years, Rachel has also worked with a group of artists, acting as a liaison for communities and local businesses in the creation of large-scale murals. She was most recently the Director of Advancement Strategy and Operations for Golden Gate University and continues to consult with Jeremiah for college leadership up and down the west coast. Rachel holds a bachelor’s in business management from UC Berkeley and a master’s in educational administration from San Francisco State University. She enjoys taking the boys to the lake, pilates, and cooking and eating all kinds of food.

Jeremiah Sims

Owner, Acton Academy Redding and Socratic Guide

Jeremiah J. Sims, Ph.D., is a first-generation college student, born in Oakland and raised in Richmond, CA. Like many poor black and brown students, he faced trying circumstances, but was able to eventually excel academically. He credits his Heavenly Father, his faith and his community for his academic success. Jeremiah is an author, speaker, trainer and executive coach, primarily for college leadership up and down the west coast. He is an alumni of the University of California, Berkeley where he earned a B.A. in Rhetoric, with honors, as well as an M.A. and Ph.D. in Education: Language, Literacy, and Culture. In his spare time, Jeremiah enjoys spending time with his family, mild hikes and target shooting. Jeremiah and Rachel moved to Redding, CA in 2020, where they are raising six amazing boys: Judah, Malachi, Zion, Freedom, Jehu and Justice.

Our Advisors

Jessica Gile

Founder, Acton Academy Redding and former Socratic Guide

With a bachelor of arts in International Studies and a graduate certificate in International Development, Jessica has extensive experience working with people from around the world. From working on government contracts to refugee care in the Middle East to founding a homeschooling co-op, Jessica has been constantly looking to bring solutions to problems around her.

Jessica is motivated by a calling to change the world by preparing this generation to be world changers, leading the way into radically restorative and sustainable solutions for all lives on this planet.

Laura Sandefer

Co-founder of Acton Academy (Austin, TX) and former Elementary Guide

Laura lived on both US coasts and in between as a child, then settled into Vanderbilt University for her undergraduate studies in the College of Arts and Science.

After being awarded the highly competitive Walter Wattles Fellowship at Lloyd’s of London, Laura worked in the aviation insurance industry in New York City. Deciding to follow her calling into the world of education, Laura returned to Nashville and earned her Master of Education at Peabody College. This led her to her work at the Oklahoma Arts Institute, creating fine arts education programs for teachers and talented high school students.

Laura married Jeff Sandefer and is the happy mother of Sam and Charlie and step-mother to Taite. It is the inspiration of these children that led Laura and Jeff to co-found Acton Academy.

Her greatest hero is her mother who was a Master Teacher. Her wisest mentor is her father who sent her off to college with two words of advice: “Be curious”.

Jeff Sandefer

Co-founder of Acton Academy(Austin, TX) and former Middle School Guide

Jeff Sandefer lives a dual life as an entrepreneur and a Socratic Guide.

As an entrepreneur, he founded his first company at age 16 and went on to found or co-found seven successful businesses.

As a Socratic teacher at the University of Texas, Jeff’s students five times voted him the school’s Outstanding Teacher and Businessweek named him one of the top Entrepreneurship professors in America. Jeff went on to co-found the Acton School of Business, an MBA program perennially ranked by the Princeton Review among the best in the nation. In 2012 The Economist honored him as one of the top fifteen Business School professors in the world.

Jeff is a graduate of the Harvard Business School, where he served for over twenty years on the school’s governing committees. He was a longtime director of the Philanthropy Roundtable and National Review magazine and one of the youngest members ever elected to the Texas Business Hall of Fame.
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