Hi 👋 We're Andrew and Mackenzie
We believe every child arrives on this earth with unique gifts and passions meant to be discovered, nurtured, and shared. We know what it’s like to sit chained to a desk, studying for tests that never prepared us for the real world, and we wanted something different — for our future children and for every family in our community.
When we discovered Jeff and Laura Sandefer and what they were creating with Acton Academy, we knew instantly: this was it.
At Acton, young people don’t chase grades or take endless tests. They take ownership of their learning — developing real skills and character through Learning to Learn, Learning to Do, and Learning to Be.
That’s what inspired us, like more than 300 other founders around the world, to bring Acton Academy to College Station — the first learner-driven school in Aggieland.
If you believe your child deserves an education with meaning, purpose, and joy, we invite you to see how Acton Academy is turning learning upside down.
Sincerely,
Andrew & Mackenzie Miller, Founders
Our Beliefs
We believe clear thinking leads to good decisions, good decisions lead to the right habits, the right habits forge character, and character determines destiny.
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We believe each person has a gift that can change the world in a profound way;
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We believe in learning to learn, learning to do, and learning to be.
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We believe in a closely connected family of life-long learners.
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We believe in economic, political, and religious freedom.
Our Promises
We promise through Socratic guiding and experiential learning to encourage each member of our community to:
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Begin a Hero's Journey,
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Discover precious gifts and a commitment to mastery.
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Become a curious, independent, life-long learner.
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Embrace the forging of a strong character.
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Cherish the arts, the physical world, and the mysteries of life.
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Treasure economic, political, and religious freedom.
Our Team
Andrew Miller
Co-Founder
Andrew grew up in Leander, Texas, before attending Texas A&M University. While there, he joined the Corps of Cadets and graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. After leaving school, Andrew worked several engineering jobs, focusing on rural and municipal power distribution before transitioning to a research and development role with energy and power systems. Simultaneously, Andrew helped his wife start a coffee catering business, now serving Central Texas.
Things shifted for Andrew when he heard about Acton Academy, a school that helped young people discover how to embark on a Hero's Journey to change the world. Andrew knew what it was like to sit chained to a desk studying to take tests that did not prepare you for the real world.
He wanted something different for his future children, and everyone else's, and he believes that his experiences have led him to his calling at the crossroads of education and entrepreneurship, as a co-founder of Acton Academy College Station, the first learner-driven school in Aggieland.
Mackenzie Miller
Co-Founder
Mackenzie graduated from Texas A&M in 2022 in Sports Management. After working several positions in the food service industry, Mackenzie discovered a deep passion for coffee which perfectly aligned with her passion for people and fun, celebratory events. As a result, in 2025, Mackenzie started a coffee catering business called Inbetween Coffee Company which serves corporate events, weddings, and a plethora of other private events.
Mackenzie heard about Acton through her husband Andrew, but she was uninterested and maybe even skeptical at first. As a thoroughbred public schooler, she had always done well in school and didn't really think it could be improved much. That was until she visited an Acton where she got to meet some of the learners.
There, talking to those young people, she realized how the school she attended taught her to memorize and regurgitate, not love learning, and she felt a profound sense of awe about the skills these young learners were developing. She immediately wished she had the Acton education and experience instead of a traditional school. Right there, it became her and Andrew's shared dream to bring Acton to College Station.
Our Advisors
Jeff Sandefer
Co-Founder - Acton Academy
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.
Laura Sandefer
Co-Founder - Acton Academy
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."
Our Economic Model
We believe self-directed, peer-to-peer learner-driven communities built by our young Heroes will deliver transformational learning at a cost all parents can afford.
