In 2015 Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said he had started a school to teach his five children, and eventually expanded it as a nonprofit school for some children of SpaceX employees. He said at the time that his children’s school was not “doing things I thought should be done,” so he hired his children’s teacher to help found the Ad Astra School. It removed formal rating structures and focused on problem solving, according to Musk’s direction, and paid all the costs involved.
Now, he has given an initial donation to a new online for-profit school in Los Angeles, according to research by The daily beast. According to commercial documents discovered by The daily beastThe Astra Nova school, which it plans to open in September, was incorporated by Jared Birchall, Musk’s associate.
Astra Nova director Joshua Dahn said The daily beast Musk is not involved in the management of the new company, but confirmed his primary role. “Elon helped with an initial donation and some basic administrative assistance to get Astra Nova started,” he wrote. “But Elon has no financial interest in school and has no children at school.”
Distance education has become a new reality for many parents during the coronavirus pandemic. Astra Nova is inviting “academically serious, creative, and friendly students between the ages of 8 and 14” to apply, view this video, and respond by video by July 10. But according to The daily beast Tuition for the school will cost $ 7,500 a week for a day of online classes, probably out of reach for all but the wealthiest families. And advocates of education are not in love with the idea, TDB he found. The dean of the University of Kentucky College of Education, Julián Vásquez Heilig, said he wishes Musk had tried to partner with existing online education programs.
“I am not sorry that Elon Musk is doing this kind of work,” added Vasquez Heilig. “I just wish he would have chosen to partner with Oakland or Alum Rock, a school district that serves low-income students in Silicon Valley. There are many equity concerns in the STEM field and he [had] a real opportunity to make what I was doing a public good, rather than a private good that only certain people can access. “
Musk and his associates have not commented on their involvement in the school. Go see The daily beast full Astra Nova report.
