Elon Musk’s latest venture isn’t a rocket or an electric car, but Ad Astra, an early childhood education institution.
Ad Astra has officially received a permit to operate in Bastrop County, Texas. Musk, who co-heads President-elect Donald Trump’s DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency), has invested $100 million in the school through his X Foundation.
The school is set to open its doors for the 2024-25 academic year and offers a progressive STEM-focused curriculum for children ages 3-9. It will be led by Greg Marick, CEO of Xplor Education, which works with the US. – companies that deliver Montessori-style programs. STEM refers to science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Ad Astra, Latin for “to the stars,” encapsulates Musk’s vision of cultivating a new generation of problem solvers and builders. According to the website, the school’s mission is to “encourage curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking.” He says he emphasizes hands-on, project-based learning where students are encouraged to explore, experiment and find solutions to real-world problems.
The curriculum is described as integrating STEM subjects with activities ranging from coloring and collage making to studying maps and globes.
The school was funded by Musk’s X Foundation, a non-profit organization supported by the Musk Foundation. According to documents reviewed by Fortune, Ad Astra was allocated nearly $100 million, marking it as the starting point for a broader education initiative.
Plans include expanding into K-12 education and possibly establishing a university in Texas depending on the success of the program.
The application says it’s open to children who turn 6 on or before September 1, 2024, and asks applicants to detail their child’s interests, personality, likes/dislikes, hobbies, sports, abilities or talents, and also described their child’s social situation. and emotional development.
This isn’t Musk’s first foray into education. In 2014, he founded the original Ad Astra School at the SpaceX campus in Hawthorne, California, after taking his children out of traditional private schools.
Designed for his children and the children of SpaceX employees, the institution focused on advanced subjects such as artificial intelligence and robotics, leaving out traditional subjects such as music and foreign languages.
After Musk’s children graduated, the school evolved into Astra Nova, an independent online institution for students ages 10 to 14. Astra Nova describes itself as an “experimental online school for kind, independent and courageous kids” that offers an unconventional curriculum that includes flamethrower fighting robots.
Despite the high tuition fees — reportedly up to $33,000 a year — Astra Nova operates as a non-profit organization and has experienced financial losses. According to a British tabloid Sunthe school lost nearly $400,000 in one year, which equates to about $2,000 per student, even though it charges $2,100 per class.
Musk is among several high-profile figures venturing into education. Other celebrities such as Mark Zuckerberg, Will Smith, Pitbull and Oprah Winfrey have also started educational projects, often aiming to offer innovative alternatives to traditional education. However, these ventures have had mixed success and some have faced criticism.
Zuckerberg, for example, donated $100 million in 2010 to reform public schools in Newark, New Jersey. The initiative has faced criticism for its top-down approach, lack of community engagement and failure to improve student outcomes. A significant part of the funds was allocated to consultants and administrative costs.
