We believe clear thinking leads to good decisions, good decisions lead to the right habits, the right habits forge character, and character determines destiny.

What is Evoke?

EVOKE is a K-8 Acton Academy private school founded in 2024. Acton Academy is the original learner-driven, self-paced private school model founded by Jeff & Laura Sandefer. Since the first school was opened here in Austin, there have been more than 300 Acton Academies opened internationally, guided by the Acton Academy Network and accredited by the IALDS.

We are founders and parents who won’t stand for mediocre or failing systems, so we have created flourishing schools designed to meet our community’s needs.

Only the Acton Network has developed a tried and true private school curriculum backed by years of research that focuses on the whole child. We are preparing children for careers in the future, not the past.

Learn more about the history of education in America, and why we are changing the paradigm in this short video clip...

Who are the Spearmans?
We are parents who feel strongly about our community, and care deeply about raising independent, critical thinking children.

We grew up disenchanted with public school, and dove into entrepreneurship as teens. As a result of our hard work and curiosity, we had internships by age 16, and owned businesses in our twenties.

Education & Tech Business Leaders
Before we became parents, we were business leaders.

Laney directed children for many years in performing arts and science camps after graduating from the pioneer in learner-driven schools, Laurel Springs High School in California. She studied Elementary Education at the University of New Mexico and Neuroscience at the esteemed College of William and Mary before opening a 250 student performing arts school in Houston.

Laney has extensive experience as a professional dancer and theater director for more than 25 years. She is a working board member for Children's Performing Arts in Minnesota and Lake Travis Music Theatre's youth program. Laney loves bringing people together, whether it’s a small community event or a major convention (and everything in between).

After engineering internships, Brian began working in biotech research at age 20. He is now a managing director for an international medical device company, after completing the exclusive MBA program at Acton School of Business. He was instrumental in helping our family’s performing arts school expand when our students were ready for a larger facility, and now serves Evoke families as a Socratic guide on his "days off". Brian is also a singer, plays various musical instruments, and has even been spotted on stage a few times-- most recently as Bill Sikes in Oliver!

Montessori Certified
When our children’s IB school went virtual in March 2020, Laney sought training as a Montessori Guide (in both Early Years and Elementary levels) with the Prepared Montessorian. She taught our children and friends with the Guidepost Montessorium Platform for four years before we opened Evoke.

Why Open a School?:
As parents and previous homeschoolers, we felt the need for...

more peers and a real sense of community.
flexible scheduling for busy parents.
filtering of political and social movements targeting children in public education.
creating prepared adults for careers of the future.

Jeff Sandefer & Jordan Peterson on History of Public Education

Our Advisors

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.”

Courage to Grow, written by Laura Sandefer, is the intimate origin story of Acton Academy, one of today’s most innovative schools with a model quickly spreading around the globe. If you have ever wondered if there are more powerful ways for young people to learn, step aboard for a behind the scenes tour of how Acton Academy unlocks the genius in every child, while embracing personal accountability and forging young characters. However, this is not a how-to book. Nor is it a book about educational theory. It is a fast-paced tale of courageous families, transformed by what young people can accomplish when armed with the right inspiration, questions and tools. Like all good tales, there is a surprise ending, a final bit of magic about parenting and life you won’t want to miss.

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.