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BASTROP COUNTY 鈥� From the outside, nothing appears to be special about the house at the end of Earhardt Road.
It looks like many of the other ranches that dot this rural stretch of highway less than half an hour outside Austin鈥檚 city limits. Simple, white facade. Black iron gate. A lone star adorning the cut-glass door.
Cars and trucks whizz down the farm-to-market road out front, taking no notice of it.
But behind its walls, the nondescript farmhouse represents a key step in what may be the next big venture for the world鈥檚 richest man.
This is , a private school for . It鈥檚 opened right around the corner from Elon Musk鈥檚 massive corporate compound in Bastrop County, which already houses offices for SpaceX, the Boring Company and, soon, X (formerly Twitter).
Records show an entire system of education 鈥� from pre-K to college 鈥� is being created in Musk鈥檚 image. And it starts right here in rural Central Texas.
Musk鈥檚 name isn鈥檛 on the school鈥檚 application or its website. It isn鈥檛 even on the paperwork of a nonprofit that reported total assets of more than $200 million at the end of 2022. But his foundation provided the seed money, his top advisers are leading the venture and Musk鈥檚 influence is everywhere.
, which The Texas Newsroom obtained from the state through a public records request, pulls heavily from a Montessori-inspired playbook of 鈥渋ndividualized exploration鈥� and promises students a course of study delivered in a 鈥減rogressive learning environment鈥� focused on STEM (science, technology, engineering and math).
Even the name, 鈥淎d Astra,鈥� sounds like . It means 鈥渢o the stars鈥� in Latin.
This isn鈥檛 the first time Musk has waded into the education world. He started programs for his and his employees鈥� kids in the past. But what starts here with Ad Astra promises to be Musk鈥檚 biggest foray into education to date, and, if successful, will add to his already massive footprint in Central Texas.
Elon Musk鈥檚 educational philosophy
This is not Musk鈥檚 first school 鈥� and not even the first under this name.
Years ago, he started an on the then-SpaceX campus in California. There, some of Musk鈥檚 own kids reportedly learned alongside the children of SpaceX employees and some other high-profile Los Angeles kids in an environment as 鈥渃loser to a venture capital incubator than a traditional school.鈥�
, who at SpaceX, now runs a fully online version of the venture called . This years old and offers such courses as Mathematical Biology and Poetry for Scientists.
Ad Astra then , according to the school鈥檚 2021 nonprofit paperwork. The school鈥檚 , accessed through the Wayback Machine, says it opened in Brownsville in that year and aimed at 鈥渄isrupting the traditional education model.鈥�
Musk was listed as the principal officer for that nonprofit. Its paperwork says in June 2023.
Musk has long been wary of the conventional education system, which he has said fails to create problem solvers and independent thinkers.
鈥淚 just didn鈥檛 see that the regular schools were doing the things that I thought should be done,鈥� , according to Ars Technica. 鈥淪o I thought, well let鈥檚 see what we can do. Maybe creating a school will be better.鈥�
But, recently, he has become more and more publicly critical of the conventional school model.
Musk now says the for a century, blaming in in administrative staff. He regularly rails against what he calls 鈥�,鈥� a vague concept that liberal thinking breeds an overreliance on political correctness as opposed to truth, and says public school teachers are peddling it.
His criticisms come as public schools, especially in Texas, have been targeted by conservative pundits and politicians. Gov. Greg Abbott, echoing some of Musk鈥檚 own gripes, has made it a priority this year to allow parents to use tax dollars to send their kids to private and religious schools.
Abbott himself supports Musk鈥檚 foray into the education world. In 2023, , 鈥淎t least they will be educating students on skills actually applicable in the workforce rather than pushing woke ideologies.鈥�
Ad Astra School in Bastrop
Ad Astra School in Bastrop County is already open.
It is located at the corner of FM-969 and Earhardt Road, about 45 minutes from downtown Austin, in a portion of unincorporated Bastrop County. Just down the road is a tree farm.
Musk鈥檚 corporate compound is less than five minutes away.
The compound houses SpaceX and Starlink offices, the headquarters for Musk鈥檚 tunneling business, the Boring Company, and the soon-to-be-home of X (formerly Twitter). Also on site is , a public gathering space with a convenience store, bar and barber shop, and , a small enclave of homes for Musk employees.
The Texas Newsroom requested a tour and interview with school leaders and did not receive a response. But during a visit to the site last week, a security guard said students are already enrolled and classes have started.
The small white farmhouse that is home to the school appears to have been revamped, with new-looking windows, roof and ramp. There is a small playground and child-sized basketball court in the back of the property.
A security doorbell system confirmed the location as 鈥淎d Astra.鈥�
An Austin-based LLC owns the school鈥檚 property. It鈥檚 linked to the , a nonprofit with a mission 鈥渢o create an independent primary and secondary school and, ultimately, a university dedicated to education at the highest level.鈥�
It鈥檚 unclear where the university may be built, if it comes to fruition.
The nonprofit鈥檚 paperwork says the endeavor will start with a school in Bastrop with future 鈥減lans to expand based on the needs of the local community and on a timeline that provides for quality education and overall experience.鈥�
Musk鈥檚 name was not on the but it counted among its assets 736,500 shares of Tesla Inc. stock. The nonprofit received about $100 million in seed money from Musk鈥檚 charity, according to the .
this news.
Jared Birchall, who is both Musk鈥檚 wealth manager and the CEO of his company Neuralink, is the LLC鈥檚 manager and the school鈥檚 CEO, according to the school鈥檚 child care application and state business filings. An emergency evacuation plan for the school names Boring Company operational manager as the facilities manager.
Calls and emails to Birchall and Balajadia, as well as to Musk鈥檚 Bastrop-based companies and the teachers affiliated with the school, were not returned.
The X Foundation鈥檚 board includes Birchall, Steven Chidester and Ronald Gong, the managing partner of a Silicon Valley wealth management company.
Since it is private, the state鈥檚 education agency said it did not have more information about Ad Astra. But the school was approved as a licensed child care program in November, according to a spokesperson with Texas Health and Human Services.
HHS gave The Texas Newsroom Ad Astra鈥檚 application, which included , staffing lists and . The documents show by , the CEO of Xplor, which has already opened .
Ad Astra鈥檚 Curriculum
Ad Astra is 鈥渃entered around hands-on, project-based learning, where children are encouraged to explore, experiment, and discover solutions to real-world problems,鈥� according to its website.
. But documents filed with the state show the school鈥檚 goals appear to align with the .
- Uninterrupted work periods: The school鈥檚 daily schedule shows a three-hour uninterrupted work period from 8:30-11:30, according to a proposed school calendar. During this time, children can choose an activity from the curriculum that satisfies 鈥渢heir natural curiosity and affinity for exploration.鈥� There is another optional hour-and-a-half long work period in the afternoon.
- Child-directed work: Independence and exploration is emphasized at every level. For example, the afternoon work period is for children who don鈥檛 want to nap. There are also two unstructured 45-minute outdoor play times.
- Use of Montessori materials: Invoices included with the school鈥檚 permit shows more than $21,000 has been spent on materials from , a prominent Montessori materials company.
- Multi-age classroom: While its application notes the school is for children 6 or under, the website indicates it can accommodate ages 3-9.
- Trained Montessori teachers: , Joana Fowler and James Lu, were hired last summer, according to personnel records included in the application. The documents show Fowler, the school鈥檚 director who is also referred to as Regula Fowler-Fraefel, previously worked in Idaho. Lu, also called Jin Lu, is a former Chinese television reporter who has worked in U.S. Montessori schools, including in Cedar Park, for a decade.
The curriculum is broken up into three-year blocks 鈥渢hat correspond with planes of development.鈥� Kids have a unique ability to absorb knowledge quickly and effortlessly from ages 3 to 6, the curriculum states.
In this stage, kids will learn about language, math, geometry, history, geography, science, technology, music, art and PE. They will also be introduced to 鈥渟ocial and emotional鈥� concepts like environmental and cultural awareness, as well as practical life skills like sweeping, buttoning and folding clothes, according to the curriculum.
The school鈥檚 application indicates students will receive a daily snack but that no full meals or transportation will be provided. In its current form, Ad Astra can accommodate 21 students, according to .
Jai Brisbon, executive director of Texas Education and Advocacy for Montessori, said the curriculum is not detailed enough to determine whether the program absolutely fits Montessori best practices.
鈥淏ut the buckets are in alignment with the albums that you would receive in your Montessori training,鈥� she said, referring to the notes Montessori teachers take during the process of becoming certified.
Brisbon pointed out Musk isn鈥檛 the only billionaire interested in Montessori-style education. Amazon founder in Texas.
According to the Ad Astra website, for the 2024-25 school year.
After that it鈥檚 unclear how much the school may cost but 鈥渢uition will be in line with that include an extended day program,鈥� the website states.
Similar Montessori programs in the Austin area run around $20,000 a year.
