Astra Nova is an online school for ages 10-18: 94 electives at US$2,300 per course, a two-course minimum per semester, and no state-recognized accreditation.
Source: OT-Team(G), 红星新闻
At 4:30 a.m., while it is still dark outside, 13-year-old Jade, who lives in Beijing, turns on her desk lamp, fries an egg and warms a glass of milk. She moves quietly so as not to wake her family. After breakfast, she sits down at her computer and puts on her headphones.
On the other side of the screen, teachers and classmates are scattered across different time zones. Some are wrapping up their day, while others, like Jade, are attending classes in the early hours of the morning.
This is how Jade starts her day. Despite holding a foreign nationality, she speaks fluent Chinese and has been studying at Astra Nova for three years. She also shares glimpses of her unusual school life on her social media account, "Jade's X Possibilities," attracting considerable attention.
The online school has attracted public interest partly because of its connection to Elon Musk. According to previous media reports, Astra Nova evolved from Ad Astra, a physical school Musk established for his own children.
From Musk's Children's School to an Online Institution
Dissatisfied with the traditional education his children were receiving, Musk reportedly withdrew his five children from their previous school. In 2014, he co-founded Ad Astra with Joshua Dahn, the principal of a prestigious private school, at SpaceX's campus in California.
The school initially served Musk's children and those of SpaceX employees. In 2020, after Musk's children graduated, the physical campus closed. The original teaching team subsequently moved its educational approach online and relaunched the school as Astra Nova.
Joshua Dahn has publicly clarified that "Elon Musk has no relationship with the current online school."
Nevertheless, many people continue to associate Astra Nova with Musk's educational philosophy and the teaching approach previously adopted at Ad Astra.
Today, Astra Nova has more than 300 students worldwide, generally aged between 10 and 18. There are no fixed classes. Instead, students choose individual courses, meaning they may encounter different classmates in each lesson.
What Do Students Study? 94 Courses to Choose From
Astra Nova's curriculum offers 94 elective courses covering subjects ranging from science, philosophy and technology to strategy games and the arts.
The humanities category alone includes courses such as "Persuasion and Public Speaking," "Crosswords and Language Puzzles," "Reading H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds" and "Better Decision-Making."
Other options include astrophysics, marine studies, Bitcoin and blockchain. The course offerings change from year to year.
Students must attend at least two hours of classes per week and take a minimum of two courses each semester.
The school offers full-time and part-time study options. Full-time students must take at least eight courses per semester, while part-time students need to take at least two. However, the school's policies are adjusted from year to year, so the requirements may change.
Of the two courses Jade has chosen this semester, one involves playing online games under the guidance of the school's headmaster. In the other, students study English-language novels or films, discuss them in groups and write critical essays.
Her favorite course, however, is cooking.
Officially titled "The Way of Cooking: Art and Science," the course is taught by two instructors. One focuses on the scientific side of cooking, treating each recipe as an experiment: students document every step and review the results afterward. The other teaches the artistic aspects, including food presentation, composition, photography and photo editing.
The goal is for the entire class to collaboratively produce a cookbook by the end of the semester, bringing together recipes developed through group discussions and experimentation.
During the interview, Jade repeatedly described the courses as "fun." She said none of them made her feel bored, which motivated her to learn independently.
At the end of each semester, students receive evaluations in five categories, ranging from "Excellent" and "Good" to "Inconsistent," "Needs Improvement" and "Incomplete." Jade received several "Excellent" evaluations last semester and said she was very happy with the results.
Her mother, Ms. Yang, told reporters: "I think she has genuinely learned a lot, and these gains cannot be quantified."
How Did She Get In? A Short Animation and a Parent's Email
Jade handled the application process herself.
The application page on the school's website features several animated clips, each lasting about a minute. After watching them, applicants are asked to record a 30-second to two-minute response in English, following the instructions on the website.
Parents then need to write an email of no more than one page explaining what they hope their children will gain from the school.
Ms. Yang's email consisted of just one sentence in English:
"We hope our children can have free souls, eyes to discover beauty, and the ability to feel happiness."
Jade received her admission offer in August 2024. Her mother attended the first few classes with her but largely stepped back afterward.
Jade eventually left her physical school to study at Astra Nova full-time.
Ms. Yang said she believes children should have room to explore different paths, particularly when they are young and have more opportunities to learn from their mistakes.
"She can choose the path she wants to take. The only part of life that parents cannot walk on behalf of their children is the detours they may take. Those are experiences they need to go through themselves," she said.
"As a parent, what I can do is preserve her ability to return to a physical school whenever she wants."
Some Astra Nova courses have specific academic prerequisites, such as an understanding of mathematical functions. Jade has to make up for any knowledge gaps through additional study outside class, while she relies on online resources to learn other foundational subjects.
The school also observes regular winter, summer and spring breaks.
As for tuition, the school's website lists a fee of US$2,300 per course, with students required to enroll in at least two courses per semester.
Asked whether studying entirely online could limit children's social interactions, Ms. Yang said the school's mixed-age classes allow Jade to interact with students across a wide age range.
Outside the classroom, she also participates in numerous offline activities, giving her plenty of opportunities to socialize in person.
The Controversy: A Supplement to Education, Not a Mainstream Model
Debate surrounding Astra Nova has continued almost since its establishment.
Josh Dahn, the school's executive director and co-founder, has discussed its educational philosophy on a podcast hosted by the National Association of Independent Schools in the United States.
He has repeatedly emphasized that the school is not looking for traditional academic prodigies or top-performing students. Instead, it seeks children who are "genuinely kind."
He describes the ideal students as "super collaborators" — children who learn from an early age how to work with others, actively seek feedback and demonstrate personal initiative.
Dahn has also criticized traditional schools for wasting children's time.
At the same time, he has acknowledged the limitations of the model, saying Astra Nova is not designed to be scaled up. What works for 50 children may not work for 5,000. He has also said he does not believe he is in a position to tell other schools how to operate.
However, academic researchers have raised questions about who actually benefits from this type of education.
In 2026, Sandra Leaton Gray and David Scott of the UCL Institute of Education published a paper in the British Journal of Sociology of Education that included a specific analysis of Astra Nova.
Their argument is that what appears to be a merit-based admissions process may actually select for and reinforce existing cultural capital.
Although the application requirements are relatively simple, the researchers argue that this simplicity favors children who have already developed certain intellectual habits and ways of thinking in wealthy, resource-rich family environments.
These existing advantages are then presented as individual talent.
Combined with its high tuition fees and lack of state-recognized accreditation, the school may function more as a marker of elite status than as a model of accessible education, the researchers suggest.
The Fordham Institute, a US education policy think tank, takes an even more direct position: Astra Nova may work as a supplementary educational option for children from affluent families, but it should not be promoted as a mainstream model for the general public.
The institute argues that the approach depends heavily on stable, wealthy families capable of providing substantial support. For disadvantaged students who need structured teaching and clear guidance, such a model "could be a disaster."
Jade's positive experience alone cannot resolve the broader debate over this approach to education.
The "super collaborator" ideal promoted by Josh Dahn and the concerns about cultural capital raised by UCL researchers represent two sides of the same question: Is a school designed for a select few cultivating a new set of abilities, or simply repackaging existing advantages in a new language?
The Fordham Institute draws a clear distinction: as a supplementary option, Astra Nova may have value. As a mainstream model for education, it could be a disaster.
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