The Madame X Academy, a spy-themed experiences program for insatiably curious girls

It’s hard to remain anonymous in a town you grew up in, but to a small number of Bay Area families, that’s the case with Madame X, the somewhat fictional headmistress of The Madame X Academy, a curated, high-end experiences program for girls 7-12 years old, that ties African-American cultural relevance to each unique pop-up style activity.

An example of the organization’s unique offerings is a class called “Ain’t MisBEEhavin’”, a multi-sensory experience where the children learned all about bees. They were taught about pioneering African-American zoologist and behavioral scientist Charles Henry Turner, known for his groundbreaking research on honey bees while observing live bee colonies and learning about them from a professional beekeeper. The kids manually uncapped honeycombs from bee panels and used a hand-powered extractor to harvest the honey. They also strained, bottled, labeled, and gift-wrapped honey. They also experienced a professional honey tasting with a flight of 10 samples from around the world. The class learned the concept behind flavor wheels, and how they could apply it to describe various nuances found in the honey’s taste, flavor, and texture. In addition, the children watched a video of Madame X and the beekeeper tour the bee boxes of the bees used in the program, so they could see them in their local habitat, and learn more about their “bees’ to bottle” origin story. All of the kids in the program received spy-themed activity packets related to the curriculum, their tasting notes, and bottled honey. The Madame X Academy’s covert spy theme permeates all of the kids’ activities and its communication with the families.

“I love spy-everything, and being part of a secret organization for girls, enables them to use their imaginations and suspend disbelief, which elevates the fun factor and makes them feel like they’re part of something special,” Madame X  says excitedly. “I have several interesting ways of communicating with the kids and their parents, including, through ciphers that they must decode, but I won’t tell you anything else, or it might ruin the fun.”

The philosophy behind The Madame X Academy is that to be competitive in today’s world, children need exposure to diverse experiences, so that they can think more creatively when problem-solving. “If you gain exposure to a lot of interesting, disparate ideas, skills, and experiences; you can better make connections between and among concepts, enabling you to be more innovative in how you think,” she says.

“There’s also a huge social benefit to being an interesting person who has had a lot of fascinating life experiences. People want to know those people. It’s also why Madame X has a spy theme. James Bond can do anything and be anyone because he has a ‘particular set of skills.’ Madame X wants girls in the program to think expansively and to be able to move through society and the world effortlessly. In part, that’s why they offer professional etiquette classes like a Malaysian/British high tea service scheduled in October.

What also makes Madame X Academy different is that it uses African-American instructors and vendors for their experiences.

“I want the kids to see themselves reflected in positive role models who represent professionals across industries and occupations.” Building community is also a big part of the organization’s mission. “There are under-resourced children who lack opportunity, as well as very privileged ones, who feel socio-economic and cultural isolation. I want to bring everyone together, including their families.”

Visit The Madame X Academy for more information. Register here for the Saturday, October 23, professional etiquette class and Malaysian/British high-tea.