Skylar Hadden School

We placed our son with Asperger’s at Skylar Hadden in the 4th Grade. With the expertise of the Skylar Hadden staff and low student-teacher ratio, he was able to get the consistency and immediate intervention he needed to learn, to regulate himself, and improve his social interactions. Not all of the students are on the spectrum, nor are they at the same developmental milestones. The multi-age, multi-ability environment gave him positive peer models and is enabling his growing academic and social cognitive successes. He finally feels like he belongs. In 2014, they began renovating the facility and exterior spaces, and that work continues with corporate sponsorships and community support.

This school has saved our family! The public school system was ill-equipped to handle our son's learning and social disabilities ADHD & bipolar, and was failing him badly. Fortunately we stumbled upon Skylar Hadden's nurturing and supportive environment, and within a month his self-esteem and love of learning were restored, allowing him to thrive intellectually and socially. SHS provides a positive, structured learning environment which places emphasis on personal responsibility, strong study skills and a sense of community. Some of the reasons for Skylar Hadden's success is its extremely low student teacher ratio, grouping students according to their abilities as opposed to specific grade levels and developing teaching plans that are customized for each individual. The school doesn't have the resources that a larger, well funded institution might, but the dedication of the staff to the well-being of the entire child far exceeds what we've seen in any other school.

Very engaged leadership with a clear vision and heart. While we eventually chose another school for our child, the cofounder and office manager were both extremely helpful and engaging during the period of overwhelm and feeling of crisis that came with finding out my child was neuroatypical and couldn't be adequately served in our former school.