Orion Academy

Orion Academy offers high school students an academic curriculum that is challenging and structured, rich in its academic offerings and nurturing in its approach to fostering personal growth, responsibility, and independence. The Orion community--students, faculty, staff, and families alike--works collaboratively to help students discover and devel... op their individual gifts and strengths, become self-advocates, and realize their full potential. A safe, thoughtfully prepared environment encourages mutual trust, respect, and acceptance among those in its school community. Orion Academy provides a quality college-preparatory program for secondary students whose academic success is compromised by a neurocognitive disability such as Aspergers syndrome, or NLD (Non-verbal Learning Disorder). Orion students are bright young people whose potential for success in the world is historically unrealized as a result of their disorders. As a group, these students suffer profound difficulty with information processing and integration. This, coupled with significant social skill problems, often makes it impossible to function and succeed in existing high school programs. Without the necessary program modifications and social skill training, their future has been uncertain. Orion Academy offers these students an academic curriculum that is challenging and structured, rich in its academic offerings and uniquely tailored to the strengths and needs of our students. The student to staff ratio is 1:8 to start in certain subjects, with increasing independence as the years progress. Details of the program and the staffing needs follow. The school provides a 180-day full academic curriculum and has been approved as a Nonpublic School by the State of California and is accredited by WASC (Western Association of School and Colleges).Read More