Orion at a Glance
- Staff to student ratio:
- 1:4
- Average class size:
- 8
- Graduates in college or advanced training:
- 97%
About Orion
Orion Academy offers high school (grades 9-12) 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 develop 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 8:1 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 Western Association of School and Colleges (WASC).
The Program
Our school is dedicated to educating students with neurocognitive disorders, targeting both individual social needs and academic excellence. The program is designed as a safe learning environment with a specific focus on remediating motoric, social, emotional, and visual-spatial deficits. The opportunities and tools for success will be an integral part of every class, group, and volunteer setting. The program includes high-level academics in small classes to allow for individual attention and increased opportunity for success in those courses. This is a unique program specifically planned with these students in mind.
Program Includes Frequent Feedback
In an effort to provide a unique educational experience suited to the needs of our students, the Orion Academy operates in six-week sessions, rather than the traditional quarter, trimester, or semester system. Students and their parents will meet with faculty to review progress at the end of each six-week session. The students learn in small groups that remain consistent over the year. Students will have the opportunity to interact and learn with the entire Orion community in social skills group, activity classes and P.E., yet the bulk of the educational day will be with the same core students. This is designed to maximize the development of social competency in a controlled and less anxiety-provoking environment. This system provides students with an opportunity to have a concentrated learning experience leading to mastery and the ability to move on to new subjects with a sense of success. The program is designed to meet California graduation requirements and prepare students for college entrance.
Orion Academy is a day school designed to provide a state of the art academic program for secondary students whose academic success is compromised by a neurocognitive disability. Orion students are bright young people with the potential for success in the world at large, but as a result of their disorders, historically fail to realize that potential. As a group, these students suffer profound difficulty with information processing and integration, coupled with significant social skills problems, often making it impossible to function and succeed in existing high school programs. Without the necessary program modifications and social skills training, their future has been uncertain.
Our school is dedicated to educating these students, targeting both individual needs and academic excellence. The program is dedicated to a safe learning environment with specific focus on remediating motoric, social, emotional, and visual-spatial deficits. The opportunities and tools for success are an integral part of every class, group, and volunteer setting. The program includes high-level academics and individual attention to insure success in these courses. This is a unique program specifically planned with these students in mind.