Why Orion for your Child?
Consider these factors in your search for the right school:
- 97% of Orion graduates are accepted into college programs
- 1:8 teacher to student ratio
- UC-approved courses
- 25 years of specialized experience
- Program designed by author Dr. Kathryn Stewart, a noted autism spectrum disorder expert
- Certified teachers who understand your student’s needs
- WASC accreditation
While important, these shouldn’t be the only reasons to choose a school. So much of what makes Orion special is the support that our students receive at every level and the community that backs up that support.
Wrap-Around Support
The Orion faculty and staff work collaboratively to ensure a student’s academic, social, and future success. The entire Orion team meets every week to utilize information gathered by our caring, experienced teachers and clinical staff to create actions for success that incorporate both the student’s areas of need and strengths. These plans are fully supported and monitored by faculty and clinicians with progress reported out to parents every six weeks. At the end of each term, parents and students receive an academic report detailing the progress.
Clinical Team
At Orion your student has an assigned clinical team on staff that is tracking social and pragmatic growth and helping students manage the challenges of school. The team meets twice a week with Orion founder Dr. Stewart to discuss each student’s growth toward his or her social and individual transition goals. Successes and progress are reported to students and parents in term reports. This, combined with the academic report, provides an insight into the many hours Orion’s attentive team puts into your child’s success.
Student Engagement
While attending Orion’s landmark program, your student participates in typical high school experiences like student council, debate club, school dances, field trips, and spirit rallies, in a supportive, safe, friendly environment. These experiences are not extra-curricular—at Orion they are part of the program, carefully planned to both challenge and support the student.
UC Approved and WASC Accredited
Students at Orion follow the same high school graduation expectations set by the State of California. The curriculum is not only WASC accredited and UC approved, it is geared to your individual student’s needs. Orion’s teaching faculty all have expertise in their content area and are individually trained in methodologies for students with the executive function disabilities often seen in ASD students. These methodologies include the use of technology as an organizational tool, the Orion developed Writing by EAR program, our benchmark Personal Projects individualized learning program and other Orion innovations. Expertise and innovative methodologies allow each teacher to work for your child’s success in their class by not only teaching content, but also teaching organization, study skills, and the social skills necessary for academic success.
Helping Students Reach Their Potential
For 25 years Orion Academy has followed the techniques and practices developed by its founder Dr. Kathryn Stewart in her book, Helping a Child with Nonverbal Learning Disorder or Asperger’s Disorder. Taken together, this carefully constructed scaffolding helps support students’ success.
When you ask our students what they value most about Orion, they describe the friendships they never knew they could have, a community they continue to be a part of, and a new-found belief in themselves and their potential.