We use modern neuroscience and the data in a child’s program to empower kids.

Three fundamental shifts in our understanding of how children learn, socialize and grow are at the heart of Cajal Academy’s groundbreaking program. Both are by now well-established in the scientific literature. Until now, neither has been operationalized in our schools.

1. The human brain is constantly rewiring itself to improve its ability to do the things we ask it to do (a principle called Neuroplasticity).

2. The second is that each skill we learn builds on a neural foundation developed through the skills that you’ve learned before.

3. The third is that connections between the body and the brain play a big a role in our learning and social-emotional experiences (both positively and negatively), just as our emotions do.

Putting these three core principles together, we’re unlocking children’s gifts through research-backed approaches that are proving successful at transforming learning disabilities like dyslexia, dyspraxia, language processing disorders and dyspraxia.

Cajal Academy puts the science behind body-brain connections at the heart of our program, through a whole new model for school—and the promise of what education can be

Cajal Academy’s program builds on the basics that are included within mainstream educational models and adds the missing link: the neuropsychology that explains how hidden connections between the body and brain influence our learning, social and emotional experiences — and how we can use that science to remediate learning disabilities and empower social-emotional growth.

We infuse these universal human truths throughout all aspects of the program, through sensory therapy to start each morning, movement in the classroom, neuroscience curriculum helping students understand how they can use these connections to their benefit and coaching in how to self-monitor, self-manage and self-advocate. We re-examined all aspects of education in view of these insights and developed a new model for education that aligns to what scientists know today about how kids learn, socialize and grow. Starting with the data in each child’s neuropsychological and neurophysio profile, we create individualized programs that combine traditional and Cajal-exclusive therapies to reduce any obstacles that stand in their way. We combine this with Growth Mindset and Agency Coaching, which accelerates student growth by helping them make connections between their complex profiles and how they influence their decisions in real time, integrating insights from across a child’s combined learning, social, emotional, neurophysio and medical conditions, and to find the courage to try things that have previously been difficult.

Use the links below to learn more about these key aspects of our program, or scroll down to learn more about how kids experience this day to day.

We’ve made a paradigm shift in how we understand, and empower, kids…and the results are transformative!

Highly-individualized programs are at the center of how we challenge, support and empower kids. Where other programs accommodate difficulties like ADHD, dyslexia and more, we have made a paradigm shift in how we understand, and treat, those needs. For the student, these components—and our community—come together through standards-based project-based learning, giving our students the opportunity to master and apply these skills in the settings where they need them most.

Over the five years that we have developed these protocols, the results for our students have been nothing short of transformative, across a wide array of profiles. A middle schooler who jumped from a 1st to an 8th grade level in both reading and writing in a single year, because we identified and addressed the dyspraxia that was driving it. An early elementary student with dyslexia who jumped from below to above reading level in a single year because we built up the splinter skills that made it difficult for them to remember what words look like (orthographic processing) — a key component of reading. A high schooler who overcame the physical, emotional and cognitive impacts of a spinal cord defect and graduated from Cajal ready to study architecture at RISD: the top art school in the country. Apply today to find out how we can help empower your child to optimize their learning, social and emotional experiences!