Who We Serve

Students Who Thrive at The Burkard School

The Burkard School is designed for bright, curious, neurodivergent learners who are ready for an engaging academic program but need support with emotional regulation, executive functioning, and/or social skills in order to access their full potential.

Our students often arrive with diagnoses such as ADHD, anxiety, Level I Autism, or sensory processing disorder — or with no formal diagnosis at all, but a clear history of struggling to succeed in a conventional classroom. Many have had inconsistent access to learning due to dysregulation or behavioral challenges in previous schools.

We welcome students who:

• Are intellectually capable of working at or above grade level
• Are conversationally verbal and able to participate in discussion-based learning
• Are able to participate in a small group learning environment with shared support
• Benefit from explicit instruction and reinforcement around emotional regulation and social skills
• May have gaps in content knowledge due to missed instructional time

A diagnosis is not required for enrollment. We look at the whole child — strengths, challenges, and capacity for growth — when considering whether our school is the right fit.

Students Outside Our Scope of Support

While we provide robust behavioral and emotional support, we are not a therapeutic or specialized academic remediation program. To ensure that every student receives the support they need, we are not able to accept students who:

• Have significant learning differences that require specialized academic remediation
• Are not able to work at or near grade level, even with scaffolding
• Require one-to-one support throughout the school day
• Have moderate to low verbal or social communication skills
• Present a significant safety risk to themselves or others
• Exhibit unpredictable behavior with no discernible triggers

If you are unsure whether your child is a fit for The Burkard School, we encourage you to reach out. We’re happy to connect and help guide your decision – even if that means referring you to a school that’s better equipped to meet your child’s needs. Our goal is always to help families find the learning environment where their child can truly thrive.