Summa Academy's mission is to provide high-quality individualized instruction and intervention for students with disabilities and prepare each student to contribute to their communities in meaningful and positive ways. Summa Academy provides specialized instruction and evidence-based practices, allowing for individual differences, learning styles, and developing independence. The California Department of Education has certified this private, nonpublic school to provide educational placement and services to 48 students with special education needs.

If a California public school district is unable to provide the appropriate support to a student with such needs within the district itself, it may refer the student to a nonpublic school with the appropriate resources. About 95% of the students at Summa Academy have an autism diagnosis, according to Co-Founder Neena Bhathal. Speech therapy, occupational therapy, assistive technology, and adaptive physical education are among the services that may be provided to students at Summa Academy, the only Tri-Valley school of its kind.

"Not many schools like ours exist, especially in Northern California," says Bhathal. "We currently have five classrooms, and each classroom has a unique approach." One classroom has a focus on augmentative alternative communication (AAC) for students who need AAC devices. "Our multidisciplinary team really hones in and focuses on speech development. Some students who came in were not able to communicate. Now they have received AAC devices with personalized pages, and they are thriving. They can tell us what they want and what they need. Some have become toilet-trained for the first time. Being able to give parents support and teaching such students some life skills and functional skills has really been instrumental for them and their families."

Students get personalized learning thanks to the small number of students and highly skilled staff, according to Bhathal. Board certified behavioral analysts, registered behavioral technicians, and teachers work together to help students meet behavioral and academic goals. The progress made by Summa Academy students "really boils down to our skilled, highly qualified teachers and staff," she notes. "They have been nothing short of amazing in all the work that they've done with our kiddos."

The Hacienda campus serves students from kindergarten through sixth grade. In the fall of 2023, the school is opening a middle school in Livermore in collaboration with the Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District, which is renting classrooms to the middle school. Bhathal and her Co-Founder Tanya Scott started Summa Academy in 2021. Together they have served the Bay Area special needs community for more than 40 years.

After the founders decided to start Summa Academy, they discovered that Hacienda had exactly the kind of school space needed as well as the perfect location. "It's easily accessible to parents that are coming from the Tri-Valley as well as families coming from Antioch, Oakley, and Oakland," says Bhathal. "The location is ideal because we can keep students closer to their neighborhood schools and their homes."

For more information about Summa Academy, please visit www.summa-academy.com.