Chestnut Ridge Academy was formed after years of searching for an educational home for my son. While bits and pieces of standard pedagogy worked for him, there was never a single school that could meet the needs of his unique learning profile. When his gifted private school closed mid-year for the COVID lockdown, Chestnut Ridge Academy was officially born.
The founder and educational strategist at Chestnut Ridge Academy is Dr. Amy Clark. After nearly two decades in software innovation for some of the world’s most creative technology companies, she shifted her focus to disrupting the education space and individualizing her son’s education. She holds a Bachelor's of Science in Computer Science and a Masters of Computer Science degree from North Carolina State University. She earned a Certificate in Twice Exceptional Education from Bridges Graduate School in 2020. Then she continued her learning journey by earning a Doctorate of Education in Cognitive Diversity, with a focus on Innovation and Leadership, at Bridges Graduate School in California.
Dr. Amy's research interests include creation of truly individualized learning experiences that support neurodivergent students through their strengths, talents. She uses her deep technical background to infuse technology into the learning experience, opening opportunities to greater access to the solutions many of her students require. Her doctoral dissertation studied the value of virtual meeting-based relationships for twice-exceptional students with anxiety, a strategy she frequently employs at Chestnut Ridge Academy. .
Chestnut Ridge Academy serves students with a range of neurodivergent experiences including: Profoundly Gifted, Gifted, Autistic, ADHD, Dysgraphia, Dyscalculia, Anxiety, Depression, Tourette's Syndrome, ARFID, Highly Sensitive, and more. We believe that no label is descriptive of a single student and instead embrace the whole individual, creating joyful learning experiences that honor the unique blend that makes the student who they are today, and who they become in the future.
Although Chestnut Ridge Academy is currently closed for enrollment, Dr. Amy supports parents of neurodivergent students on their parenting journey, homeschoolers looking for support with creating positive environments that honor learning differences, and neurodivergent individuals through mentorships at her learning strategy company, Exceptionally Engaged.
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