For three decades, The Highlands School has served students who learn differently, growing alongside advances in education while remaining committed to the mission that inspired its founding.
“We believe that students who learn differently deserve a school where they are understood, challenged, and given the tools they need to succeed,” Claudia Nachtigal said.
Highlands serves students with learning differences including dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, ADHD and executive functioning challenges. Its program combines highly individualized instruction and small-group learning with the friendships, arts, activities and traditions that are an important part of the school experience.
While the school’s methods have evolved with a greater understanding of the brain and evidence-based instruction, its focus on helping students recognize their own abilities has remained.
“We teach students how to learn how they learn,” Nachtigal said. “Ultimately, we want them to leave Highlands knowing that learning differently does not mean learning less or being less.”
As Highlands celebrates its 30th anniversary, one of its most anticipated traditions will help mark the milestone. The Big Event brings the community together each year while raising approximately half of the tuition assistance Highlands awards annually. One hundred percent of the event’s proceeds directly support tuition assistance.
The support is particularly important for an independent nonprofit school that receives no government funding. It helps Highlands maintain specialized instruction while making its programs accessible to more families.
This year, The Big Event will also serve as the culmination of the school’s anniversary celebration. Guests can look forward to food and libations, competitive play, auction items, opportunities to connect and a special surprise honoring 30 years.
“Thirty years is an extraordinary milestone, but it is not the finish line,” Nachtigal said. “It is the foundation for the next 30 years of changing students’ lives, empowering families, and preparing young people for lives of confidence, purpose, and possibility.”