A school day that finally works.
The Craig School is a nonprofit private school in Irvine for students in grades 3–8 with ADHD, autism, and executive functioning challenges. Strong academics, small classes, and support throughout the day help students practice the skills to learn, connect, and grow more independent.
Does this sound like your child?
They understand the lesson but struggle to begin. Assignments disappear between school and home. Friendships take work. By the end of the day, there is little left for anything else.
You may know your child needs something different without knowing what that should look like.
|
5:1
Student-to-staff ratio,
all day |
15
Maximum class size
|
Grades 3–8
One campus in Irvine
|
Designed for these students. Not adapted for them.
Most schools are built for one kind of learner, then add supports at the edges for the students who do not fit. The Craig School starts from the other end. Our program, schedule, classroom systems, and family partnership were built for students whose attention, executive functioning, and social processings work differently.
Four parts of one school day.
Academics, Executive Function, Social Skills & Communications, and Family Partnership work together throughout the day, not as separate programs.
Social Skills & Communications
Strong Academics. Period.
Students here are capable. The barrier was access to instruction, not the capacity for it. Math and ELA break out into small, leveled groups, so a student who is ahead in one and behind in the other gets both at the right level. Other courses including Science and Social Skills come back to the homeroom, with the same students and the same adults.
| ■ | Research-backed curriculum |
| ■ | Instruction at the right level |
| ■ | Regular assessment |
| ■ | Grade-level expectations |
| ■ | Small enough to respond |
More capable. More independent. More confident.
We're not just helping students get through the school day. We're helping them develop the skills, confidence, and mindset to take on what comes next.
“The difference has been incredible. It’s like he finally gets to be a kid.
Today, he's at or above grade level in all of his subjects. He wakes up excited to go to school.”
TCS 5TH GRADE PARENT
Feeling safe and confident in the classroom.
Patty Ramsey, Director of Student Support
A child needs room to try, ask questions, and take academic risks. At TCS, support is part of the school day.
The practical questions.
Straightforward answers to help you move forward.
Does my child need a diagnosis to enroll?
No. A diagnosis is not required to inquire, to visit, or to enroll. Plenty of families arrive in the middle of an evaluation, or having decided not to pursue one. What matters is whether the way your child learns matches the way this school teaches.
My child has an IEP. Can our district pay for this?
Possibly. The Craig School is certified by the California Department of Education as a Nonpublic School, which means a district can fund the placement for a student with an active IEP. Families in that position often pay nothing toward tuition. Whether a given student qualifies is decided by the IEP team, not by us, and we will not tell you it is likely when it is not.
Will my child fall behind academically?
That is the question that costs schools like this the most families, so here is the plain answer. Students here work on grade-level content, on the Amplify curriculum, in small groups pitched at the level they are actually working at. Reading and math progress is measured on several platforms including Amplify mCLASS Math (grades 3-8), Amplify mCLASS DIBELS (grades 3-5), and aimswebPlus, a nationally normed benchmark, so growth is reported against a national sample rather than against a feeling.
What does it cost?
Tuition for 2026-27 is $41,000. The Family Education Program, required of new families in year one, carries a separate fee of $900. On-site clinical services are billed separately for private-pay families. The number is on the tuition page in full, at the top, because you should not have to fill in a form to get it.
Let's talk!
Not an application. A real conversation about your child, what has happened at school so far, and whether this is the right place. If it is not, we will say so and point you somewhere better.
