This is the year that determines how high school goes.
8th grade is when the conversation stops being abstract. High school is twelve months away, and for students with ADHD, ASD, and executive functioning challenges, it brings everything that has been difficult, only larger, faster, and less supervised. That's not a child problem. It's an environment problem.
The Craig School was built specifically for students with ADHD, ASD, and executive functioning challenges. Not as an accommodation. As the design.
No pressure. No commitment. Just a real conversation about your child.
Now enrolling for 2026–27.
DOES THIS SOUND FAMILIAR?
Your 8th grader has the ability for high school but no tools to manage it. You're in the right place.
By 8th grade, most families have already tried accommodations, tutors, IEPs, and conversations with teachers that produced sympathy but not results. The frustration isn't new. The urgency is. High school is one year away. For kids with ADHD, ASD, and executive functioning challenges, this is often when the window finally becomes visible, right as it starts to close.
| A student with the capability for high school but not yet the systems to manage it independently |
| A gap between your child's intelligence and their academic output that no one has been able to close |
| A real fear that high school will expose everything that middle school has been working around |
| A growing sense of social disconnection as peers move forward and your child falls further behind |
| A child who shuts down when overwhelmed, and whose coping strategies won't scale to 9th grade |
| A need to reset in an environment that builds the right skills before the window closes |
You didn't miss anything. The environment missed them.
And 8th grade is not too late to fix it.
5:1
Every classroom.
Every day.
35 Years
UC Irvine research behind TCS
Daily
Social skills instruction.
Not occasional.
93%
Of 8th graders return to traditional school
"This school has given her confidence, academic growth, and a genuine sense of belonging."
Heather S. Miethe-Wong
Parent of a 6th grader at TCS
BUILT FOR YOUR CHILD
Most schools add accommodations. We build from scratch.
There is a real difference between a school that supports students with ADHD and a school that was built around how those students learn. The first is still a traditional classroom with a layer of help added. The second is something different entirely.
Architecture, Not Accommodation
The structure, routines, and pacing were built for their brain. Not layered on top of a traditional model.
5:1 Student-to-Staff Ratio
For every 5 students, there is at least 1 staff member in the classroom. That's our standard.
Founded on 35 Years of Research
Not a Philosophy. The TCS model is grounded in research developed over 35 years at UC Irvine.
OUTRIDE PROGRAM
Learning doesn't stop at the classroom door
Every other week, TCS students ride or explore the San Diego Creek Trail, right outside our building. This isn't recess. It's not a reward.
For students with ADHD and ASD, movement and nature aren't extras, they're part of how learning works. The OutRide Program is structured, intentional, and adult-guided. It reinforces the regulation, focus, and teamwork students build inside the classroom, in an environment that's a wildlife sanctuary and creek trail.
TCS sits next to the San Diego Creek Trail and the Irvine Wildlife Sanctuary. We put that to use.
WORKING TOGETHER TO ENSURE A FIT
The first step is just a conversation.
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Tell us about your child. Fill out a short inquiry. About three minutes, no formal application, no paperwork. Just the basics so we can have a real conversation.
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We talk. An admissions conversation, not a test. You tell us what's happened. We'll tell you honestly whether TCS is likely to be the right fit. No pressure in either direction.
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Come see it. If there's a mutual sense of fit, we'll invite you and your child to visit. You'll see how the day flows. Your child will spend time in the classroom. We'll know more. So will you.
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We move at your pace. No pressure.
Questions we hear from 8th grade families
No. Many of our students have a diagnosis, but it's not required. We focus on whether our environment is the right match for how your child learns. If your child struggles with attention, regulation, organization, or social navigation in ways that traditional school hasn't addressed, that's enough to start a conversation.
No. 8th grade is late enough to be urgent but not so late that the window has closed. The skills students build at TCS, regulation, organization, executive function, social confidence, follow them into high school and make a tangible difference in how that experience goes. 93% of TCS 8th graders successfully return to traditional high school. The families who don't come often say they wish they had.
We most commonly support students with ADHD, executive functioning challenges, anxiety, and autism spectrum disorders. Students should have average intellectual ability and be able to participate in a small classroom setting without requiring continuous one-to-one support throughout the day.
We encourage families to begin the conversation early. Reach out to learn about current availability for the 2026-27 school year.
The right time to find the right environment is now.
The first step doesn't commit you to anything. It's a short inquiry and a real conversation with someone who will listen and tell you honestly whether TCS is the right fit.
