As a single parent, Rebeckah Dopp (current Head of School) was once forced to give up her career in order to homeschool her child because there were no options in the area for her high-functioning child with autism. Many of the single parents who come to Edison express how they too feel “trapped” into homeschooling because of the lack of schooling options available to them.

On top of homeschooling their child, parents also have to worry about getting the proper health insurance that covers the specific Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy needed for children with autism and learning differences.

Currently, the insurance provided by the state is one of the few providers that covers the ABA therapy. The catch is that to qualify for state provided insurance, you must be unemployed. Between the lack of school choices, and the lack of insurance programs that will cover ABA, there is a homeschooling population where one or both parents remain unemployed. It goes without saying that remaining unemployed in America is not sustainable, especially for a single parent. The Edison School was determined to change this by providing a schooling option AND offering sought after therapy services.

• Provide a school specifically for children with learning differences
• Provide Free on-campus therapy to reduce parents need for state provided insurance

RESULT: Parents can go back to work, not be forced to homeschool, and worry less about finding insurance to cover costs of therapy.

The Edison School strives to provide innovative solutions to children with learning differences. We are the only private school in an hour radius whose focus is providing specialized education for children with special needs. We know that education is not one size fits all, so our small class sizes of seven or less allow teachers to focus on the unique, individual education needs of each student.

Services go beyond simply providing an education, our students and families benefit from therapies that are traditionally sought outside the school environment. We do all of this in-house in a supportive and encouraging family-type atmosphere that nurtures individual personalities and boosts confidence in an accepting environment.

The Edison School has a goal to raise $50k to continue offering free behavioral support, free speech & language services, free occupational therapy, and provide free transportation to students that live out of county.

Some students would not be able to attend Edison if it were not for financial support and/or transportation services. We believe education should not be more expensive just because the child is different. The Edison School’s tuition is one-half to one-third lower than other such schools. Still, approximately 40% of our families receive tuition assistance. And approximately 20% of our students ride a bus from another county which saves parents from being on the road for up to four hours a day just to transport their child to and from school. This allows those parents the ability to continue working and providing for their families. Help us continue to help these families provide the best education possible for their child.

Edison is proud of the difference it has made in the lives of our students as seen in the successful transitions our 8th grade students have made to highly competitive, traditional high school programs. In fact, 100% of our 8th grade students have gone on to successful high school careers.

"I am especially grateful for the unique way in which we have been able to change the lives of many of our single parents due to the free services we provide. " - Rebeckah Dopp, Head of School

Here is a testimonial from one of our families:

Our family and friends have all noticed a change in our son since he began attending The Edison School. We struggled for years trying to help him cope with his anxiety/sensory disorder/autism. We were often told, “he is so bright BUT…if he doesn’t get a handle on his anger or learn to be a better friend he will likely develop low self-esteem…leading to depression and even suicide. We tried medication but he became much more agitated. Our son has had a therapist, occupational therapist, speech therapist, pediatrician, and a neurologist. On we went calling, visiting, discussing what his best options were…after a lot of time and money we developed an approach by his team of therapists and doctors, only to be told by public school, “that sounds good BUT we’re going to try it this way instead.”

At Edison they have a team of professionals that work directly with the teachers to develop and implement a plan for my child’s success. My son’s experience is amazing. He loves school now, he counted the days for summer to end, and school to begin!

He no longer requires medication, he is much calmer and better at articulating his feelings. I am so thankful for The Edison School.