For all the parents who have had emotional kitchen table conversations about what the next steps are for their child who isn't fitting into the structure and learning environment of a more traditional school, whether public or private, Bridges really might be the answer for you. Book a tour, send a message, check it out and see how this leader in 2E education can help your family. read more

Our son attended Bridges from 6th Grade through 12th and went on to graduate from a prestigious college. His time at Bridges gave him the room to know himself and to appreciate the great strengths that come with being neurodiverse, along with the challenges. He also found his tribe, a group of kind, brilliant and creative young adults who he is good friends with to this day. read more

Bridges Academy specializes in educating gifted kids with learning differences. Their online division, Bridges Academy Online, is amazing. If your teen is miserable in public school and you need an alternative, look at Bridges. The classes are challenging, yet the homework is reasonable and the school day is short. The teachers are kind, supportive, and will go out of their way to build a relationship with your child. The school is flexible and will work with your teen to build the schedule they want, which can include college classes or other outside activities. This school has figured out how to support and challenge 2e kids. If your teen is struggling in a more traditional school, definitely talk to Bridges. read more

For the right child this place is a life saver. So many kids are misunderstood by their teachers and schools but Bridges is the one place that goes out of its way to understand your child and their own individual needs with customized education and teaching to their strengths through their own 2E learning based model. Just take a tour and you will be blown away. read more

Bridges has been an incredible experience- my daughter has excelled emotionally, in friendships and academically. I applaud the school for the care and individual attention they give each student. read more

This institution is an abomination the staff let kids get away with racial assault. Don't think about sending your precious baby here. The tuition is 50k a year and the lunch they offer is 300$ a month. The staff here is awful and the facility is super run down and ancient. My kid comes home every day torn apart by the staff and students. ( some of the staff are actually decent human beings.) they offer little to no after school support. The only star is for some of the kind staff that are very deserving. There is a lot of abuse engrained at this facility. Don't send your kid here. read more

Faculty is really mean and rude. Didn't appreciate being yelled at.

This school has change our life for the better. We feel so lucky to be party of the Bridges Family. The classes are small and the teachers don't overburden the students with homework. He is thriving both academically and socially in a school that understands gifted students with learning differences. For the first time in 8 years, our son looks forward to going to school. read more

I have been to the school. What a great learning environment. Everyone that attends is there to learn. Everyone that works there teaching and safety is there top priority. They really do care and offer a top education. read more

This will be our third year at Bridges and we are thrilled with our son's growth, in all areas one would expect growth. He has soared socially, emotionally and academically. He is no longer board with school, he is constantly telling us about what he is learning, willing does his homework and best of all he wants to go to school. If you have a child who marches to the beat of his own drummer, is brilliant but also has some challenges, then Bridges is the place for you! read more

No school is perfect, but when you have a really smart, quirky kid who does not fit into a conventional school experience, it's really nice to have a school like Bridges where kids can finally relax and enjoy school because they are finally among their people and no longer feel "weird" or "different." Everyone is super smart and neurodiverse at Bridges - including many of the teachers. I've found the high school to be the best part of the school so far -- and my son has been exposed to amazing interests and hobbies, like filmmaking, coding and music -- he's in the school band and thriving. Bridges is great at helping these kids figure out what their passions are and then giving the kids a lot of exposure to it. The kids learn a lot in the school, but do not have a lot of homework -- which lowers anxiety and stress. They are all collegebound too, which is very important. But the single most important thing that has happened at Bridges is that my son has made some really nice friends. He's happy to go to school every day, which is huge for this population. read more

Bridges is an amazing school for twice-exceptional (2e) students. Our son started at the end of 7th grade and is now in 11th and thriving! We moved here from out of the state specifically to send our son to Bridges. We learned of it from a 2e consultant in Colorado, and when the time was right for us, we brought our son to interview and tour the school. First impressions were that it's in a great neighborhood, the Silver Triangle, and there is a gymnasium, grassy fields, and two primary buildings for academics and administration. The campus is a safe and lush environment. We were impressed with every teacher we met on the tour, but the person that really sealed the deal for us was the headmaster, Carl Sabatino. He truly understands these 2e kids and he also gets the parents. He has a great vision for the school and the 2e Center (a resource center for twice exceptionality that is nationally renowned). Since our son didn't know anyone outside of Bridges, he thought he wanted to leave the school to expand his social circle. We let him leave for 10th grade, and while it was a good year in a lot of ways, he decided that he wanted to return to Bridges for better academics. He missed the advanced math classes (esp. Calculus), advanced Physics, advanced Computer Programming, and Music Composition that Bridges offers. He is also working on an independent study this year (the "Badges" program) creating a video game. Writing the game story, coding it, creating graphics and composing music for it. I'm so happy he decided to go back to Bridges! The last thing I'll say is that after talking with a few different college placement consultants, I can say with confidence that the college counselor at Bridges, Anna Schaerf, is very knowledgeable. She is organized and has a lot of experience in college placement, and she really gets to know each student very well so her recommendations are spot on. If you have a super bright child that just doesn't seem to fit where you are, I highly recommend you check out Bridges Academy....it's been a life-changer for us and for many other families we've met there. read more

I am a Bridges parent of a brilliant, ADHD kid. Never has he been better understood, nurtured, or more stimulated. This is a school for gifted, "different drummer" kids, the type of kids that grow up, if properly nourished, to be true movers and shakers as adults. They get that nourishment here. Incidentally, the work that he's doing there is actually much more advanced than in his old school, so there is no stinting on academics. They will even individualize a program so that your child can be advanced a grade level in some subject in which he/she is gifted. Lastly, this school seems devoid of drugs or peer pressure, the twin horrors of most schools. Let's hope it stays that way. read more

If you want a nurturing, innovative, supportive school that fuels your child's imagination and embraces their quirkiness as well as their intelligence, Bridges is the place. Bridges warm environment encourages your child to persevere and create attainable goals as they find their voice, The teachers care, are attentive in every sense. My stepson attended BA at 16 after being in therapy boarding schools for four years. He was over medicated upon arrival and when he graduated Bridges, he was off every med and accepted to every college. Today he is striving, attending University of Denver and studying abroad. Thank you Bridges because of your faith, support and guidance, my stepson sings the world imperfect with confidence, conviction and courage. read more

Reviewing as a teacher: located on the second floor of OSULA, this low teacher to student ratio school is dedicated to providing the best individualized education to those students with mild learning disabilities. The classrooms have a very relaxed atmosphere where creativity is greatly encouraged. read more

I have a highly gifted child with a learning difference that was performing well in elementary school, but when he started middle school, it all changed. He was getting in trouble from teachers for not paying attention, but reading in class instead. He was bored and starting to check out. He went from a's to f's. He said it wasn't the content, but the teaching style he did not agree with. He was sent to the counselor's office almost daily until finally one day he refused to go back to school. He had had enough. We visited several schools. Nothing seemed quite right...until we stepped foot into bridges. All of a sudden, it all clicked...the size, the teachers, the students...it was the perfect fit. My son has been at bridges for 2 years now and I can't see him anywhere else. He looks forward to going to school every day. Hallelujah for bridges! read more

My sons have been Bridges Academy students since the 5th grade. They are now in the Bridges high school. I cannot say enough good things about Bridges Academy. My sons have been reading literature since elementary school at Bridges which is college-level learning. Excellent teachers abound. Classes are a forum for discussion where students are included in sharing their opinions and ideas without judgement but with support. The school fosters a belief that children need to advocate for themselves early on and especially in middle and high school. They are taught that their voice matters. Additionally, the school staff supports "out of the box" thinking and nurtures this quality. "Out of the box" thinking is one of the wonderful creative components of Bridges students. The teachers at Bridges are gifted themselves, so they understand the needs of their students. The teachers support advanced learning of the students "topic of interest" supplying them with the tools to succeed in college and beyond in their chosen field. My sons are compassionate and caring human beings. Bridges Academy fosters this kind of environment and behavior. The Bridges' families are a close knit community and have become a second family for my husband, myself and our children. I am so pleased at the young men my sons have become, and I thank Bridges Academy for this. read more

This school has changed my daughter's life! The instructors really understand the way each student learns. We had horrible experiences with school prior to enrolling at Bridges. Now my kiddo is learning and socializing with true peers. I highly recommend applying here if you have a 2e child! read more

A year ago, if you would have asked my 15-year-old son what he wanted to do after he graduated high school, he would have told you he had no idea - and quit bugging him while he was playing Wii. These days he'll tell you that he may want to formulate a method to make cancer cells undergo apoptosis without affecting the normal cells around them. In lay terms, that means he wants to cure cancer. And he has an idea of how he might do it. My son has always had an interest in science and the natural world. But his current focus on biological research came as a result of his relationship with his brilliant science teacher at Bridges Academy. As the parent of a twice-exceptional teenager with ADHD, I know first-hand about the challenges of trying to understand and nurture a child who at one moment seems wise beyond his years and the next can throw a tantrum suitable to a much younger kid. I know the heartache of speaking with officials at previous schools who acknowledged that my son was brilliant but unmanageable. I admit my son has been a challenge at times, but why couldn't everyone see the same kid I saw? Why did they always focus on the problems instead of the gifts? And why couldn't my son just go with the flow once in a while? Why did he always have to make everything so hard on himself by insisting on doing things his own way? The simple answer is that that his brain is "wired" differently. Basic executive skills that came so easily to other kids - like turning in homework on time -- seemed impossible for him. But studying graduate-level molecular genetics was a piece of cake. My son is "twice exceptional, or "2e." He's gifted (that's the first exception), but also has a learning difference, ADHD (and that's the second exception). Although the concept of twice-exceptionality is nearly twenty years old, I hadn't heard of it until five years ago when our family discovered Bridges Academy. We had no idea that there was a school in Los Angeles where educators were developing cirricula that focused on the strengths of these unique kids while also helping them address their weaknesses, where kids were identified not by their challenges but by their talents and passions. Five years ago I knew my son was brilliant, but I couldn't have told you what path he was going to choose after high school, let alone whether he would even go to college. Now it seems clear he's going to follow his passion, even if that passion may change in the coming years. And I'm grateful to Bridges Academy for the significant role they've played in helping him find his way. read more

My son has attended Bridges for 3 years. He, like most kids there, is highly gifted but has learning differences. This school allows my son to be himself and uses his strengths to learn. For example, instead of writing about some assigned random topic in English, the teachers allow for him to write about the things he is interested in. He often would refuse to write in his prior school, now his writing is incredible. His critical thinking skills have fully developed because this school allows them to develop in the way that my son thinks. This school teaches to the individual student so they learn. It is a wonderful place with caring teachers, and staff. read more

As a student since 2012, this school has truly changed my life on an educational and personal level. Twice Exceptional learning and Learning of the Discipline are heavily engraved into the teachings throughout all programs. Big pluses to this school are small classes, and limited homework with the intentions of not overburdening students. For my example, I'm very passionate in Art, Photography, and Humanities, but struggle with Mathematics, and Science/Physics. With the school knowing and observing this, I am placed in classes that will help me achieve my gifts and challenges. There is absolutely no bullying at this school whatsoever. A lot of students are victims of bullying, myself included. In that sense, this school is like a safe haven for a lot of students. While students struggle with learning disabilities, many students struggle with social/emotional disabilities, such as ADHD, Autism, OCD, etc., bullying victims, or both. Overall, this school is truly one of the best things that has ever happened to me, and it shows a very creative and progressive environment. It has been worth every dime invested from us. read more

Bridges Academy is a school devoted to gifted and highly gifted kids with learning disabilities, who thrive in a non-traditional school setting. Beanbag chairs and couches in some classrooms, teachers who are passionate about engaging students with their subjects - a great place for a student to find where his/her talents lie. read more