While Silicon Valley may be home to some of the most highly rated schools in the country, students with special needs may suffer due to the lack of individual attention in large classes. Often these kids are those with learning disabilities whose academic performance is stifled by their lack of learned skills to work through conditions such as dyslexia, autism spectrum disorder or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, despite demonstrating high potential.
Educator Kristin Rourke has long worked with such students, commonly referred to as “twice exceptional,” through private tutoring, but this year she is broadening her offerings by opening a new “microschool” in Mountain View with a cohort of fewer than eight students.