Information: Cumberland Academy, 650 Mount Vernon Highway, Sandy Springs, 404-835-9000 or cumberlandacademy.org.
The search for a school that would provide the learning environment and support for her son with Asperger’s disorder led Debbi Scarborough on a journey she never imagined. With no formal training, she launched the sort of school she envisioned in 2007 with one student - her child.
“I was 50 years old and never thought I’d be starting a school,” said the Sandy Springs resident. “But my son was going into sixth grade, and I couldn’t find a school that was academically strong and socially challenging - the two things these students need. But I had also owned a business for 30 years and knew how to find good people.”
Scarborough’s vision for Cumberland Academy was a place where students with Asperger’s, autism, attention deficit disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder can find the learning environment that addresses their special needs. Today, classroom sizes for the 100 students are small, with no more than eight or 10 students in each grade from fourth through high school. Among the 30 staff members are four counselors who encourage students to visit them and take a break when they feel overwhelmed. There’s even a staff dog to provide pet therapy.
“That’s unique to our school to have a place where kids can go to take a break and then go back to class,” said Scarborough. “All our educators get what our children need.”
Middle school social studies teacher Jennifer Liang knows that technology is one feature that students relate well to.
“Technology is really key for our kids because it helps them overcome their disabilities,” she said. “The majority of students on the autism spectrum are high-functioning, have high IQs and need some sort of modified curriculum. Every classroom has interactive white boards or smart boards. And we are the first special-needs school to provide every student with a Chromebook that they carry with them from class to class. They all have a Google account, email, a calendar, Google docs and apps that they use in the classrooms. And we’ve seen how technology makes a difference in student engagement and test scores.”
Because of the positive results teachers have seen using technology, the academy was recently honored with a visit from Google representatives who brought the company’s prototype Expedition Pioneer to the school for a day. The program features virtual reality field trips of destinations around - and beyond - the planet.
“They have 3D films of places all over the world, as well as under the ocean and on the moon,” said Staci Gelbaum, who teaches elementary-aged students. “We were the only special-needs school they visited, and every one of our students was able to try it out at least once. They loved it.”
Along with an emphasis on technology, the academy stresses practical real-world skills that students need outside the classroom.
“For instance, we have eight students who take MARTA here every day,” said Scarborough. “We want to get life skills embedded in them. Our ultimate goal is to have them either working or going to college when they leave here.”
Two years after opening, the academy earned accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. And two years ago, Scarborough’s son was among the first graduates.
“When it comes to getting what these students need,” she said, “I’m a mama bear.”
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