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From the beginning, Chelsea School has been committed to serving student who learn differently. We have maintained a philosophy that children thrive – both socially and academically – when their unique needs are met. Since 1976, we’ve provided individualized programming to students with specific language-based learning differences in a rigorous, individualized college preparatory environment. Our vision is a model educational community where each student is valued, has equitable access to opportunity, embraces their differences, and celebrates their achievements.

From the very start, our school’s focus has been on remediating the literacy deficits of students with dyslexia. Our approach is anchored in research-based reading interventions, but is also flexible enough to meet the unique needs of individual student’s learning styles. Before a student’s schedule has been created, they are placed in a reading group to match them with the best pedagogical approach, taking into account specific areas of need, learning style, communication style, age, and social factors. Each day, students receive a small-group reading tutorial class based on the Orton-Gillingham method of literacy acquisition. In these intimate groups, students learn sound-symbol correspondence, phonemic awareness, fluency, and comprehension skills that are taught in a multi-sensory, scaffolded, and individualized manner.

Chelsea School provides a rigorous, college-preparatory environment for its students. All students follow a course plan that fulfills the graduation requirements of the state of Maryland and follows the Common Core State Standards. For most of our graduates, two or four-year college is the next step in their transition, but some students choose to pursue other avenues such as employment, trade schools or gap-years. Our Transition Coordinator works with each student to ensure that their post-secondary planning is appropriate for their future goals and that they have a solid direction to pursue after graduation.

Chelsea School maintains a student-to-teacher ratio of 4:1 with a maximum class size of eight students. More intensive classes, such as reading tutorials, are even smaller. These small classes allow our teachers to better individualize their lessons for our students by differentiating the way content is delivered, how students show mastery of the material, and what supports are provided for their access to the curriculum. Each one of our teachers is a certified Special Educator licensed by the state of Maryland. Our teaching staff are known for their compassion, creativity, and knowledge of how best to teach students with learning differences.

Chelsea School’s culture is unique. Because of the small scale of our school, our youngest and oldest students have an opportunity to interact with each other outside the classroom. Our older students are expected to model pro-social skills and provide mentorship and leadership to our younger students. At Chelsea School, learning differences are not a taboo subject – we encourage all members of our community to talk openly about disability and neurodiversity with each other. We empower our students to unlock the hidden strengths associated with their learning difference and to learn how their unique perspective is valued and appreciated.

Learning doesn’t stop in the classroom at Chelsea School. Our program allows students to explore their talents through athletics, extra-curricular activities, community service, and leadership groups. Whether on the basketball court, in the classroom, or in the cafeteria, our staff strives to meet the academic, social-emotional, and developmental needs of our students while teaching them how to be good friends, good neighbors, and good citizens.

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Quick Facts

• Chelsea School is a nonprofit, nonpublic special education school approved by the state of Maryland to serve students in grades 5-12.

• We accept both publicly-funded and privately enrolled students.

• We serve students with average to above-average intelligence with a formal diagnosis of a specific learning disability, attention deficit, or autism spectrum disorder.

• All Chelsea School graduates receive a high school diploma.

• Chelsea School is a 10-month (185 day) school program. We offer an additional Extended School Year (ESY) program in the summer.

• Chelsea School serves students from all Maryland county jurisdictions as well as the District of Columbia and Virginia.

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