Trust the Journey Academy starts first school year in Brunswick

BRUNSWICK — Trust the Journey Academy, which specializes in educating kids who have a disability, recently started its first school year. Trust the Journey Executive Director Jennifer Layton said the organization started as a nonprofit two years ago to assist the families of children who have a disability or medically complex conditions. "We started as a nonprofit when our son turned 10," she said. "We wanted to honor him. He has unique needs." The vision for the organization was always to have a school, Layton said. The lease for the academy at 1480 Pearl Road in Brunswick was signed in June. The academy is a nonprofit, private school that serves kindergarten through eighth grade students, but the intention is to expand into high school next year. "Our focus is on academics," she said. "We also have smaller ratios for kids and more adaptive materials for the kids to blossom more and learn the concepts. Our curriculum is more geared toward them and more broken down." Speech therapy and occupational therapy are done in-house, Layton said. There is a director of education, certified teachers, an intervention specialist, registered behavioral technicians, a speech-language pathologist, an occupational therapist and a physical therapist at the school. "We can individualize everything to the child," she said. "Classrooms are divided up, which is great, but it's at the level that they're at. That's how we instruct the children." Since it is a nonprofit, private school, district placement is needed for students, Layton said. Interested parents can go to their school district and request outside placement at the facility. "If the student attends in district and their needs are not met, either per staff or per parents or even faculty suggesting it at the district, then they will look for outside placement with us," she said. The school year runs from September until the end of May with holiday breaks and summers off, Layton said. An extended school year option will also be offered in July. For more information about the school, visit trust-the-journey.org. "I want children to get their needs met," Layton said. "I want them to flourish, and I don't want anything to damper them. I want them to grow, blossom and reach their full potential." Contact reporter Madisyn Woodring at (330) 721-4049 or mwoodring@medina-gazette.com.