Student Services

Student Services at CHA includes: 

• Parent resources for external providers (occupational therapists, counselors, educational psychologists, et cetera) 

• Teacher coaching and mentoring on inclusive classroom practices 

• Accommodation coordination for eligible students 

While we seek to provide an overview of how we support students on this page, we understand that every child and family is unique. For all the questions outlined here, we recommend contacting the Director of Student Services, Chelsea Roberts, for more information.  

Can my child have a 504 plan at CHA?  We can provide accommodations that fall within the scope of our resources to eligible students. We call these Accommodation Plans because, as a private school, we are not bound by Section 504. The legal framework of our approach to providing accommodations is in the American Disabilities Act. We have an established process to determine accommodation eligibility. 

What is required for a child to be eligible for accommodations at CHA? As part of our process, we require documentation to be provided in the first stage of eligibility evaluation. Accepted documentation is typically a private full battery neuropsychological evaluation, a neuropsychological evaluation done by a public school district or a medical evaluation.   

What types of accommodations can Chestnut Hill Academy support? Chestnut Hill Academy uses the recommended accommodations from an Educational Psychologist as the basis for a support plan. We can support accommodations such as: 

• Extended testing time 
• Preferential seating 
• More frequent breaks 

We cannot support on-site related services, such as occupational therapy, speech language therapy or mental health counseling. We are also unable to provide toileting assistance. 

Can you provide a one-to-one support aide for my child? We do not provide any onsite one-to-one support services. In some cases, we can support an external ABA therapist coming onsite to provide one-to-one support to the student. We want the best for every prospective and current student who comes to our school, and we do our best to transparently communicate what supports fall within the scope of our resources and feasibility in our program. We work closely with families to understand their child’s unique needs, the level of support that is needed and available, and the goodness of fit between identified needs and our programming. In cases where there is one-to-one support coming onsite, the family accepts all financial and management responsibilities of the therapist.   

Where can I find more resources on neurodivergence? 

• National Association for Gifted Children:  
• Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD)  
• Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted (SENG)  
• Autism Speaks  
• Understood.org  
• Made by Dyslexia  
• CDC Children’s Mental Health  

At CHA, we have a continuum of support and enrichment opportunities to provide students with demonstrated need for gifted resources. You’ll notice that many of the gifted resources listed below are available to all CHA students – that is by design. With our inclusive approach to gifted resources, we know that all students benefit from instruction that includes affective learning, enrichment, project-based learning, and interest-based learning.  Teachers integrate strategies which engage gifted students in the classroom.    

Please note: Since academic experiences and differentiation that support gifted students are integrated into every classroom, there is no testing requirement to benefit from the below gifted resources. If you have completed IQ testing for your child, you may choose to share it with the Director of Student Services and/or your child’s classroom teachers for additional insight into your child’s unique strengths.  

How do I apply to the gifted program? There is no separate gifted program at CHA. We take an inclusive approach with practices that benefit all students (including gifted learners), such as project-based learning and acceleration, into every classroom. Since these practices are integrated into every classroom, there is no application or testing requirement. 

The National Association of Gifted Children’s definition of giftedness is as follows: 

Students with gifts and talents perform - or have the capability to perform - at higher levels compared to others of the same age, experience, and environment in one or more domains. They require modification(s) to their educational experience(s) to learn and realize their potential. Student with gifts and talents: 

• Come from all racial, ethnic, and cultural populations, as well as all economic strata. 
• Require sufficient access to appropriate learning opportunities to realize their potential. 
• Can have learning and processing disorders that require specialized intervention and accommodation. 
• Need support and guidance to develop socially and emotionally as well as in their areas of talent. 
• Require varied services based on their changing needs. 

Gifted Resource	Who participates?	Gifted Strategy
Voice Groups	All CHA students	Interest-Based Learning
Pre-assessments	All CHA students	Curriculum Compacting
Social-Emotional Learning through Leader in Me	All CHA Students	Affective/Leadership Competency Development
Low floor, high ceiling math tasks	All CHA students	Enrichment
Math Extension Curriculum	All CHA students	Enrichment
Project-Based Learning opportunities, such as: Goods & Services Market, engineering projects, Invention Convention, First Nations Museum, and Wax Museum	All CHA students	Project-Based Learning
+1 English Language Arts Curriculum	First through fifth-grade students	Acceleration
+1 Math Curriculum	Eligible CHA Students	Acceleration