An expert team on a mission to modernize education

A non-profit organization on a mission to modernize education and redefine what’s possible for each child, and for the contribution a school can make to their future

Cajal Academy is both a school and a non-profit organization dedicated to developing new educational approaches that give teachers the tools they need to operationalize current neuroscientific research in the classroom. We offer a whole new approach to education, designed by an expert team under the leadership of a recognized neuropsychologist.

Cajal Academy was founded in 2019 as a nonprofit organization with a dual mission: to develop new educational approaches aligned to modern neuroscientific understandings, and to operate a flagship school for twice exceptional students, filling a hole in Connecticut’s and Westchester County’s current educational offerings. Over the next five years, we will expand into a K-12 school of up to 50 students, while maintaining small class sizes, high staff to student ratios and our tight-knit culture of supporting one another’s differences. As our cohort grows, we will also begin disseminating our protocols as teacher trainings and packaged curricula, so that we can impact educational practices beyond our school’s walls.

Cajal Academy was approved by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) in summer, 2023 as a candidate for accreditation, and look forward to working with the Committee for full accreditation as soon as possible. Our school is located in Westport, CT. Cajal Academy has received IRS confirmation of our tax exempt status as a 501(c)(3) organization.

 

We’re on a mission to modernize education. Modern neuroscience points the way.

Parents and educators everywhere agree that traditional educational approaches aren’t working well for kids who are on the ends of the bell curve. We started designing through custom programs for intellectually-gifted kids who find themselves at the edges, and followed modern neuroscience to develop a new framework that brings more of the kids into the middle of the conversation.

 
 

An expert, multi-disciplinary team

Cajal Academy was co-founded by a mom to two “twice exceptional” kids who is also a social entrepreneur and former litigator, together with the occupational therapist who has transformed both her kids. Soon they were joined by Dr. Steven Mattis: a neuropsychologist and medical school professor who has been recognized as a leading figure in the development of modern neuropsychology in the United States, who shares their passion to turn neuroscientific research into new educational practices empowering kids. Find out more about the educators and multi-disciplinary clinic at the heart of our program.

 
Cajal Academy founder Cheryl Viirand  and her son smile at one another

Born of one family’s journey to create a school where even the most complex learners can thrive

Find out how one child’s very unique needs is leading to a new, neuroscience-driven educational model for all

 
Father of neuroscience and artist Santiago Ramon y Cajal sits at a desk with his microscope.

Honoring the father of modern neuroscience

Santiago Ramon y Cajal was a 19th century scientist and artist who struggled to find his educational home as a child — and went on to figure out how the human nervous system works by drawing what he saw under a microscope.

 
 

 

From our Blog…

 
 

 

Cajal Academy in the News