The Prentice School

Our mission is to provide an innovative education, a nurturing environment, and a path to success for students who learn differently.

Our vision is to be a model of excellence for educating students who learn differently.

The Prentice School was created in 1986 by a dedicated group of professionals, psychologists, doctors, educators, and parents to address the needs of students who were struggling to learn in a traditional classroom environment. These thought-leaders recognized the necessity of a school that could proactively assist this unique student population through a combination of research-proven teaching strategies and a research-based curriculum implemented in a safe, nurturing, and supportive learning environment. Prentice has more than 35 years of direct experience working with students who learn differently and with experts in the field of special education. Over the years we have partnered with UC Irvine and Chapman University to further their research and participate in field projects that have strengthened our own program. With an initial focus on students who struggled to read, Prentice initially opened its doors as The Newport Community School. There were two teachers and 25 students in a four-room building. By the following year, enrollment had grown so quickly that the school had to move to a bigger campus. With the new location came a new name, Prentice Day School, honoring a founding benefactor. By 1990, enrollment had reached 120 students, with others on a waiting list. Prentice was succeeding in its mission of meeting the needs of an underserved community of learners, and an even larger campus was needed. In 1993, the school relocated to its current site – a beautiful and spacious 6.6 acre school campus in North Tustin, California. Soon after, Prentice received its first six-year accreditation from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), a recognition the school has received every six years thereafter. In 1997, Prentice officially changed its name to The Prentice School. Charitable contributions have also played a pivotal role in Prentice’s history. The campus was originally funded completely by philanthropy, with campus improvements and expansions also made possible by Prentice contributors. As a result, the school is debt-free. The Prentice School has maintained its standard of excellence and established a reputation as one of the United States’ leading schools for children with learning differences by adhering to its original mission. We offer evidenced-based practices, a highly qualified, caring faculty, and a learning environment that taps into the talents of each student while supporting his or her unique learning differences.

1-in-5 children have a learning disability that may impact their future without intervention.

Prentice is a award-winning private school designed for children with language-based learning disabilities and co-occurring conditions. Our program is designed to prepare and empower our students for a life of self-advocacy, personal growth and the understanding that their differences make them unique.

Our goals this year:
-To increase our total scholarship dollars awarded from 10% from the pre-pandemic level. Prior to the pandemic we awarded about $430,000 in scholarships every year, this year, our goal is to award $475,000.
To continue and further our partnership with California State University, San Bernardino’s Institute for Child Development and Family Relations on our Mind Masters Program. This program is specific to Prentice and works to help improve student’s working memory and executive functioning, which is key to academic success.
-To continue training our teachers in exceptional research based approaches. We currently train our teachers in the Orton Gillingham Approach and utilize the Amplify curriculum from the Science of Reading Model. Our commitment is to certify 100% of our teachers in the Orton Gillingham Approach through the Dyslexia Training Institute, so this year our goal is to send 5 teachers to their training.
-To implement the RULER method by the 2023-2024 school year. Research shows that RULER decreases stress and burnout, enhances classroom climates, and increases academic achievement. This year our goal is to train our Marriage and Family Therapist and two administrators on the RULER method, which we will then roll out school-wide the following year.

Our top needs are as follows:
-Needs Based Scholarship Fund: It costs $32,750 to attend Prentice for 1 year, and about 24% of our students receive financial assistance in some way. We never want a financial barrier to be the reason a student cannot attend Prentice, so we are continually looking for support from our Prentice Family to support our Needs Based Scholarship Fund.
-Teachers Fund & Professional Development Fund: As we shared earlier, our goal is to be a research-based school that continues to set itself apart by providing a program that continues to evolve and adapt to our students' needs. We do this in two ways: recruiting the best teachers that are equipped to provide our students with the care and instruction they need to succeed, and by providing additional training and support to our teachers in research-based approaches and curriculum. Our Teachers Fund helps us retain and hire the best teachers for our students. Our Professional Development Fund allows us to send our teachers and staff to specific and specialized training throughout the year.
-Eagle’s Fund: As a nonprofit private school, we rely on the generosity of the Prentice Family to support our mission. The Eagle’s Fund has a direct impact on every Prentice student and is key to our state of the art classrooms, 6.6 acre campus, amazing teachers, and evidence based programs and services that are unique to Prentice. The Eagle's Fund allows us to continue to expand and grow the exceptional programs and services we provide and will have a lasting effect on every Prentice student.

Prentice is the only all day school in Orange County with a specialized educational program for children with language-based learning differences. We are located in Santa Ana/North Tustin, but our unique program draws students from communities throughout Orange County, Los Angeles, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties. During the past 35 years, the school has educated over 5,500 children with language-based learning disabilities.

Over 35 years ago, a small group of parents banded together with one goal...to create an educational institution that would give their children with dyslexia the education they deserved. They formed what is now The Prentice School. Today, that small school is now a 6.6 acre campus with over 25 classrooms serving over 146 students through 8th grade.

Our goal is still the same. To teach students with language-based learning differences and co-occurring conditions (like ADHD) that they are creative, intelligent and capable of becoming our future leaders. That they can succeed beyond their wildest dreams.

- Devon Green, Head of School

When the Prentice School opened its doors in 1986, there were no schools in Orange County for children with language-based learning disabilities.  Over thirty-five years later, Prentice remains the only all day school in this area with an instructional program specifically developed for children who learn differently, where students develop a heightened awareness of their own unique learning style, and, as a result, take full command of their own learning process.

While all schools have dedicated teachers, what sets the Prentice faculty apart is additional multisensory training in how to help students with learning differences, and the unique desire to dedicate their lives to help this extraordinary group reach their full potential.

Smaller class size and specialized instruction can make a tremendous difference in a child's academic success, but don't underestimate the value of a supportive and nurturing environment for a child who probably associates school with stress and failure. Prentice offers an academic and emotional solution for children with learning difference that is not available anywhere else in Orange County. Our board members have first-hand knowledge of the unique needs of our students as our volunteer board members not only include current or former parents of Prentice students, Prentice alumni, grandparents of alumni students, but also may be professionals who have experienced difficulties themselves as a result of their own learning challenges.

-Kathy Daigle, Board President