Holden helped me learn how to manage my math difficulties, not second guess myself, and learn that it’s okay to ask for help. Without Holden I would never have been to make the transition to Oregon State University-Cascades.
Holden helped me learn to really enjoy life and express my feelings. Holden helped me through a lot of dark times and I'm forever thankful.
“Holden is a school that has space for teens’ anxiety. Whether a student needs a break, a reduced schedule, flexibility, someone to check in with them, or just patience and understanding — we make room for that. We take time to understand each student’s anxiety and what their triggers are, so we can find ways to mitigate it together. Many students whose anxiety has been a barrier to their education find that when there’s genuine acceptance and understanding around their anxiety, space opens up — for their education and for themselves.”
— Jennifer Polse Payne, MA, LMFT, LPCC | Clinical Director, Holden High School
Every Holden student has either weekly group or one-on-one counseling session built into their schedule — conducted by our Clinical Director or a MFT associate, supervised directly by Jennifer. Family therapy sessions (eight per year, included with tuition) and a monthly parent support group led by Jennifer are also available. Our counselors coordinate actively with outside therapists and psychiatrists.
Holden has over 100 combined staff years of experience working with teens who have experienced anxiety and depression.
Holden’s Co-Director Jennifer Polse Payne, MA, LMFT, LPCC is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor with a private practice in Berkeley. She has been working at Holden since 2004 and is our Clinical Director.
She has over 20 years of experience working with teens and families and over 15 years supervising and training our counseling staff and overseeing every student’s mental health support.
Kristin Lamoureux, Co-Director in charge of admissions, is the second Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist on staff.
She has been working at Holden for over 26 years.
We didn’t set out to build a school specifically for anxious teens. We set out to build a small, supportive high school where every student is known, understood, and not asked to learn in environments that work against them. That’s why students with anxiety thrive here.
Every student has either a weekly one-on-one session or weekly group with either a licensed MFT, MFT associate therapist (supervised by Holden’s licensed Clinical Director) or with our Clinical Director built into their schedule as a standard part of the school week — not a crisis resource, not something to sign up for, not dependent on a bad day. Family therapy sessions (eight per year, included with tuition) and a monthly parent support group are also available. Our counselors coordinate directly with outside therapists and psychiatrists.
For teens who have been out of school, the idea of returning full-time can itself trigger the anxiety that caused the problem. Holden’s part-time option exists for this. Many students start two or three days a week and build gradually — sometimes over a full semester — with their counselor, family, and teachers all coordinating on the pace. There’s no cliff to jump off.
Adolescent sleep cycles naturally shift later during puberty — and anxiety and sleep deprivation form a feedback loop that makes both worse. Holden starts at 10am. For many families, this one change is enough to transform their morning from a daily conflict into something manageable. Students arrive regulated rather than already depleted.
Large classrooms can increase stress for students with anxiety—whether they’re trying to avoid attention or feeling put on the spot. At Holden, small classes (8 students max) allow teachers to truly know each student and create a supportive, low-stress environment. Participation happens through collaboration, not pressure. Students aren’t overlooked—but they’re also not overwhelmed.
Many anxious teens have spent years working very hard to appear fine in environments where not being fine is stigmatized. At Holden, about 80% of students have some form of mental health challenge — anxiety, depression, or both. Counseling isn’t for ‘the teens with problems’; it’s for everyone. The result is a community where students are more honest with each other, and more supported, than most teens experience anywhere.
We don’t ask families to choose between Holden and their existing mental health providers. We ask them to let us coordinate. When appropriate the Clinical Director reaches out to outside therapists and psychiatrists, shares observations, and aligns on strategies. Holden is a complement to outside care, not a replacement for it.
Holden is WASC-accredited. Credits transfer. Students manage anxiety and go to college — these are not mutually exclusive. We work with every student on post-high-school transition, and we support students in developing self-advocacy skills for navigating their mental health needs at future institutions.
Holden is located at 10 Irwin Way in Orinda, CA — a 5-minute walk from Orinda BART on the Yellow Line. We serve families from across the East Bay and Bay Area, including:
About 56% of our families come from Alameda County, 41% from Contra Costa County.
By BART from Oakland or Berkeley, the commute is under 30 minutes.
The students who tend to do best at Holden are capable teens who need a physical school — not a 1:1 program, not an online school, not a therapeutic placement — and who are ready to be part of a small community. Specifically:
Not sure if that’s your teen? Call us.
We talk to families every day who aren’t certain, and that conversation is free, takes 15 minutes, and usually answers the question.
If your teen is in crisis right now, we’re still glad to take your call. We can help you think through the right level of care and talk about timing for Holden when they’re ready.
Ready to see if we’re the right fit? Click the button above to schedule a call, tour, or visit day.
Tours Monday-Friday; Rolling Admissions & Rolling Tuition Assistance.
We enroll throughout the year, not just in September.
The process is designed to be simple and easy for families to navigate. It starts with a conversation — a 20-minute admissions call with our team. From there, we’ll invite you and your teen for a 35-45 minute tour of the school. After that, your teen will be invited for a Visit Day so they can experience Holden before deciding. The online application includes a short form, school records, a writing sample, teacher recommendation form (prospective 9th grade applicants only), and learning assessments (if applicable) .
Because we have rolling admissions, there’s no deadline — you can apply any time of year, including mid-semester. The timeline between application submission and admission notification is typically 1–2 weeks, except for prospective 9th graders, whose admissions timeline differs.
Use the button above to call us or reach us via email admissions@holdenhigh.org
Holden serves teenagers who are bright and academically capable but haven’t thrived in traditional school. Most of our students have ADHD, learning differences (including dyslexia, dysgraphia, and dyscalculia), anxiety, or depression. Many identify as LGBTQ+ (about 38% of our community) and many are neurodivergent in ways that made them feel like outsiders in mainstream settings.
What they share is a desire for a community where they belong and a school that works for their brain.
Yes — and it’s built into our 10am-start school day, not treated as a special accommodation families have to request.
Our embedded study skills and executive functioning support include: teacher scaffolding, flexible deadline structures, and weekly check-ins to address the planning, organizing, EF tutoring/electives, and task-initiation challenges.
Our two credentialed Learning Specialists train all classroom teachers on evidence-based specific strategies and coach students in self-advocacy.
Yes — and it’s built into the school week, not an add-on. Every student participates in either a weekly 50-minute one-on-one counseling session—called Resource, Exploration, and Support (RES)—with a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist or supervised MFT Associate, or in a weekly therapeutic group led by our Clinical Director.
Yes. Our therapeutic support is built into the school week, not an add-on. Every student participates in either a weekly 50-minute one-on-one counseling session with a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist or supervised MFT Associate, or in a weekly therapeutic group led by our Clinical Director.
Holden also offers family therapy, a parent support group, and coordination with outside therapists and psychiatrists when needed.
Holden is not a therapeutic day school or residential program — we’re a trauma-informed, strengths-based learning community where counseling, relationships, and academics work together to support students’ growth. If a student is in active mental health crisis, we will help families think through the level of care and support that may be needed. Stop-outs are available for short term student crises.
Our students travel from across the East Bay and Bay Area. About half of families come from Alameda County (Oakland, Berkeley, Albany, Alameda, El Cerrito, Richmond) and half from Contra Costa County (Walnut Creek, Lafayette, Moraga, Danville, Orinda, Pleasant Hill, Concord, Antioch). We also have students from San Francisco and Marin. Holden is a 15-minute walk from Orinda BART, making the commute manageable from most Bay Area locations.
Yes. Holden is fully accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) — the same accreditation held by most California public and private high schools and colleges. Credits transfer fully, and Holden students apply to, and attend four-year universities, community colleges, and vocational programs.
Yes. Co-Director Abby Tuttle is a credentialed Education Specialist with a Master’s degree in Special Education (emphasis: mild-to-moderate learning disabilities). Holden also has an additional part-time Learning Specialist.
Together they train all teaching staff on ADHD accommodations, learning difference support, and differentiated instruction.
Yes, and we encourage it. Holden operates as a small, relationship-based, therapeutically-informed learning community — we consider ourselves a complement to outside mental health care, not a replacement. Our on-site counselors handle school-based support, parent communication, offer family therapy and parent support and coordination with outside providers. We’re happy to schedule coordination calls with your teen’s therapist or psychiatrist.
Yes to both. Holden has rolling admissions and accepts students throughout the year — not just in September. We also offer flexible enrollment: many students start two or three days a week and build up gradually, which is especially common for students who are managing learning differences, mental health challenges, academic difficulty, or recovering from school refusal.
Click here to learn more about our full time program option.
Click here to learn more about our part time program option.
Yes. We welcome students with IEPs and 504 plans, and we actively support them from day one.
We start by listening — to students, families, teachers, and any existing documentation. From there, we put the right accommodations and modifications in place, and we differentiate instruction so the learning environment fits the student, not the other way around. Our 8:1 ratio means teachers know every student’s learning profile and can adapt in real time.
Every Holden student has access to advisory groups, homework labs, learning specialist and teacher office hours, individual and family counseling, study skills support, end-of-semester conferences, and academic support meetings — all included in tuition. Additional one-on-one tutoring is also available for an extra fee for families who want it.
Students with active IEPs:
Holden participates in IEP meetings — on-site or remotely — with your home district’s staff. We also hold end of year conferences with every student and family to review progress, strengths, and goals. These aren’t formal IEP meetings, but they serve the same spirit: making sure every student is seen, supported, and making progress on their goals.
Holden is not a certified NPS, but we have a track record of working with school districts — and we know how that process works.
Some districts have placed students with us directly. More often, families with documented disabilities are reimbursed by their home district for private school tuition. It’s not a simple process, but it’s more possible than many families realize. Districts that have provided financial support to Holden families in recent years include Berkeley Unified, Oakland Unified, Acalanes Union, John Swett, and Mt Diablo Unified.
If you’re exploring this route, reach out. We’re happy to share what we’ve seen work for families in your district.
Full tuition at Holden High School is $46,904 per year. Providing tuition assistance is an essential part of our school community and mission. Each year, we work hard to make Holden accessible to as many students as possible.
About 55% of our families receive some form of tuition assistance, supported through school resources and generous community donations. Families who receive aid most commonly pay between $18,000 and $35,000 per year, depending on their financial circumstances. In some cases, families pay as little as $13,000, though this represents less typical situations.
Providing tuition assistance is extremely important to us. It allows students who truly need a school like Holden to enroll, regardless of their family’s financial background, and helps us maintain the diverse, supportive community that makes the school so special.
We also want to be transparent about how our program works. In general, our tuition assistance model works best for families who are able to contribute at least $13,000-$20,000 per year toward tuition. If your household income falls significantly below that range, we encourage you to reach out early so we can have an honest conversation about what may be possible.
Because every family’s financial situation is unique, tuition assistance awards are determined after we review a family’s application and supporting financial documents. Tuition can be paid annually, semi-annually, or through monthly payment plans.
If Holden feels like it could be the right fit for your teen, we encourage you to reach out. We’re always happy to talk through both the admissions process and tuition assistance options.
District funding:
Some families also explore reimbursement through their school district, particularly for students with documented disabilities or IEPs. This path requires persistence and isn’t guaranteed, but it’s navigable — see the NPS question above, or call us to talk through what it’s looked like for families in your district.
→Visit our Tuition Page for full details, or call us. We’d rather have a real conversation than have you guess.
Holden serves students in grades 9 through 12. Some students join us mid–high school (often in 10th or 11th grade) after realizing their previous school wasn’t the right fit, and our rolling admissions process allows us to accommodate transfers at any point during the school year.
Teen sleep cycles naturally shift later during adolescence, and lack of sleep can make attention, impulse control, and emotional regulation even harder for students with ADHD.
Holden’s 10:00 a.m. start time reflects what we know about how teens learn best — and it also allows students from across the Bay Area to commute by BART without a 06:00 alarm.
Teen sleep cycles naturally shift later during adolescence, and lack of sleep can make attention, impulse control, and emotional regulation even harder for students with ADHD.
Holden’s 10:00 a.m. start time reflects what we know about how teens learn best — and it also allows students from across the Bay Area to commute by BART without a 06:00 alarm.
Absolutely — and we encourage it. The best way to know if Holden is right for your teen is to visit. Tours are offered Monday through Friday and are about 45 minutes long. You’ll meet staff, see classes in session, and have every question answered.
Call (925) 254-0199, email admissions@holdenhigh.org, or use the button below to schedule a conversation, tour, or visit day.
We talk to families everyday who aren’t sure if Holden is the right fit. That conversation is free, takes about 15 minutes, and usually answers the question.
We look forward to hearing from you! You can email us directly with inquiries at admissions@holdenhigh.org
We don’t ask students to adapt to a system that wasn’t built for them. We build the system around how they actually learn.
Executive dysfunction isn’t just about attention — it’s about planning, starting, sequencing, and finishing. Study skills and executive functioning development are integrated into the school day. From structured planning time to flexible deadlines and visual organizers, these supports are integrated into how we teach for each student, not special accommodations.
Some students come to Holden full-time. Others start with a part-time schedule, and often build from there. This is especially common for students who are also managing anxiety alongside their ADHD, or who are recovering from school refusal. Your teen doesn’t have to be ready for five full days to begin. Our part-time program serves students in independent or homeschool study programs.
Students can earn high school credit for extracurricular learning: internships, jobs, independent projects, arts programs, and more. Many teens with ADHD demonstrate strengths beyond conventional academic settings. This approach ensures their transcript tells the full story of who they are.
Many teens have spent years feeling like they don’t quite fit — too much, too quiet, too distracted, too different. At Holden, differences aren’t something to manage; they’re something we understand. With many students navigating learning differences, our culture is built around acceptance, flexibility, and respect. We use a research-based social connection curriculum (PEERS), but just as importantly, the community itself creates a strong sense of belonging.
