I have matured in ways that wouldn’t have been possible without the community at Holden.
I am forever grateful. This school not only saved my life, but gave me a safe place to explore, grow, and heal.
“Teens with dysgraphia are often some of the most creative, articulate thinkers in the room — and some of the most penalized by how schools measure output. At Holden, we separate what a student knows from how they write it down. At Holden, our Learning Specialists work directly with students on the specific challenges of written expression, while every classroom teacher is trained to provide writing accommodations as a default, not an exception. Word processors, flexible deadlines, scribes, oral homework, and scaffolded writing support mean students finally get credit for their ideas, not just their handwriting.”
– Abby Tuttle, MA — credentialed Education Specialist (Mild to Moderate), Director of Learning Support, Holden High School.
Co-Director Abby Tuttle is a credentialed Education Specialist. She holds with a Master’s degree in Special Education, with an emphasis in mild-to-moderate learning disabilities. Abby has worked directly with students with dysgraphia throughout her career at Holden.
Amy Barrow is Holden’s part-time Learning Specialist. She holds a Mild to Moderate Education Specialist credential.
Together, our Learning Specialists train all classroom teachers on dysgraphia-specific accommodations, scaffolded writing strategies, and evidence-based interventions targeting spelling and handwriting difficulties — so support is woven into every class, not just available in one room.
For a broader overview of how Holden supports students with learning differences, visit our → Learning Differences page.
We don’t ask students with dysgraphia to keep proving themselves through the one tool that works against them. We changed the tool. At Holden, accommodations are standard practice, not something families have to request or justify.
For students with dysgraphia that means: word-processor access in every class, assistive technology across all subjects, note-taking support, extra time on assignments and tests, significantly reduced or waived late-work penalties, and breaking complex tasks into manageable steps.
Students also receive an accommodations card to support self-advocacy at future schools and colleges.
At Holden, every student types. This isn’t an accommodation families have to negotiate — it’s how class works. Students managing dysgraphia are never singled out for needing a laptop; everyone uses one. That shift removes the daily friction of asking, explaining, and waiting for permission.
Students with dysgraphia need more time to organize their ideas and get them onto the page — not because they have less to say, but because the translation from thought to text takes more effort. Holden’s flexible deadline structure and significantly reduced late-work penalties (unlike most public schools) mean students aren’t graded on speed.
Our teachers use high-leverage practices including graphic organizers, scaffolded writing frameworks, and targeted grammar instruction to support the specific challenges of dysgraphia. Language arts classes are structured around skill development, not output volume. Students build writing strategies they can use for life.
Our two credentialed Learning Specialists provide evidence-based interventions targeting spelling, handwriting, and written expression. This isn’t a pull-out program — it’s embedded in each student’s week alongside their regular coursework.
Students with dysgraphia have often spent years feeling embarrassed asking for what they need. At Holden, 40% of students have diagnosed learning disabilities. Accommodations aren’t exceptions — they’re how school works here. For many students, that alone is the change that makes everything possible.
Holden is WASC-accredited — the same accreditation held by most California public and private high schools. Our students go to college. We work with every student on post-high school transition throughout their four years. Counseling, family meetings, grade level Advisories, and college prep electives support students researching and applying to 2yr/4yr college, vocational programs, entry level positions, gap years, and career training.
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 do best at Holden are capable teens with dysgraphia who need a physical school — not a 1:1 tutoring 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.
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.
My daughter has gone through a tremendous amount of growth since coming to Holden. Between Holden's small class sizes, letting the students explore their interests, and flexibility, her attitude toward school and her abilities has completely changed.
With Holden, I feel like I have my daughter back.
The staff does an excellent job of meeting my son where he is at. They accept him and offer him support to continue his personal growth and see the positive side of him. He has choices and options which really make a difference in his experience. He has shown personal growth of being more self aware and responsible. He is starting to form friendships.
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
