About Us
Mission
At Children’s Academy, our mission is to educate students with speech and language challenges and learning differences in a supportive social environment, through collaborative evidence-based models recognizing the individuality of each student. We strive to develop a love of learning, friendships, expression, understanding and self-advocacy.
Vision
- Prepare our children to confident members of their communities
- Shape the way our children are integrated into society
- Build a foundation for our students to lead full and productive lives
One of our school’s priorities is to provide time and opportunities to enable staff to personally excel in their craft and most importantly inspire and energize your children, our students. Teachers and staff are given strong clinical supervision, and plenty of time to plan meaningful lessons. Our staff use evidenced-based modalities and regularly partake in professional development. Team meetings, staff development workshops, regular school-wide and department-specific meetings all help to develop our staff into a dynamic and cooperative team.
Each teaching team brings specific training, skills, experience and expertise to the task of creating an interdisciplinary and integrated plan for your child.
Leadership
CHEVAL BRYANT, MCD, CCC-SLP
HEAD OF SCHOOL
Over the course of her career in therapeutic and educational leadership, Cheval has established an educational philosophy where instruction is carefully designed; however, students have the freedom to explore their strengths and weaknesses. She believes a truly effective learning environment is one that recognizes there is no such thing as an average learner and embraces the idea of designing instruction to meet the needs of students who learn differently. Students must not only be given permission to make mistakes; they should be encouraged to push themselves to the point where they will make mistakes. This is where true learning happens. Students must also be given the opportunity to work collaboratively with their peers to develop social skills and empathy through their interactions. Most importantly, Cheval believes the classroom should be safe, engaging and enjoyable for students and faculty alike!
ASSOCIATE HEAD – LOWER SCHOOL & ADMISSIONS DIRECTOR
Joe brings over 20 years of special education experience as a therapist, admissions director and administrator. He has worked with a wide range of lower and upper school students to help them reach their fullest potential. Joe believes that children do best when provided with a nurturing educational environment that provides the right type of professional support.
ELIZABETH KNAPP, MS, ED, CCC-SLP, TSSLD
DIRECTOR OF SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY
Elizabeth directly supervises and supports the team of speech-language pathologists at Children’s Academy. She is certified by New York State and obtained her M.S.Ed. in Communication Sciences and Disorders from the College of Saint Rose. Prior to her role as director, Elizabeth was an SLP in the middle/upper school at CA and acted as the school’s Education Liaison, which further fostered her passion for classroom-based service delivery. She encourages an individualized approach to speech and language therapy and prioritizes the relevance of treatment to the child’s participation in daily life. Elizabeth has a background in writing and a passion for literacy, which is a perfect complement to the field of speech-language pathology. She loves the Children’s Academy community and is honored to have an essential role within it.
MARY POILLON, MS, OTR/L
DIRECTOR OF OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY
Mary’s role is to develop and manage the occupational therapy programs and provide direct support and supervision to the occupational therapy department. Mary encourages the use of child-led, individualized treatment interventions to foster growth and independence. She believes in creating meaningful and functional goals related to the individual needs and interests of each student. Her favorite part of being an OT is witnessing the proud moments of students achieving their goals. Mary loves working at Children’s Academy because of the creative staff, loving students, and dedicated parents.
KATICIA MCKNIGHT, M.S.Ed
DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION FOR LOWER SCHOOL
Katica is a passionate and well-rounded professional who has dedicated the last 15 years of her life to the field of education. Holding a Master’s Degree in Education Curriculum, Assessment and Instruction, with extensive classroom teaching experience, her work has spanned 2 continents and 5 countries including, South Korea, United Arab Emirates, Taiwan, United States and Canada. Katicia understands the importance of the various educational learning theories and employs them strategically to support students as they reach their fullest potential. She enjoys the impactfulness of helping to shape young minds into becoming the thinkers, creators and leaders of the future. Over the course of her career, she has firmly upheld the philosophy that ALL children can learn!
Nadine Wright, MSc, Ed; Ed. S.
Director of Education – Middle/Upper School
Nadine is a motivated and committed professional who has dedicated over 25 years of her life to driving educational excellence, increasing student engagement, and improving student achievement. Holding master’s degrees in both Education and Curriculum Studies, along with extensive classroom experience at both the elementary and secondary levels, she has expertise in developing and implementing innovative, effective curricular strategies and using data-driven insights that address diverse learning needs. Nadine is passionate about ensuring that students, as unique individuals, have the full capacity to learn and should be exposed to grade-level content with appropriate accommodations and/or modifications that empower them to thrive. She is also deeply committed to creating opportunities for continuous learning and development, especially for adolescents and young adult learners with special needs.
LAWRENCE FELTZ, MBA
DIRECTOR OF FINANCE AND OPERATIONS
Lawrence is an experienced financial professional with a comprehensive background in financial planning, profit optimization, business growth, risk management, and organizational efficiency. Currently pursuing an MBA with a concentration in corporate strategy, he also plans to attain a second master’s in accounting with a focus on nonprofit organizations. Moreover, he brings HR expertise, having collaborated in both non-profit and for-profit sectors, and implemented strategies to improve financial and operating performance. Lawrence has served on boards of nonprofits focused on promoting theaters and acting to children in underserved communities and is committed to bringing that same passion to Children’s Academy.
TIFFANY WRIGHT,
DIRECTOR OF ADVANCEMENT
Tiffany Wright brings more than 14 years of experience in fundraising, strategic partnerships, community engagement, and event curation. She is known for her highly strategic approach to building mission-aligned relationships and for designing both intimate and large-scale events where meaningful networking is at the true core of every experience. Tiffany has a proven track record of strengthening donor engagement, cultivating corporate and community partnerships, and driving sustainable, mission-focused growth. Passionate about connecting people to purpose, she looks forward to advancing the mission of Children’s Academy through thoughtful strategy, collaboration, and impact-driven leadership
TARA FERSKO, MS, CCC-SLP,
ASSOCIATE HEAD – MIDDLE/UPPER SCHOOL
Tara comes to the Children’s Academy with years of experience as a clinician in private practice and educational settings, and as an independent school administrator. Early in her career as a Speech Language Pathologist, she worked to make connections with each child before targeting communication goals, believing personal connections and rapport drive the desire to communicate, which in turn facilitates progress toward goals. As an administrator, Tara has overseen the development of highly individualized programs. She continues to believe that connecting with each student and taking into account their abilities and support needs across domains is essential to effectively differentiating and modifying materials to remove barriers to access. She strives to give feedback collaboratively, to be present and available to support and develop approaches for working with students who face challenges in accessing their education, to guide educators in creating opportunities for students to apply recently learned concepts to situations that are personally meaningful and functional, and to find ways to showcase students’ learning by creatively tapping into their strengths.
Board of Trustees
- Martin Lindberg, Board Chair
- Peter Volandes, Treasurer
- Laura Davis, Secretary
- Chantal Aflalo
- Marianne Duldner
- Patrick Frame
- Laurie Gruhn
- Kate Lord
- Dr. Preetika Mukherjee
Strategic Plan 2024: An Exceptional Experience for Every Student
Careers
Interested in becoming a part of the CA Team? Please click on the link below to see how we are looking to grow our team.