Top 5 Best Special Needs Schools in Lincoln, California (2026)

Foskett Ranch Elementary School opened in August 2005 in northwest Lincoln and serves about 400 students from transitional kindergarten through fifth grade, with around 50 employees. Our average class has 25 students per teacher. Students are the Falcons, and our schoolwide expectations follow the word SOAR: safety first, offer kindness, always be responsible, and respect matters. After the last bell, students can join clubs run by our staff. Band and choir are led by our music teacher, and there is also Fun with Circuits, a Robotics Programming Club for fourth and fifth graders, Garden Club, Puzzle Club, a Leadership group for grades 4 and 5, and K-Kids, a service club for grades 3 to 5 sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Lincoln. A Homework Club meets after school as well. For working families, the fee-based STAR program provides before and after school care on our campus, with scholarships and a sliding fee scale for eligible families. Our PTO meets monthly and raises money for classroom enrichment.

• Public elementary school (TK-5)
• After-school clubs
• Public school

We are a tuition-free TK–12 public charter school serving El Dorado, Nevada, Placer, Sacramento, Sutter and Yuba counties. Families work with a credentialed supervising teacher to choose home study, digital learning or blended live virtual instruction. Supported Home Study is a print-based option for TK–8. Our program includes small intervention groups, enrichment and parent support. Eligible students receive services through an Individualized Education Program or 504 plan. We are WASC-accredited and offer UC/CSU A–G coursework, career pathways and community-college opportunities for eligible high-school students.

• Public charter school
• Learning differences
• homeschool support
• Accredited

Lincoln High School has served Lincoln for more than 100 years, and generations of local families have worn the blue and gold of the Fighting Zebras. We are the Western Placer Unified high school on J Street for grades 9 to 12, accredited by WASC through June 2028. Agriculture is a big part of campus life. More than a quarter of our students take at least one ag class, and each of them joins FFA. Pathways include agriculture mechanics, animal science, agribusiness, floral design and sustainable agriculture, and students work at our school farm, more than 400 acres with a welding shop, classrooms and animal facilities about 15 minutes from campus. Other career pathways cover construction, engineering, media arts and video game design, alongside AP and honors classes, AVID, dual enrollment, internships and the Seal of Biliteracy. Our Wellness Center in Room 14 gives students a quiet place to reset or talk with staff, and counselors and school psychologists work on site. Athletes choose from football, girls flag football, wrestling, lacrosse, swimming, stunt cheer, trap and sporting clays teams, and students can join clubs, leadership and the Science Expo.

• Public high school (9-12)
• Agriculture and FFA
• Career technical education
• Advanced Placement

A senior project is one of our graduation requirements at Phoenix High School. Students demonstrate progress through assignments, portfolios and projects in a curriculum that follows California's common core standards while considering different learning styles and achievement levels. We use that work to help students pursue a diploma at Phoenix or prepare to return to a comprehensive high school. Course options can extend beyond our campus. Students may attend Lincoln High School or Twelve Bridges High School for a course unavailable at Phoenix, depending on openings and class schedules. Our program resources also include art, dual enrollment and project-based learning. Students and families can consider those options as they plan coursework and the next step in their education. We work with families and the wider community on students' academic work and personal goals, including purpose, values and positive habits. Through Western Placer Unified School District, families have access to school information, college and career planning and community support resources. Our student outcome goals cover responsible citizenship, effective communication, academic achievement, career planning and health. The senior project required for graduation draws on those goals. A Phoenix diploma or a return to a comprehensive high school remains the student's choice.

• High school
• academic/personal support needs
• Public school

Families come to Sterling Bambini Montessori for care that can start at one month old and continue through age 12. We run year-round in Lincoln with half-day, full-day and extended care options, grouping children by age and program. Our preschool classrooms follow the Montessori method: practical life work such as pouring, food preparation and setting tables, sensorial materials for the five senses, hands-on math with concrete objects, language, geography and cultural studies, and science through caring for classroom plants and animals. We blend the Montessori written language curriculum with other multi-sensory approaches. Grade schoolers join our before and after school program, which includes breakfast, transportation between our center and their school, and homework help. In summer we add STEM, sports, music, crafts and field trips, and extra classes such as Ninja Kids parkour and performing arts. New enrollees receive a free one-week assessment.

• Montessori preschool and childcare center
• Montessori
• Infant and toddler care
• Speech therapy