Amy Beverland Early Learning Center

Damar Academy began in 1993 as a single on-campus classroom for Damar students whose needs the public schools could not meet. In 2005 we hired our own licensed teachers and teaching assistants and became an independent, Freeway-accredited private school on Damar's 83-acre campus on the southwest side of Indianapolis. We provide special education for students ages 6 to 21 with developmental, intellectual and behavioral disabilities. Our teachers hold Indiana licenses with special education endorsements, and they blend education and therapy through instruction in communication, behavior, academics, motor and adaptive skills, and social and emotional development. Students practice independent living skills in the classroom and out in the community, and older students build vocational skills for life after school. We can contract with local school corporations to serve qualifying children. Most of our students come from Indiana, but we also accept students from other states.

Damar Charter Academy is Indiana's first public charter school created specifically for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. It opened in 2011 as a collaboration between Damar Services and the City of Indianapolis Office of Education Innovation, and serves up to 195 students in kindergarten through grade 12 on the southwest side of Indianapolis. Enrollment is open to any Indiana resident and there is no tuition. Students follow one of three tracks: an academic track toward a diploma, a life skills track focused on independent living and community integration, and a vocational track for students 13 and older. Classes are small, staff ratios are high, and instruction uses a total communication approach including PECS. Speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, behavior intervention, and counseling are provided on site. Through the Dragon Works program, students build job skills by running a coffee shop and a wood shop.

Dynamic Minds Academy is an Indianapolis school at 8350 Craig Street for students with autism spectrum disorder. It pairs academics with ABA therapy through The Hope Source in one building. The school serves kindergarten through 12th grade, with center-based clients ages 5 to 22 and a vocational lab available through age 22. The blended model uses low student-teacher ratios and low-stimulation classrooms. Speech therapy, occupational therapy, and mental health supports run during the school day rather than as a separate placement. The year-round calendar covers about 240 school days. The Hope Source began autism therapy in 2009. After earlier education partnerships, Dynamic Minds Academy opened in 2019 to keep treatment and school in one place. Students may present with mild, moderate, or severe autism, with or without language impairment, and some have additional neurodevelopmental or mental health diagnoses. Tours and enrollment are currently on a waitlist.