Top 5 Best Special Needs Schools in Owings Mills, Maryland (2026)

The Owings Mills location is one campus of Children's Manor & Children's Magnet Montessori Schools (CMMS), a Maryland Montessori group that has operated since 1993. The school follows the Montessori method based on Dr. Maria Montessori's approach, with a curriculum built around the five Montessori learning areas: Practical Life, Sensorial, Language Arts, Mathematics, and Cultural Studies (geography, zoology, botany, history, and science). CMMS layers its own "Montessori Links" curriculum on top, organizing each month of the school year around a theme and a continent study that ties the five learning areas to Character Development, STEM, Continent Connections, and Author Study and Arts. Owings Mills serves children across the full CMMS age range. Programs run from Infant and Toddler care (children accepted from 6 weeks of age), Pre-Primary for ages 2 to 3.5, Primary for ages 3 to 6, Honors and Kindergarten, and an Elementary program that offers Grade 1 at this campus. The Elementary classes use a certified Montessori Elementary teacher with small groups (the site cites an average 14 to 1 student-to-teacher ratio) and a mix of individual, small-group, and independent work. The brand notes that lead teachers for ages 3.5 and up hold Bachelor's degrees along with Montessori certification, and many have advanced degrees. Progress is tracked individually, with parent-teacher conferences held at least three times a year. Daily learning is supplemented with integrated enrichment in Spanish, Technology, Music, Yoga, Art, Library Media, and Reading Readiness, plus extracurriculars such as soccer, tennis, piano, guitar, science, and dance depending on location, and two to four field trips per year (four to six at the Elementary level). The Montessori approach naturally accommodates a range of abilities and learning styles, which fits the listing's noted focus on language-based learning differences and twice-exceptional learners, and the school emphasizes active family partnership in each child's education. CMMS participates in the Maryland EXCELS quality-rating program through the Maryland State Department of Education. To help with affordability, the schools accept the Maryland Child Care Scholarship (CCS) and take part in programs for military families, including Military Child Care in Your Neighborhood (MCCYN) and Child Care Aware of America (CCA). Tours and information requests can be made through the CMMS website.

• Montessori school (infant through lower elementary)
• Learning differences
• Twice-exceptional
• Financial aid

Garrison Forest School is a private, independent girls' school in Owings Mills, Maryland, set on a 110-acre campus in the rolling hills of Baltimore County, just outside Baltimore. Founded in 1910, it enrolls girls from Kindergarten through Grade 12 and runs a separate coed early childhood program for boys and girls from 6 weeks to 2 years old. Students in Grades 8 to 12 can also board, and the residential program draws families from across the country and around the world. The school structure spans a Lower School, a Middle School (the G. Peter O'Neill, Jr. Middle School), and an Upper School with college counseling. Academics run from early childhood through college preparation, with small class sizes and a Boyce Center for Learning and Thriving that provides academic support on campus. One of the school's signature offerings is the WISE program (Women in Science and Engineering), a partnership with nearby Johns Hopkins University that places upper-level students in research and academic work alongside university faculty. Beyond the classroom, Garrison Forest is known for its equestrian program, run out of the D. & J. Smith Equestrian Center with indoor and outdoor riding rings, plus a competitive polo program based at the Sheridan Polo Arena. Athletics, visual and performing arts, and a long-standing riding tradition are all part of campus life. Tuition is set by grade level for the 2025-26 year. The Preschool runs $21,185 without aftercare or $24,785 with aftercare, Kindergarten is $33,140, Grades 1 to 5 are $38,955, Grades 6 to 8 are $40,965, and Grades 9 to 12 are $43,205. Boarding is $70,475 for national students and $79,750 for international students in Grades 8 to 12. Additional costs include a $520 health center fee, books and supplies, uniforms, and technology fees that vary by division. Financial assistance is need-based and grant-funded (not loans), starting in Kindergarten for qualified families, and the school offers flexible payment plans. It also awards several merit- and need-based scholarships, including the Hyatt Hood Young '42 Scholarship (full day tuition for one student entering Grades 9 to 12), the Elizabeth Welsh Young '40 Scholarship (50 percent tuition for one student entering Grades 5 to 8), and a Legacy Scholarship Program for relatives of GFS alumnae. The school motto is Esse Quam Videri, "To Be Rather Than To Seem."

• Private independent all-girls K-12 school (with coed early childhood program and boarding)
• Financial aid
• Private school

Dr. Linda Jacobs founded The Harbour School in 1982 on the premise that all children can learn, and that they learn most when taught the way they learn best. It is a special-education day school with a lower school, a middle school, and a high school. The Owings Mills address is the Baltimore-area campus, and Annapolis is the other location. The academic program is an individualized, competency-based curriculum. Each student has an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) that is updated annually, along with quarterly academic and IEP progress reviews. Staff adjust to each student's way of learning rather than asking every student to fit one method. Coursework is aligned with Maryland State Standards, but students demonstrate mastery through performance assessments and learning activities instead of traditional tests, earning grades of Honors, Pass, or Incomplete. A student completes a course when the competencies are met, so pacing is student-based rather than fixed to a semester. The only tests given are those required by the Maryland State Department of Education, and publicly funded students are prepared for required state assessments. Each level runs at a low pupil-to-staff ratio, with a social worker or psychologist assigned to the team. The high school focuses on the transition to employment or college, with a career center, vocational assistants, transition specialists, and job coaches, plus academies in performing arts, recreation education and health, and technology. Related services are delivered as recommended by each student's IEP and include speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, counseling, and job coaching. Clinical staff also run small-group social skills instruction focused on building and maintaining relationships at school, at home, and in the workplace. Electives in recreational education, performing arts (dance, drama, music), and visual and studio art are a regular part of the program. Technology is used throughout, with a 2-to-1 student-to-computer ratio, an iPad for every student, and a SmartBoard in every classroom. The school is a Maryland Nonprofits member, has been named a Baltimore Sun Top Workplace for twelve consecutive years through 2025, and its Baltimore campus is a certified Maryland Green School.

• Special-education day school
• Learning differences
• Twice-exceptional
• Private school

Students with dyslexia and related language-based learning differences attend Jemicy's Upper School Campus at 11202 Garrison Forest Road in Owings Mills. It is the high school division of The Jemicy School, a coed, college-preparatory independent day school. Jemicy was founded in 1973 by a small group of parents and teachers and was one of the first day schools in the country built specifically for students with dyslexia. The full school serves grades 1 to 12 across two nearby Owings Mills campuses, the Lower and Middle School at 11 Celadon Road and this Upper School at Garrison Forest Road, with total enrollment around 440 and a 4 to 1 student-to-teacher ratio. The Upper School itself enrolls about 230 students. Students are typically bright and creative and struggle with the mechanics of language because of dyslexia or related learning differences that affect written expression, math, executive function, and processing speed. Instruction uses multisensory, experiential, research-based methods, small classes, and Skills sessions built into each schedule based on a student's specific areas of need. Faculty are trained in Jemicy's copyrighted writing program, Paragraphology, which Jemicy also licenses and teaches to outside students and adults through its Outreach division. The Upper School runs roughly 90 course offerings, including 62 unique electives that range from industrial design and fashion design to college-level calculus and personal finance, plus 12 interscholastic sports teams and award-winning performing and visual arts. An Upper School Prep program gives rising 8th graders an extra middle-school year to build academic independence and self-advocacy before high school. A team of college counselors works with each family on placement. About 95 percent of graduates go on to college, at destinations spanning competitive private and state universities, art programs, liberal arts colleges, community colleges, and trade schools. Jemicy is accredited and affiliated through the Association of Independent Maryland and DC Schools (AIMS) and the International Dyslexia Association (IDA), and partners with Notre Dame of Maryland University. About 36 percent of the student body receives financial aid, supported in part by an endowment of about $30 million. Tuition assistance is awarded by need through an application process. A Jemicy award cannot be combined with public-school funding for the same student.

• College-preparatory independent day school for students with dyslexia and language-based learning differences (high school / Upper School campus, part of grades 1-12 school)
• Dyslexia
• Learning differences
• Financial aid

At The Shafer Center, we create individualized learning programs for children with autism. Our nonpublic school includes nursery for children ages 2–4, kindergarten and elementary grades 1–5. We group students in mixed-age and mixed-grade classrooms based on similar or complementary skills. Teachers focus on each child’s needs and interests while keeping play and enjoyment part of learning. We also provide services to individual families and public school systems.

• Private special education school
• Autism
• Developmental delays
• Speech therapy