Best Special Needs Schools in Severna Park, Maryland (2026)

A Child's Garden is a preschool and daycare in Severna Park, Maryland, founded in 2001 as a sister school to nearby Wee Lad & Lassie. It is built around the very young learner, with a toddler program starting at 18 months, a 2-year-old program (split into young twos and older twos), and a 3-year-old program. Morning preschool classes run from 9 a.m. to noon, and full-day extended care runs from 7:00 a.m. to 5 p.m. for working families. Attendance is flexible, with schedules ranging from two half-days a week up to five full days. The school is accredited by the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE), which it earned in 2005 through the Early Childhood Accreditation Project, and it holds a Check Level 5 rating, the highest tier under the Maryland EXCELS quality program, awarded in 2015. The program teaches Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Studies, and the Arts through hands-on, play-based activities, and it keeps adult-to-child ratios and group sizes low so teachers can individualize instruction. Teaching staff are degreed and work from developmentally appropriate practice, and the school treats parents as partners in the learning community. A Child's Garden specializes in the care of children with food allergies and operates as a peanut and tree nut free facility. It maintains a Disability Nondiscrimination Policy and points families toward Anne Arundel County special education and ADA resources. The school also runs themed summer camps that mix outdoor play with reading, projects, and weekly themes, held at either the A Child's Garden site or the Wee Lad & Lassie campus at 1281 Baltimore Annapolis Blvd in Arnold, MD. For enrollment, families register by appointment with a $100 registration fee, a two-week deposit, and a signed contract. The school accepts CCS, Childcare Aware, and MCCYN payments. New school year enrollment opens in February, and tours can be scheduled on weekdays between 9:30 and 11:30 a.m. by calling the office at (410) 647-2300.

Severn School is an independent, coeducational college-prep day school in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, enrolling roughly 910 students from preschool through grade 12. It runs on two campuses: the Teel campus at 201 Water Street in Severna Park houses grades 6 to 12, and the Chesapeake campus at 1185 Baltimore Annapolis Boulevard in Arnold houses preschool through grade 5. The school traces its roots back over a century (it held its 112th commencement in 2025) and reports an average class size of 15, a 9 to 1 student-to-teacher ratio, and a faculty in which 68 percent hold an advanced degree. All graduates go on to attend a college or university. Academically, Severn is organized into Early School (preschool and pre-K), Lower School (K to grade 5), Middle School (grades 6 to 8), and Upper School (grades 9 to 12). Programs include STEM coursework, the Graw Innovation Center, the Stine Environmental Center, and access to the Malone Schools Online Network for advanced electives. The early grades emphasize outdoor learning, a maker mindset, and character education, while the upper grades add college counseling, the Van Eney '09 Fellows Program, and dedicated arts and athletics offerings. For families looking at learning support, the school operates the Learning Resource Center, formally the Hoehn-Saric Family Center for Academic Excellence. The LRC provides a range of services, from drop-in help on a rough draft or problem set to structured support for students with learning differences. It facilitates special accommodations and helps implement, manage, and modify individual educational plans, and it runs study-skills instruction (a quarter-long class for 6th graders and a six-session seminar for freshmen) plus peer mentoring and tutoring. Lower School learning specialists and Upper School health and wellness staff round out the support team. This makes Severn a mainstream school that can accommodate students with language-based learning differences or twice-exceptional profiles within a traditional college-prep setting, rather than a dedicated special-education program. Tuition for 2026-27 is $34,500 for grades 6 to 12, $27,780 for grades 1 to 5, and $25,610 for kindergarten, with preschool and pre-K options running from $11,060 (half-day, 3-day) to $23,320 (full-day, 5-day). Need-based financial aid is available through SSS by NAIS; for 2025-26 the school awarded over $4 million in aid to about 22 percent of students. Payment plans include payment in full, a 60/40 split, and monthly options.

SmartFit Kids (also branded SmartFit Kids Academy) is a childcare and enrichment center at 780 Ritchie Highway in Severna Park, Maryland, serving families across Anne Arundel County including Arnold, Pasadena, Annapolis, and Glen Burnie. It runs three main programs: a full-day preschool, a before and after school care program for school-age children, and summer camps. The full-day preschool serves children ages 3 to 5 who are toilet trained, and is taught by a preschool teacher certified and licensed by the Maryland State Department of Education. Classroom work focuses on reading, writing, math, social skills, and physical skills, with added enrichment in STEM, Chinese, Spanish, Lego Robotics, and art. Taekwondo is included in the cost of full-day preschool tuition. The before and after school program picks children up from their schools at dismissal and runs until 6:00pm. Transportation is provided from several Anne Arundel County elementary schools, including Arnold, Broadneck, Belvedere, Cape St. Claire, Folger McKinsey, Jones, Oakhill, Benfield, and Severna Park. Afternoons include homework help, group practice in language arts and math, and martial arts Monday through Thursday, with fitness activities on Fridays. Optional introductory Chinese, Spanish, and STEM classes are offered for an additional fee. Registration involves a tour, an online enrollment form, a one-time fee of $315, and completion of MSDE paperwork reviewed with the director. After-school clubs, including a Chess Club open to enrolled and non-enrolled children, run after the homework segment. Summer camp spans roughly ten weeks (June 22 to August 21, 2026) and is split into three age groups: STEM Camp and Adventure Camp for children ages 6 and up, and Young Explorers Camp for those 5 and under, who follow Maryland's separate supervision ratios for younger children. Camp days run 8:00am to 5:00pm with optional before care (7:00 to 8:00am) and after care (5:00 to 6:00pm) at $50 per week each. STEM and Adventure tuition runs from $395 down to $355 per week with multi-week discounts, or $100 per day for drop-in; Young Explorers runs $425 down to $400 per week. Multi-week discounts, pay-in-full or three-installment payment plans, and a tiered cancellation policy are available. Families can reach the center at 410-777-9398 or admin@smartfitkidsacademy.com.