Minnick School – Lynchburg

Five Lynchburg women founded New Vistas School in 1986 as a private, nonprofit day school for children and teens with learning and attention difficulties. Since 1990 we have owned our campus at 520 Eldon Street, a two-story building with a newer classroom wing, a two-room science lab, media labs and computers in every classroom. Our teaching draws on current research in learning disabilities and ADHD, and our individualized, strategic instruction is grounded in the Orton-Gillingham approach. Students in our Lower, Middle and Upper Schools work on core academic skills alongside problem solving, organization and self-advocacy, whether they plan to return to a traditional school, go on to college, or pursue other paths after graduation. Middle and upper school students take daily art enrichment in our art studio, and classes use an outdoor garden learnscape for lessons from botany to creative writing. Our certified teachers also run Academic Advantage, after-school Orton-Gillingham tutoring for students and adults in reading, writing, math, SAT and ACT prep and GED prep. Families can apply for need-based tuition assistance, supported in part by the Lucy Guggenheimer Ross Endowed Fund. The Virginia Department of Education licenses our school.

Operating in Lynchburg, Rivermont School Lynchburg North combines K-12 academics with on-site ABA Therapy, Outdoor Playground and Basketball, and Greenhouse (coming soon) for students with autism and emotional disabilities. This campus serves Autism, Developmental Delay, Emotional Disability, Intellectual Disability, Multiple Disabilities, Other Health Impairment, Specific Learning Disability, Speech or Language Impairment, and Traumatic Brain Injury. On-site services and facilities include ABA Therapy, Outdoor Playground and Basketball, Greenhouse (coming soon), Life Skills Room, Vocational Opportunities, and Community Based Learning. The campus is led by Principal Audra Daniel. Rivermont Schools runs a statewide Virginia network of accredited private day schools serving students placed by their home divisions.

In Lynchburg, Principal Tracy Pouncy, M.Ed leads Rivermont School Lynchburg South, a Virginia day school for K-12 students with autism, emotional disabilities, and related needs. Populations served on this campus span Autism, Developmental Delay, Emotional Disability, Intellectual Disability, Multiple Disabilities, Other Health Impairment, Specific Learning Disability, Speech or Language Impairment, and Traumatic Brain Injury. This site offers Applied Behavior Analyst, Educational Services, Individual and Group Counseling, and Individualized Instruction on campus. Rivermont Schools is a Virginia network of private day schools accredited by Cognia and VAISEF and licensed by the Virginia Department of Education. Rivermont campuses graduate Virginia diploma-track students whose IEPs cannot be met by their home district alone.