Our school leaders have an extensive track record of successful experience working with our student population. We are passionate about our mission and our entire organization is designed and built around this important purpose, which makes us unique from other schools.

Linnea Nelson, head of school, herndon campus, is an experienced educational leader with over 25 years of experience serving students with unique learning needs.  Most recently, she has served as the Director of the Learning Center at the Flint Hill School (VA). Under her leadership, the Learning Center grew significantly in staff and student numbers and has become a nationally recognized program. Ms. Nelson has extensive experience in curriculum development and teacher training as a Great Books Foundation trainer and curriculum editor for Scott Foresman and others. She is an active leader in the Virginia independent school community, having chaired the VAIS annual conference the last two years. Ms. Nelson is a Fellow in the selective National Association of Independent Schools “Aspiring Heads” program.  She received her B.S. in elementary education with special honors from Moorhead State, and her M.S. in school psychology from the University of Southern Connecticut.  

Jill Thompson, head of school, silver spring campus, joins Auburn with many years of experience working as an education professional specifically working with children with learning differences. She has been the Director of Education for The Cogwheels School, a start-up private school in Los Angeles serving students with Autism and Asperger Syndrome. Most recently, Ms. Thompson has served as the Assistant Principal for The Vanguard School, an established private school in the Philadelphia area serving children with ASD. In addition, Ms. Thompson has taught classes for Eastern University’s Graduate School of Education and was an educational consultant for schools and families. Her experience in education ranges from early intervention through middle school. She started her career at an early child development center, working with home based and center based programs providing early intervention services for children with developmental delays and multi-diagnosis. Ms. Thompson holds a M.Ed. in early childhood education from Bank Street College in Manhattan, as well as, Kindergarten through 12th grade principal certification.

Marjorie Hoffman, head of school, baltimore campus, has 40 years of experience as an educational professional, serving diverse schools in a variety of capacities.  Ms. Hoffman was a founding teacher of The Krieger Schechter Day School and then served as the first head of its middle school. Ms. Hoffman served as head of school at Valley Academy, a middle and upper school for students with language based learning differences in Baltimore and middle school head at Garrison Forest School. She has been actively involved with the Association of Independent Maryland Schools, working on professional development offerings, the AIMS annual conference and most recently as facilitator for a series of teacher training workshops.  She received her B.S. in early childhood education from the University of Maryland, an M.Ed. from Johns Hopkins University, and a certificate of administration and supervision from Towson University.

Come and see us in action.

We believe, and research has shown, that friendship and happiness are non-trivial aspects of a student’s success at school and in the community. Our students share many interests and talents in common. This leads to a strong sense of community and the creation of friendships that might not otherwise occur in traditional settings.

We invite you to visit our schools and see our programs in action.