Our Student

Who We Serve

Nova accepts students ages 5 to 22 who require a self-contained educational environment due to their disabilities, needs, and/or behaviors. The categories of disabilities we serve are broad and include behavioral, cognitive, and learning.

Special Education Eligibility Criteria and Therapeutic Support Framework

The disabilities we accommodate here are all covered under the Federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”) while the students we accept are those who, upon thorough record reviews, we feel can benefit from the intensive, person-centered therapeutic support we offer and make significant progress towards the goals and objectives as written in their IEPs.

Nova Day's Comprehensive
Support Approach

Despite our success with restrictive ratios of staff to students, we abide by the principle that everyone should be educated in the least restrictive environment that is appropriate to meet their learning needs. To that end, we recommend students return to a less restrictive education environment when it is appropriate based upon their progress and capabilities, and we will work with local education agencies (“LEAs”) on smooth transitions.

Nova Day provides 1:1 support where each child has an individual instructional assistant, therapist, BCBA, or special education teacher with them every moment of the school day. We follow a 12-month schedule and provide a 30+ hour per-week program that includes an Extended School Year (ESY) session. Instruction is designed by State Certified Special Education Teachers in collaboration with our multidisciplinary Nova Day team. Learning objectives are based on Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) Standards and are differentiated to meet each child’s individual goals. Content levels are assessment driven.

Empowering Every Child

Individualized Support and Seamless Transitions

Get Admission

If you think your child is a fit for Nova Day School, or are an LEA seeking a placement option for a child in your district, please visit our Admissions page.