Help us reach the people who need to know this exists!

What we will (& won’t) do with your introductions

We won't:

❌ Pressure anyone

❌ Make inappropriate asks

❌ Waste people's time

❌ Be pushy or salesy

We will:

✅ Be respectful of their time

✅ Provide clear, factual information

✅ Offer to answer questions

✅ Let them engage at their comfort level

✅ Thank you for the connection

We are a small team with a mission as big as they come: to redefine what’s possible for an individual child, for a school and for K-12 education as a whole by applying neuroscience in the classroom. We’ve already done the hard part: we’ve developed a research-backed methodology that’s proving successful at reducing or even removing learning and in some cases social-emotional and executive function disabilities. But this massive breakthrough didn’t come out of some big research institution or massive grants; it came out of the grit and determination of one mom who was determined that her children’s futures shouldn’t be held back by problems that science suggested we could solve.

Now we need your help to connect us with the sponsors, foundations and policymakers who can help expand this innovation to benefit more kids, and the families whose children need it. Scroll down to find templates you can easily copy and paste to help connect us!

Help us fill the awareness gap:

The biggest challenge isn't that people don't want innovation—it's that they don't know it exists.

Families whose children are struggling don't know there's an approach addressing root causes instead of just accommodating symptoms.

School board members don't realize Connecticut law already permits cost-reducing innovation—they stop reading at "not state approved."

Major donors looking to invest in education innovation don't know Connecticut has a homegrown nonprofit proving what's possible.

Policymakers don't know this neuroscience-based approach exists because policies were written before it was scientifically possible.

You can help close this gap by making connections.


We need your help reaching four groups, so we made it easy to do so!

We all know more people than we think we do, so by working together we can reach the people we need!

Making a connection doesn’t have to be complicated; we recommend starting with a simple introduction and following up if they seem interested—and then send a note to cheryl@cajalacademy.org so we can too!

 

  1. Help us reach families who need this

  • Families with kids who have very high intellectual reasoning and creative thinking skills but who are held back by a learning, social-emotional, neurophysio or chronic medical difference.

    This includes students who may be

    • Struggling in traditional settings despite high intelligence

    • In some cases, doing ‘fine’ academically but showing signs of anxiety or social difficulties

    • Experiencing school-based trauma or anxiety

    • Being told the problem is that their child “refuses to engage in non-preferred tasks”

    • Exhausted from multiple specialists who treat symptoms separately

    • Homeschooling because they don’t feel their schools truly ‘see’ either their child’s abilities or their strengths, but needing to return to a career or feeling their child needs more

  • Many families don't know neuroplasticity-based approaches exist. They think accommodations are the only option. When they hear "someone like your child went from multiple years behind to multiple years ahead in just a year," it changes everything.

  • Know a family whose child is struggling?

    Share our website: www.cajalacademy.org

    • Mention: "There's an approach in CT that's completely different from traditional special ed—uses neuroscience to address why challenges exist, not just accommodate them"

    • Suggest they schedule a tour or call to learn more

  • In education/therapy/tutoring fields and encounter these families?

    Not sure if a family would benefit?

    • If the child is bright but struggling, worth mentioning

    • If traditional approaches aren't working, worth exploring

    • If family is considering therapeutic placement, definitely shareItem description

2. Help us reach school board members & district officials

    • School board members

    • Superintendents

    • Special education directors

    • Budget committee members

    • Town council members focused on education costs

  • School boards are reacting to pressure from taxpayers and new state funding law for special education that put a laser focus on reducing the costs associated with outplacements. The 2025 statute approached this by limiting outplacements to schools that aren’t on the “state approved” list unless they can reduce the costs of meeting the child’s needs relative to the public arrangement. Until Cajal Academy came along, it was assumed that special ed can only make up the gaps caused by a child’s disabilities, so if the outplacement school’s tuition was high today it was assumed it would be even higher tomorrow.

    But Cajal Academy has proven it’s possible to transform the child’s profile itself, reducing the complexity of their educational profile and thus reducing the costs of meeting their educational needs across the remainder of their K-12 years. That might take an upfront investment that costs the same for the first 1-2 years as the state approved schools available for kids having similar profiles—but Cajal actually has a declining tuition model dropping the price by as much as $30,000 as the child progresses to the next stage in their neurodevelopmental process. In some cases, that means that an up front cost of $70-150K can turn into a cost savings of up to $1 million per child in specialist time and therapeutic outplacements avoided—not to mention the quality of life improvements for the child themselves.

    Most districts have no idea that it’s even possible to rewire the fundamentals in a child’s profile to reduce their educational needs and the costs of supporting them. They don’t realize that Cajal Academy has a proven approach that realizes those cost savings—and passes them on to districts. And they don't realize that the same provision of the Connecticut statute authorizing direct contracts with state approved schools does the same for schools that are not state approved but that provide an appropriate education and reduce district costs.

    We need to make them aware, so that families can get access to the programming their children need. We’re asking folks to send letters to their home districts’ school boards, but a personal connection will help them better hear and explore what’s possible!

  • Know someone on a school board or in district administration?

    • Forward this overview: "Thought you'd want to know about a CT nonprofit with documented cost reductions in special ed—law permits this but many districts don't realize it"

    • Share our district partnership page: [link]

    • Offer to facilitate an introduction: "Would you be open to a brief conversation with their leadership?"

    • Let us know about the connection

 

3. Introduce us to major donors & foundation contacts

    • Individuals interested in education innovation

    • Family foundations focused on education

    • Impact investors looking for proven approaches

    • Corporate philanthropy programs

    • Philanthropists interested in Connecticut leadership

  • We're at a critical inflection point—scaling from 6 to 20 students to document at peer-reviewed publication level. This creates the evidence base enabling broader adoption across Connecticut.

    Major donors who understand:

    • Strategic philanthropy at inflection points (maximum leverage)

    • Innovation that wasn't possible when policies were created

    • Documented outcomes (40 students, 6 years, proven approach)

    • Mission-driven dissemination (built into nonprofit charter)

    • Connecticut leadership opportunity (first-mover advantage)

  • Know someone who invests in education innovation?

    • Share this framing: "CT nonprofit at inflection point—proven approach over 6 years, ready to scale and document for broader dissemination. Interesting model of policy/science mismatch creating opportunity."

    • Offer to make introduction

    • Share our major giving page: www.cajalacademy.org/give

    • Let us know about potential interest through a quick email.

    Connected to family foundations?

    • Education innovation that reduces costs while improving outcomes

    • Homegrown Connecticut solution with national impact potential

    • Clear ROI: $1-2M savings per student in prevented therapeutic placements

    Know corporate philanthropy contacts?

    • Neuroscience application to education (innovative)

    • Cost reduction (fiscally responsible)

    • Connecticut leadership (local impact)

    Not sure if someone would be interested?

    • If they care about education innovation, worth mentioning

    • If they invest in proven approaches at scale-up phase, definitely share

    • If they're interested in policy/science gaps, could be compelling

4. Introduce us to education influencers & policymakers

    • Education policy researchers/analysts

    • Media covering education innovation

    • Think tanks focused on education

    • Governor's office education staff

    • CT State Department of Education officials

    Find messages to send to your representatives here!

  • Policymakers need to know:

    • This neuroscience-based approach exists (wasn't possible when policies were created)

    • Connecticut has homegrown innovation proving it works

    • Current law already permits it (districts just don't realize)

    • There's an opportunity to position CT as leader in applying modern neuroscience to education

  • Know a state legislator?

    Connected to CSDE officials?

    • They need to know this exists

    • Offer to arrange informational briefing

    • No pressure—just awareness

    Know education reporters or policy analysts?

    • Story angle: "Neuroscience advanced beyond what special ed policy anticipated—CT nonprofit proving new approaches while navigating policy designed for old science"

    • This is newsworthy: homegrown innovation, policy/science mismatch, fiscal implications

    • Happy to provide background information

    Connected to education-focused think tanks or researchers?

    • We're documenting outcomes for publication

    • Interesting case study in how policy adapts (or doesn't) to scientific advances

    • Could be valuable for their work