What makes Middlebridge different from other schools for students with learning differences?

Most schools — even good ones — treat learning support as a supplementary service. At Middlebridge, support isn't supplementary. It's the entire model. Small classes, daily individual tutorial, our Emotional Intelligence curriculum, embedded executive function coaching, and a fully integrated boarding community are all designed from the ground up for students who learn differently. There are other schools. Few are built the way Middlebridge is built.

Do all students at Middlebridge have a learning difference?

Yes. Every student has been diagnosed with a language-based learning difference, ADHD, or a related profile. This means students arrive at a school where difference is the norm — where no one is the 'kid with the learning disability.' That shift in environment is profound, and parents tell us again and again that it's one of the most important factors in their child's growth.

What specific services do students receive?

Students receive daily individual tutorial, Emotional Intelligence classes, college collaboration opportunities, internship placements, and comprehensive support services including assistive technology, transition planning, and social skills development. Occupational therapy and language therapy coordination are also available where appropriate. Every student's support is built around their individual learning profile.

What is the application process like?

The first step is simply a conversation. Reach out to our admissions team and we'll get to know your family — your child's history, their strengths, their challenges, and what you're hoping a new school will provide. From there, we'll walk you through next steps including submitting materials and scheduling a campus visit. We believe the application process should be a two-way conversation, not an audition.

Does Middlebridge accept students with mild learning differences?

Yes. Students across a broad range of profiles find a home at Middlebridge — from students with more significant learning disabilities to those with mild learning differences who simply haven't found a school environment that brings out their best. Our admissions team assesses each student individually to ensure we're the right fit.

Is Middlebridge a competitive boarding school?

Middlebridge is a college-preparatory school — and our graduates attend universities across the country, including competitive boarding school peer institutions. But 'competitive' in the traditional sense isn't the right frame. Our goal isn't to rank students against each other. It's to ensure every student has what they need to achieve their personal best — and to arrive at college genuinely prepared for what comes next.

Where do Middlebridge students come from?

Students come from across the United States and around the world — from local day students to boarding students from eight countries. Our inclusive community reflects the reality that learning differences don't belong to any one region, background, or family profile.

What is student life like?

Student life at Middlebridge is active, structured, and full. Students participate in team sports, fine arts, weekend excursions to Rhode Island's beaches and cultural institutions, and community events on our historic coastal campus. Life at Middlebridge is designed to develop the whole student — not just the academic one.

“The educator’s task is to make it possible for students to become themselves.”
— Paulo Freire

Learning Differences Boarding Schools

A Boarding School Built for
Learning Differences

Middlebridge School is a college-preparatory boarding and day school where students with ADHD, dyslexia, and related learning differences don't just keep up, they lead, thrive, and discover who they're meant to become.

A boarding school for learning differences is a specialized educational environment designed around the way neurodiverse students actually learn — not the way traditional schools expect them to.

It combines rigorous and college preparatory academics with structured support, small communities, and expert faculty who understand that a different kind of mind deserves a different kind of education.

At Middlebridge, every element of school life, from morning tutorial to evening student life programming, is designed with the learning-different student in mind. Students don't experience accommodations as an afterthought. Here, the support is the school.

For families searching for boarding schools for learning differences, Middlebridge stands apart as one of New England's premier programs.

A place where students with ADHD, dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, and executive functioning challenges and related learning differences build the skills, confidence, and independence they need for college and beyond.

What Is a Boarding School
for Learning Differences?

Admissions

About US

“I have discovered the complete joy of being very vulnerably seen in a small and understanding community and classes.”

- Julia E., Class of 2025

Learning Differences We Understand & Support

Our students are bright, capable, college-bound teens. Many carry one or more of the following diagnoses, all of which our faculty are specifically trained to support.

ATTENTION

ADHD

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder affects focus, impulse control, and executive functioning. Our structured routines, daily coaching, and small-class environment give students with ADHD the consistency they need to succeed academically and socially.

EXECUTIVE FUNCTION

EF Challenges

Planning, organization, time management, and self-monitoring. These are skills many of our students are actively building. Our embedded EF coaching, woven into both academics and student life, making skill-building feel natural, not clinical.

LANGUAGE-BASED

Dyslexia

A language-based learning difference affecting reading decoding, fluency, and spelling. Middlebridge faculty use evidence-based, multi-sensory literacy approaches, paired with daily tutorial, to build lasting reading and writing skills.

MATHMATICS

Dyscalculia

Dyscalculia affects the ability to understand numbers and perform math tasks. Students may struggle with number sense, math facts, calculations, and multi-step problems due to differences in how the brain processes numerical information.

WRITTEN EXPRESSION

Dysgraphia

Students with dysgraphia struggle with the physical and cognitive demands of writing. Our adaptive instruction and assistive technology integrations help students express their intelligence without being held back by handwriting, organization, or composition challenges.

ANXIETY

School-Related

For many students, academic anxiety is deeply intertwined with their learning profile, and sense of self-confidence. Our Emotional Intelligence curriculum, a daily psychology course unique to Middlebridge, equips students with the self-awareness and coping tools to manage anxiety and advocate for themselves.

Our History

Admissions

Take The Next Step

Your Student Belongs
at Middlebridge.

Start a conversation with our admissions team today. We'll get to know your family, answer every question, and help you determine whether Middlebridge is the perfect match.

START YOUR APPLICATION

Why Choose Middlebridge

Middlebridge is purpose-built for students with learning differences. Every program, schedule, and relationship is intentionally designed to support the way these students learn, build confidence, and prepare for college.

Small Class Sizes
Every student is known by name. Small classes mean teachers can adapt instruction in real time to meet each learner where they are.

Daily Individual Tutorial
Every student receives a daily one-on-one tutorial, and executive function coaching session, a diagnostic, prescriptive session focused on their specific learning profile and skill development.

Structured Routines
Predictable, supportive schedules help students with ADHD and executive function challenges build habits that last far beyond graduation.

Emotional Intelligence Curriculum
Our signature daily EI classes develop self-awareness, leadership, and the ability to self-advocate, skills that set our graduates apart for life.

College-Preparatory Academics
Students take credit-bearing courses at local universities and graduate ready for the academic, social, and practical demands of college life.

Holistic Student Experience
Through sports, fine arts, internships, and weekend programming, adolescents grow as whole people, not just students. Belonging and becoming happen everywhere on campus.

Our History

Admissions

Signature Programs

Emotional Intelligence

A progressive course fostering self-awareness, empathy, and resilience.

Learn more
Tutorial

Individualized one-on-one sessions that deepen understanding and support growth.

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Internships

Experiential learning opportunities that connect classroom skills to real-world contexts.

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Postgraduate Program

A postgraduate year that prepares students for the academic, social, and practical demands of college life.

Learn More

FAQs

Yes. Every student at Middlebridge has been diagnosed with a language-based learning difference, ADHD, or a related profile. Our entire program, academic, residential, and extracurricular, is designed specifically with the learning-different student in mind.
We support students with ADHD, dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, SLD Reading, SLD Writing, executive functioning challenges, and school-related anxiety. Many of our students carry more than one diagnosis ,our faculty are trained to work with complex, overlapping learning profiles.
Absolutely. Our graduates attend four-year colleges and universities across the country, from Providence College and Villanova to NYU, Dickinson, and the University of Denver. Students leave Middlebridge genuinely prepared: academically, emotionally, and practically.
The combination of daily individual tutorial, our signature Emotional Intelligence curriculum, college collaboration opportunities, and a fully integrated boarding community is unique to Middlebridge. We don't just address the academic side of learning differences, we support the whole student: their confidence, resilience, and social development.
Yes. Middlebridge welcomes boarding students from across the United States and around the world. Our community currently includes students from eight countries, and our admissions team has experience supporting international families through the enrollment process.
Middlebridge is located at 333 Ocean Road in Narragansett, Rhode Island, a stunning coastal campus centered on Hazard Castle, our iconic historic residence hall. The setting is both inspiring and grounding, and Rhode Island's culture, beaches, and cities enrich student life year-round.