The Children’s Academy (TCA) is a private nonprofit school in New York City for children with speech and language challenges and learning differences. Founded in 2009 with the help of developmental pediatrician Dr. Cecilia McCarton, TCA builds its whole program around these students, with small classes of five or six led by a teaching team that includes a lead teacher, a speech and language pathologist and a teaching assistant. Occupational therapists work alongside them. The school runs year-round, and as demand grew, it needed more room. In 2019, TCA moved to a 16,000-square-foot home in midtown Manhattan with outdoor play space, a dedicated occupational therapy gym and classrooms designed for how its students learn. The move came as enrollment was climbing, from 34 students five years earlier to 52, with a goal of reaching 73 and offering kindergarten through 12th grade.
A move like this takes cash up front, and special education schools often wait on tuition payments that depend on legal settlements with the city. DOF provided a $1,000,000 tuition bridge loan so TCA could finish its renovations and open its new space on schedule without disrupting the school year for its students. Every child at TCA is there because traditional schools weren’t meeting their needs, and a school built for them needs room to grow. We’re proud to have helped TCA take that step.