Baltimore: Christian school to be place for "neurodivergent students" to learn together

Jan 13, 2026, Baltimore Banner: This Christian school wants to catch neurodivergent students falling through the cracks 

https://www.thebanner.com/education/k-12-schools/baltimore-county-special-needs-inclusive-school-3DE2MHOHZ5FRFPBBDK3SH5Q4DM/   

SOLL Academy will be a place where kids with and without learning disabilities learn together

Over nearly three decades working with students, Allison Schweigman noticed a disturbing trend.

She kept hearing from parents who said a lack of proper special education services was forcing them to yank their neurodivergent kids out of the private schools their siblings attended. She was concerned that those students might think something was wrong with them.

Schweigman is starting SOLL Academy to fulfill her vision of offering parents a faith-based school where they can enroll all of their kids, regardless of their learning differences.

Neurodivergent people have brains that operate differently than what is considered “normal,” or neurotypical, and those differences can create learning or behavioral deviations that make typical schools challenging for kids.

Schweigman said her school needs to be Christian so she can openly teach kids they’re made in the image of God. But operating a religious school means Schweigman has to rely on tuition and fundraising rather than guaranteed state dollars, an ambitious feat that will be particularly challenging because she has to pay for expensive special education services.

If she pulls it off, SOLL Academy will fill what some experts say is a gap in private education for a growing population of students with disabilities.