Video interview with Cher Harris, principal and co‑founder of Autism Inspired Academy, describing her transition from five years as a public-school special education teacher to founding a K–12 school for children on the autism spectrum. She explains the rationale (need for continuity of services and highly trained staff), practical startup challenges (finding zoned facilities; meeting local building/coding regulations), and supports that helped (Drexel Fund for business planning/seed funds; consultant Chris Pellow/Livingstone Academies). Harris encourages other teachers to pursue starting schools and to network for support.
Questions this video answers
Cher Harris
K through 12
Five years
Chapters
My name is Cher Harris. I am the principal and co founder of Autism Inspired Academy. We are a school that serves children on the autism spectrum. We serve grades K through 12, and we are here to help students thrive, to have lives of meaning, purpose, and joy. The reason why I moved from the public school to founding Autism Inspired Academy is because as I worked in the public school system as a teacher for five years, I saw the lack of continuity throughout the classrooms. I would have a student that would increase their academic skills, they would decrease a lot of their behaviors, become more social and able to communicate, and I would have that student for two years and then send them on to another teacher where all of those skills would get lost or they would start to regress. After five years in the school system, I decided to open a school where we could have that continuity through the classrooms and where the teachers could be highly trained and supported and given all of the resources they need. And in order to make that happen, one hurdle that we faced when trying to open Autism Inspired Academy was finding a location that would be right for our students, but also met all of the zoning and coding regulations. And so that was very difficult. We had a hard time finding a place that was zoned for a school. And then every county and every city is different as far as what regulations you have to follow for for it to be opened as a school. Something that helped us establish the school was working with the Drexel Fund. They helped us to establish a really solid business plan and a great financial budget that really could be utilized to go for other grants as well. They also helped us with startup funds that helped us open the school itself. We also had a sort of phone, a friend that we used as a consultant, Chris Pellow, with Livingstone Academies, and he really helped us through the paperwork and the certification process and all of the codes and regulations. If there were more people out there, more funds out there like the Drexel Fund, we would have more amazing schools like this one. If there are teachers out there that are looking to make a change or do something bigger or more for the students in the community, I encourage you to not give up on that dream. It is possible. I was sitting where you were sitting a few years ago as a classroom teacher in a special education program at a public school. And it is possible to be able to move forward, network, get to know people and find other people like you that have that common dream to do something bigger and something more and open your own school. So do not give up on that, because you can do it just like I did.
