NEWS RELEASE
OAK BRIDGE ACADEMY
*************************************
Starting in September, Oak Bridge Academy will open a new permanent campus in Cambridge to serve more neurodiverse students and their families than ever before.
Oak Bridge, which receives virtually no government funding, is a registered charity that provides educational and therapeutic services for children with autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety, and other related learning exceptionalities. There are more than 10,000 children with autism in Waterloo Region. Only one in five will receive a high school diploma.
“This exciting growth represents Oak Bridge’s success in supporting neurodiverse students and their families in Waterloo Region and beyond,” said executive director Jessica Bondy. “We are growing to ensure as many community members as possible can access our world-class education and therapeutic services when they need it.”
To overcome its lack of government funding, Oak Bridge leverages regional sponsors and partners to deliver for families. Their newest partner is the YMCA of Three Rivers through the Chaplin Family YMCA at 250 Hespeler Road in Cambridge — the home of the new Oak Bridge location. This new location will powerfully enrich Oak Bridge’s offering to students and families. This new campus features six classrooms, indoor and outdoor play spaces, breakout rooms for therapeutic services, and gym access. Most importantly, this location will foster the connection of two like minded non-profits.
“This partnership is in full alignment with our mission,” said YMCA Chief Operations Officer Andrea Kingswood. "The Y is all about equitable access for individuals of all ages to achieve emotional, mental and physical well-being; for kids, school is a huge part of that. We’re excited to share our space with an organization that believes in our values of justice, access, inclusion, diversity and equity.”
This expansion will grow Oak Bridge’s enrollment to over 100 students from all across Waterloo Region and surrounding areas. It will continue to provide full day education from kindergarten through to high school. Along with tailored education to meet each student’s needs, students are also provided state of the art therapies to manage emotions, accepting thoughts as they come and learning to manage the behaviours associated with them.
Oak Bridge Academy will continue to operate its other location at Forward Church in Cambridge for the upcoming school year while it conducts a search for a second permanent location for September 2025.
To support this exciting expansion, later this summer Oak Bridge will launch an adopt-a-classroom campaign, inviting people and businesses to participate in adopting a classroom to support the expansion of financial costs of the renovations and 40 new students.
“It truly takes a village to achieve good things for our community,” said Bondy. “We will soon roll out a campaign to invite local families and businesses to join our team and make a brighter future for neurodiverse children in Waterloo Region.”
Bondy praised Oak Bridge’s generous partners who have made so much possible for the organization’s mission to date.
“Our growth already speaks volumes to the compassion and generosity of this community. We are excited to keep this momentum going.”
*************************************