Every Child Deserves the Chance to Heal, Grow, and Thrive
Since 1973, Westbridge Academy has walked alongside K–12 students with complex learning, emotional, and behavioral needs. In our therapeutic classrooms, education and healing are not separate paths – they are woven together with compassion, structure, and high expectations. Partnering with families and districts, we rebuild trust, close skill gaps, and guide students toward meaningful futures where confidence and possibility take root.
REACH – Resilience, Executive Function, Academics, Citizenship, and Health
Westbridge Academy’s signature 21st-century skills curriculum for middle and high school students.
What began as a small advisory program has grown into a full skills-building framework aligned with the New Jersey Student Learning Standards (NJSLA). Unlike typical online platforms, REACH was built from scratch at Westbridge to meet the needs of students with complex learning and behavioral challenges.
At the heart of REACH is the teacher.
The program’s digital tools are designed to amplify instruction – making 1:1 support more manageable, feedback immediate, and student engagement stronger.
Curricular Focus Areas include:
- Social-Emotional Learning (SEL)
- Executive Function (EF) skill building
- Digital Citizenship (safe online use, cyber-HIB prevention, district AUP alignment)
- Wellness & Health (resilience, self-care, decision-making)
- Career & Financial Literacy
Framework & Supports:
- Full NJSLA alignment
- Benchmark assessments with Certificates of Completion
- Teacher dashboards for lesson tracking and engagement
- UDL + MTSS scaffolds
- Accessible design (voice-over, video tutorials, below-grade-level text)
Important for Districts:
REACH is a teacher-facilitated curriculum, not a stand-alone course. Districts assign a teacher or facilitator to deliver the program, ensuring content review, approval, and responsive student support.
WISE – No Cost Educator-Facing Professional Development
The Westbridge Institute for School Excellence (WISE) extends the impact of Westbridge Academy beyond our own students, equipping educators and school leaders with the tools to strengthen programs and improve outcomes across districts.
Born from NJDOE recommendations and more than 15 years of professional development feedback, WISE delivers practical training in compliance, HR, therapeutic instruction, and school leadership. Our approach blends expert insight with hands-on strategies that educators can apply immediately in their own schools.
Current WISE offerings include:
- Professional Learning Opportunities – including Professional Learning Communities of Practice and Action Learning Groups that foster collaboration and shared growth
- Teacher Professional Development – anchored in flagship 21st-Century Literacy programs such as Social Media Literacy, Health & Wellness Literacy (THRIVE), Automotive Literacy, and Collaborative Literacies
- Expert-Led Workshops – featuring nationally recognized practitioners including Dr. Danielle Taylor, Dr. Nancy Sulla, and others
- Flexible Delivery – offered virtually, on the Westbridge campus, or at your school or district
2025–2026 WISE Presenter Series
Virtual Workshops at Westbridge Academy
Virtual Workshops at Westbridge Academy
We’re excited to announce the 2025-2026 WISE Presenter Series, a two-part virtual workshop hosted by Westbridge Academy. Each session will welcome an unlimited number of attendees via Zoom.
All participants, including presenters, will log in individually through their own devices to ensure accurate attendance tracking and CEU credit issuance.
Workshop Overview
This year’s theme connects the expertise of our presenters into a cohesive journey from Beyond Compliance to Connection, Readiness, and Resilience, emphasizing the integration of wellness, instruction, and leadership in school settings.
Featured Presenters
Dr. Nancy Sulla
Founder & President, IDE Corp. and EdQuiddity Inc.
Focus:
- Designing classrooms that teach responsibility and agency
- Fostering intrinsic motivation and reducing oppositional behavior
- Integrating executive function coaching into academic design
- Creating equitable systems that honor neurodiverse learners
- Translating learner-active design principles to therapeutic settings
Dr. Danielle Taylor
Licensed Psychologist and Creator of the THRIVE Model
Focus:
- The THRIVE model as a roadmap for co-regulation and resilience
- Embedding wellness and self-regulation into daily school routines
- Trauma-informed readiness: preparing the nervous system for learning
- Supporting staff vitality through reflection and regulation
- Aligning therapeutic and instructional practice within a unified system
Panelists
Adriana Perrotta, M.A., M.S.W., L.S.W.
Supervisor of Pupil Personnel Services, Westbridge Academy
Focus:
- Aligning clinical and instructional interventions within IEP frameworks
- Building communication systems that sustain multidisciplinary collaboration
- Case studies in restorative practice and reintegration
- Using qualitative and quantitative data to illustrate student progress
- Strengthening family and district partnerships for shared success
Tracy Coston, M.A.
Principal, Westbridge Academy
Focus:
- Creating school-wide consistency that supports emotional regulation
- Coaching staff toward proactive, skill-centered interventions
- Leading with empathy and accountability in therapeutic environments
- Lessons from decades of leadership in special education
- Aligning professional development with NJDOE standards