Bridges Academy, located in Studio City, California, is a preparatory high school dedicated to educating students grades 5 through 12 who are twice-exceptional, or "2e" (gifted and highly gifted with learning disabilities). Bridges Academy began in 1994 as a private tutorial for three students in the home of founder Carolyn McWilliams. By the following year, the school had 30 students with an emph
asis on early enablers and "quirky kids." Prior to the 1997-1998 school year, the school relocated to its former site on Burbank Boulevard in Sherman Oaks, California. In 1998, the school became a non-profit corporation with a Board of Trustees and McWilliams continuing as the Head of School. In 2002, the Board of Trustees and Head of School dedicated the mission of the school to educating twice-exceptional students. McWilliams retired in the summer of 2003 and Charles "Chuck" Potts, the founding Head of the Wesley School in North Hollywood, California, was hired as Interim Head of School. After a national search, Carl Sabatino, former Head of the Upper School of Lawrence Woodmere Academy in New York, was hired as the Head of School in 2005. Bridges moved from its previous location in Sherman Oaks, California, in 1997 to its current location in Studio City. In 2011, Bridges purchased the 3.5-acre campus and is currently in the midst of a capital campaign to raise funds to renovate the property. Current enrollment is over 140 students, and is growing annually.
