About Actias
ACTIAS
Our Story
Actias School began as a response to a systemic failure. For two decades, co-founder Bridget McCormick, worked as a clinician in the Bay Area, supporting teens navigating anxiety, depression, autism, ADHD, and OCD. Many of these students were eager for college-level academics, yet schools with strong therapeutic support lacked coursework that would engage their curiosity or prepare them for college. Families were left to choose between incomplete programs, piecing together outside therapists and supports, or sending their children out of state to find a true fit. We believe that a student’s mental health and their academic potential are not at odds. By integrating clinical support with engaging and experiential college prep curriculum, we’ve created a school where students can like school again.
Our name is a tribute to the Actias moth, a symbol that mirrors our school’s purpose: Adaptability, transformation, connection to the earth, and navigation through darkness.
OUR MISSION
Actias School serves bright, curious learners facing mental health challenges, and welcomes students regardless of income, neurotype, or identity.
Our work extends beyond the individual to the systems that shape them: families, social circles, and the wider community, so that our students develop the internal resources, agency, and strength to move forward with momentum.
Our Values
We value faculty whose character matches their expertise, prioritizing a community grounded in connection, trust, and integrity.
We believe all students deserve real college prep: Social, emotional, and academic readiness.
We believe connection to nature is fundamental to mental health, and that time in the outdoors supports regulation and resilience.
OUR SPECIAL SAUCE
What exactly makes Actias different?
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Individual, family, and group therapy for students and robust caregiver support
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Experiential learning grounded in the natural world and community partnerships
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Hands on projects and opportunities to take college classes
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Attachment-based therapeutic approach, small group classes, high staff-to-student ratio
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Our goal is to help students build true college readiness and life skills to transition with confidence.
Our Team
EVELYN SEMENZA
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Evelyn is an education researcher and community volunteer. Currently, she serves on the boards of Charles Armstrong School, the Friends of the Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo, and the LEMO Foundation. Before moving to California, Evelyn managed evaluation work for a network of experiential learning schools in New York City, conducted research, and developed education policy guidance at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She graduated from Brown University with a joint degree in Public Policy and Sociology and an M.A. in Urban Education Policy.
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BRIDGET MCCORMICK, LMFT
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Bridget McCormick is a Palo Alto native whose career has been dedicated to supporting teens facing significant challenges associated with Depression, Anxiety, ADHD, ASD, and OCD. With experience spanning public, private, and therapeutic school settings, she combines evidence-based interventions with a relational, strengths-focused approach. Bridget has provided individual and group therapy, coached teachers and families, and helped multiple schools design more impactful counseling programs.
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LinkedIn
HEATHER JOHANSON
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Heather Johanson is a seasoned special education and inclusion leader with more than 25 years of experience across public and independent schools. She specializes in Universal Design for Learning, strength-based and trauma-informed practices, executive functioning support, and the development of responsive, relationship-centered school cultures. She holds a master’s degree in Special Education with a focus on dyslexia and learning disabilities, as well as multiple credentials and certifications in literacy, autism, blended learning, and project-based learning leadership. Through her consulting practice, Heather also brings a deeply informed family perspective. She has supported hundreds of families as they navigate complex educational, mental health, and neurodevelopmental needs. This dual lens, as an educator and consultant, allows her to design programs that are both academically sound and profoundly humane, grounded in the real experiences of students and families.
BOARD OF ADVISORS
Manisha Agrawal
STRATEGIC BUSINESS
ADVISOR
Jody Miller
behavioral
consultant
Karen Moos
Mental Health
Program Specialist
Anabel Jensen
president and co-founder, six seconds
Melody Lowman
EDUCATIONAL
CONSULTANT
John Danner
ENTREPRENEUR
& SCHOOL FOUNDER
Will Laughlin
FRACTIONAL
CEO, moosilauke visions
Pardis Khosravi
CLinical Director, one life counseling
Jonathan Frecceri
HEAD OF
LYDIAN ACADEMY
Jennifer Taylor
EDUCATIONAL CONSULTANT
FAQS
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No, we are not currently a non-public school. As a part of our mission, we are working to serve students of any income level, and we hope to create partnerships with school districts to allow for students to recieve settlement funding to attend Actias. We are open to becoming an NPS in the future!
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Dual Enrollment at Foothill College gives motivated high school students the chance to experience college early and earn both high school and college credit at the same time. Many students feel that a college class is less rigorous than a high school AP course, and better prepares them for actual college classes not just for an AP exam. For some Actias students who have felt like they've fallen behind, dual enrollment offers students a way to get ahead with college credit.
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Our program is designed to support students for as long as they need. Because every person is unique, some students join us with the short-term goal of returning to their previous school, while others require a consistent level of support to complete high school and successfully launch into adulthood. Ultimately, we meet students where they are. We gradually empower them to take on new challenges, always with the aim of helping them rely less on us and more on themselves.