A School of Excellence

Bachman Academy was founded in 1912 by the Reverend Lyn Bachman.

Located in the village of McDonald, Tennessee, the Academy is 20 miles north of Chattanooga, situated on just over 200 acres, just 20 minutes away from the Cherokee National Forest, the Hiawassee River, and the Ocoee River (the venue for the 1996 Olympic Whitewater Event).

Brief History

The institution, originally named Bachman Home after its founder, Reverend John Lynn Bachman, was founded in 1912 in Farner, Tennessee as a mission school to serve the local children in the Appalachian Mountains. Established to make positive and enduring changes in the lives of children, youth and families, Bachman Home has continued to evolve to serve the needs of its constituents, transforming into an orphanage and school in 1930 to meet the needs of minors who became wards of the state. Bachman moved to its current 210 acre campus in McDonald, Tennessee in 1950 where it continued to provide services for children with special education needs. Bachman received its 501(c)3 nonprofit status in 1969 as a special education boarding facility. In 1999, in response to the increasing numbers of at-risk youth struggling with school failure and difficulties living at home without continuous supervision, Bachman started offering a comprehensive long-term treatment boarding program for students diagnosed with ADHC and its accompanying conditions.

Accomplishments

In just six years the Academy has served children from 21 states across the nation, a testament to the need for the services that Bachman offers. In addition to attracting students nationwide, Bachman maintains a strong local enrollment of over 20% of the total student body.

Bachman Academy started its programmatic focus on children with learning disabilities complicated by ADHD and other conditions in 1999. Bachman graduated its first two students in 2001. At that time, we had the capacity to accommodate 35 students. Our student capacity is now 65 students, and since 2001, we have graduated 53 students, with the class of 2007 – at 14 graduates – being our largest.

Bachman strives to be a second family for our alumni, and almost 70% of our graduates have stayed in touch with us, keeping us updated about their lives. We are extremely proud that 80.5% of these students have continued on to post secondary education. This is in comparison to state and national averages of 55.6% and 57.2% respectively (2000 Census). This is phenomenal for students who experienced repeated school failure prior to coming to Bachman, and we have been recognized by the Tennessee Center for Performance Excellence for our work.

Organizational Background

Bachman Academy is a 501(c)3 private nonprofit boarding school that provides long-term innovative educational and vocational programs to students (ages 11-21) with learning challenges whose differences are complicated by the diagnosis of Attention Deficit/ Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) and other conditions. The Bachman Academy offers a positive alternative for the dual-diagnoses student population whose learning disabilities have rendered it difficult for them to fit into other educational treatment centers or schools. Bachman Academy specializes in providing multi-modal interventions in a supervised setting for youth with ADHD through an integrated program of medical management, behavioral treatment and a combination of traditional academic subjects and vocational training. Initiated by the Presbytery of East Tennessee, Bachman Academy has a faith-based affiliation and spiritual counseling available to students upon request.

Bachman Academy’s mission is to serve the community by recognizing and nurturing each student’s unique gifts and abilities through individualized education for children with ADHD and other learning differences. The Academy caters to a dual-diagnoses student population whose learning disabilities have rendered it difficult for them to fit into other educational centers or schools. In addition to the ADHD diagnosis, students are sometimes diagnosed with disorders such as Asperger’s Syndrome, Nonverbal Learning Disorder (NLD), Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Anxiety, High Functioning Autism, Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD), and Tourette's, and can have problems such as hyperlexia, dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia, and emotional and social delays as well. In order for the Academy to provide the comprehensive supervision that our students need, Bachman Academy only serves 65 students at full capacity. Bachman Academy does not discriminate against students on the basis of gender, ethnicity, religious belief, national origin or otherwise qualified disabled students.

Bachman Academy is accredited by:

The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools

And is a member of:

The National Association of Independent Schools

Additionally, the Academy is recognized by:

The Tennessee Center for Performance Excellence