2002

The school was founded in 2002 as an addition to the LifeSkills Occupational Therapy Clinic to serve children ages 12-14 as a transitional school with two students. The school shared space with the clinic and was located in the downstairs suite of an office building. The school's original mission was to provide a school where students would get academic remediation and occupational and speech therapy for 1-2 years. Students would then mainstream back into a more traditional educational setting. In 2005, at our families' request, the school's focus changed from a short-term middle school to a long-term school for grades K-4, with the addition of grade 5 in 2007.

2009-2010

In its origins and up until August 14, 2010, LifeSkills Academy was a for-profit, privately owned entity. In 2009, the owners decided to divest themselves of the school. At that time, the opportunity came to change to a non-profit school, which became official on August 14, 2010.

Additionally, in 2010, Arbor School moved into a new building that houses our K-7th grade, hired full-time in-house therapists, and added computers, IPads, and music. Enrollment has increased from 13 during 2009-2010 to 2013-2014 enrollment of 29 elementary, 14 middle schools, and 11 high school students.

2012-2013

During the 2012-2013 school year, the decision was made to add a high school to the school. The original plan was to add 9th grade for the 2013-2014 school year and other grades in subsequent years. This changed quickly when parents approached the school with 10th, 11th, and 12th-grade children due to the sudden closing of a local private school.

Also, in 2013, the board voted to change the school's name from LifeSkills Academy to Arbor School of Central Florida. This name change was done to counteract the misnomer that the school only provided transitional life skills. While those skills are addressed, the school focuses on academics and social skills. While the name has changed, the overriding mission and culture have not.

2015-2016

The 2015-2016 school year saw an increase in enrollment of 40% and the addition of our Transition to an independent living, college, and work program. The program has added partnerships with Gordon Foods, DoubleTree at UCF, and The University of Central Florida in just a few short weeks.

2018

During the 2018 strategic planning session, the mission was reviewed. During the discussion, it was agreed that the mission no longer reflected the school, programs, and future of Arbor School. With that, a new mission was created to include all people with disabilities. 

Since 2016, Arbor School has grown to 2 campuses and a student body of 160 students. We have added STEAM programming to our high school, and in 2022-2023 will provide STEAM to our middle and high school students.  2022-2023 will also include upgrades in classroom technology with interactive whiteboards and 1 to 1 Chromebooks and IPads.

2021-Present

Since 2016, Arbor School has grown to 2 campuses and a student body of 160 students. We have added STEAM programming to our high school, and in 2022-2023 will provide STEAM to our middle and high school students. 2022-2023 will also include upgrades in classroom technology with interactive whiteboards and 1 to 1 Chromebooks and IPads.

During the 2021-2022 school year, Arbor expanded the Transition to Work program by adding a full-time On the Job Training program in partnership with one of the downtown hotels. The students in this program had completed their academic courses and decided to defer their graduation for one year to get this additional training.