UConn Partnership Brings Neuroscience Research to Connecticut School for Diverse Learners
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If you’ve ever watched your child excel at creative problem-solving while struggling with reading, you understand the complex puzzle of learning differences. You’ve probably wondered why traditional schools seem to miss so much of what makes your child brilliant. Your instincts are right—and a groundbreaking partnership in Connecticut is proving that research-based approaches focused on how each brain learns can transform educational outcomes.
TL;DR
UConn has partnered with Forman School in Litchfield, Connecticut, to bring educational neuroscience research into classrooms serving students with learning differences.
Ph.D. candidate Kristin Simmers became the inaugural director of cognition and learning, bridging academic research with daily practice for approximately 200 students.
The Neurovariability Initiative, created by leaders who themselves have dyslexia and ADHD characteristics, emphasizes cognitive strengths rather than deficits.
Forman's boarding model enables comprehensive research on skill development across multiple settings—classroom, dormitory, athletics, and daily life.
The partnership may serve as a model for how research institutions and specialized schools can collaborate to develop evidence-based educational approaches.
University Research Meets Specialized Education
UConn’s Waterbury campus has formalized a research partnership with Forman School, a nearly 100-year-old boarding and day school in Litchfield, Connecticut, that serves approximately 200 students with learning differences including dyslexia and attention-related challenges. Kristin Simmers, a fifth-year Ph.D. candidate in learning sciences at UConn, has become the inaugural director of cognition and learning at Forman, bridging the gap between academic research and daily classroom practice.
The partnership emerged from UConn Waterbury’s Neurovariability Initiative, launched in spring 2025 and co-created by Campus Dean Fumiko Hoeft and engineering professor Arash Zaghi. The initiative takes a fundamentally different approach to education—rather than focusing on what students can’t do, it leverages cognitive diversity to design learning environments that elevate all students.
What makes this partnership significant is its foundation in neuroscience rather than diagnosis-focused approaches. “Forman is a school that serves students with learning differences, but also explicitly teaches them how their brains actually work and learn,” Simmers explained. This aligns with growing evidence that understanding brain-based differences helps students develop more effective learning strategies.
Both Hoeft and Zaghi bring personal experience to their work—they identify as having dyslexia and ADHD characteristics and are parents of neurodivergent learners. This lived experience shapes their strength-based approach, which merges Universal Design for Learning principles with brain-based teaching methods. Rather than relying on labels or diagnoses, the initiative focuses on improving educational systems to better serve all learners.
Author Quote"
When people would ask me what I wanted to do after my Ph.D., I would describe this job and then quickly say, ‘But those jobs don’t exist.’ — Kristin Simmers, Director of Cognition and Learning at Forman School
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Research Opportunities Transform Daily Practice
Forman’s boarding school model offers unique research possibilities. Simmers noted that observing executive functioning development across multiple settings—classroom, dormitory, dining hall, and athletics—provides comprehensive data impossible to gather in traditional day schools. The school has also established partnerships with Stanford University’s ROAR reading assessment project and collaborated with Harvard Innovation Labs on educational instruction technology.
For families navigating learning differences, this research-to-practice pipeline matters because it generates evidence about what actually works. Understanding that the brain can change and develop new capabilities through targeted approaches gives parents concrete reasons for hope. The partnership demonstrates how specialized schools can serve as innovation laboratories while directly benefiting the students they serve.
Key Takeaways:
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Research partnership launches: UConn and Forman School have created a formal collaboration bringing educational neuroscience research directly into specialized classroom settings for students with learning differences.
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Strength-based approach works: The Neurovariability Initiative focuses on leveraging cognitive diversity and brain-based teaching rather than deficit-focused diagnosis and remediation.
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Parents can seek evidence-based programs: Families can look for schools and programs that teach students how their brains learn rather than simply accommodating perceived limitations.
A Model for Strength-Based Education
UConn Waterbury, with over 750 students, offers an ideal testing ground for inclusive educational practices. “These kinds of small environments are well equipped to teach a diverse student body. We often know the students’ names and faces,” said Hoeft. The campus plans to expand opportunities including Early College Experience courses for Forman students and participation in events like the annual WISHfest and Dyslexia Awareness Month activities.
This partnership represents a broader shift in educational thinking—away from deficit-focused approaches and toward leveraging each student’s unique cognitive profile for success. The research suggests that students with learning differences often possess strengths highly desirable in fields like engineering, including systems thinking, creativity, and three-dimensional visualization. Parents wondering why their bright children struggle academically are finding new answers in strength-based educational approaches.
Author Quote"
These kinds of small environments are well equipped to teach a diverse student body. We often know the students’ names and faces. — Fumiko Hoeft, Campus Dean at UConn Waterbury
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Every child’s brain has the capacity to learn, grow, and develop new skills. This partnership demonstrates what becomes possible when educational institutions prioritize understanding how different brains work rather than focusing on what they supposedly can’t do. The real barrier isn’t your child’s brain—it’s the outdated approaches that manage symptoms rather than build skills. If you’re ready to stop waiting for a system that wasn’t designed for your child, the Learning Success All Access Program offers a free trial that includes a personalized Action Plan—and you keep that plan even if you decide it’s not the right fit.
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