A Chicago school since 2003. Family built. Clinically led.
Since 2003, Black Bear Academy has been North Center's school for children 18 months through 1st grade, with a therapy clinic and evaluation practice for kids and teens, ages 18 months to 18. Today it is owned and led by Executive Director Dr. Lori G. Tall, PsyD, a licensed psychologist and clinical neuropsychologist, with teachers and therapists working as one team.
More than two decades in North Center
Black Bear Academy opened in 2003 as a small preschool for young children who were often not a fit at other schools. Over the years, teachers and therapists began working side by side under one roof. Today it is a school, therapy clinic, and evaluation practice built around one plan for each child.
- 2003
A small school opens
Founder Maureen Black opens Black Bear Academy in North Center for children who learn and grow differently.
- The years that followed
One team forms
Occupational therapy, speech, and Social, Emotional and Behavioral Therapy join the school day, so therapy and academics happen in the same building.
- 2020
Clinically led
Dr. Lori G. Tall, PsyD, a clinical neuropsychologist, becomes owner and connects the school to her practice, the Center for Comprehensive Neurobehavioral Care (CCNC).
- Today
School, clinic, and evaluations
Classrooms for 18 months through 1st grade, in-house therapy and testing, and parent coaching, open to every Chicago-area family.
Led by Dr. Lori G. Tall, PsyD
Dr. Tall is a clinical neuropsychologist and the Executive Director of Black Bear Academy and its sister school, Black Bear Elementary. She owns both schools and founded the Center for Comprehensive Neurobehavioral Care (CCNC). She brings hospital and university experience into the classroom, so the people who teach your child and the people who evaluate your child work from the same plan.
- Training
PsyD from the California School of Professional Psychology, Los Angeles. Neuropsychology internship at the University of Minnesota. Fellowship at Primary Children's Medical Center, Salt Lake City.
- Hospital and university roles
Psychologist at Cincinnati Children's. Director of the Assessment Program at The Family Institute at Northwestern University. Clinical director at Rush Neurobehavioral Center, Rush University Medical Center.
- Focus
Educational, neuropsychological, and legal assessments, and the plans that follow them.
A graduate training site
Black Bear Academy is a graduate training site for programs at University of Illinois Chicago, DePaul University, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and Rush University. That means current research and best practice flow through our classrooms, and it is part of why so many of our therapists trained here as interns and chose to come back as staff. Continuity for our team becomes continuity for your child.
Black Bear Elementary and CCNC
Black Bear Elementary is our sister school for kindergarten through 8th grade, at its own nearby site. The Center for Comprehensive Neurobehavioral Care (CCNC) is our sister clinic and extends our evaluation and clinical work. Together, they give families one connected path from question to answer to support.
Work at Black Bear Academy
We are always glad to hear from teachers and licensed clinicians who want to work as part of a genuinely integrated team. If that is you, tell us about yourself.
View open roles →Black Bear Academy in the community
Come see the school that families have trusted since 2003
Request a tour or a short info call. A team member will follow up soon.