Executive Functioning Coaching in Belmont
In-home coaching for students with ADHD, autism, dyslexia or a twice-exceptional profile, building the planning and follow-through that school expects but rarely teaches.
Bright Belmont students who cannot get it done
It might show up as a quiet note from a Ralston teacher, or as a Sunday-night scramble you know too well. Your student gets the ideas in class. The trouble is everything between the idea and a finished, submitted assignment.
- Homework takes three hours when it should take one
- Assignments get finished but never turned in
- The backpack is a black hole of crumpled papers
- Sunday night becomes a weekly crisis
- Report cards say "not working to potential"
Where it shows up in Belmont
Belmont and Redwood Shores students move through the Belmont-Redwood Shores School District, most of them by way of Ralston Middle School, and on to Carlmont High in the Sequoia Union district. The change from one district's support to another's is where a student can lose routines they relied on.
Whether your student has ADHD, autism, dyslexia, a twice-exceptional profile or no label at all, what breaks down is usually not ability and not willingness. It is the machinery around the work: breaking a project into steps, starting before the deadline is close, keeping track of what is due, and staying steady after a disappointing grade. That machinery is learnable, and we build it with your student at home.
What families say
From our reviews page.
From the very first session, Aidan took the time to understand & relate to my son. This was very important for us because my kid is like a brick wall Gen z teen. Currently, we are 2 months in and what a difference so far!
504 plans and IEPs in Belmont
To request a special education evaluation, the Belmont-Redwood Shores School District asks for a letter with an original signature, sent to the Director of Special Programs, or you can contact the school principal. The district's checklist asks for the date, your contact information, your child's name and birthdate, your concerns and the reasons for them, any outside evaluations or reports, and the current school and teacher. You can upload the letter with the online enrollment form, mail it, or drop it at the district office.
Address verification is required for every special education evaluation, including for private-school students, and incomplete enrollment delays the referral. A student who transfers in with an IEP is placed by that IEP, and placement depends on available services, so it may not be at the closest school to your home. Bring a copy of the IEP to enrollment.
The district's Special Programs department covers special education, 504 plans, health services and school-based mental health services. For a 504 plan, the stated route is the school principal. We could not find a separate district 504 process or Student Study Team page online, so ask the principal how it works at your school. Opening Doors is the district's special education PTA, a parent group offering workshops and events.
Sources (checked October 2026): BRSSD Special Programs, BRSSD special education requests, BRSSD special education TK-8, Redwood Shores Elementary staff directory, Opening Doors PTA.
What support looks like at Belmont schools
Ralston has an executive-function class built in. Directed Studies is for students with an IEP, and its description says students work on their organizational and executive functioning skills. Students without an IEP take the equivalent Study Skills class. It is a year-long elective in seventh and eighth grade, with a sixth-grade option. Ralston also runs a free Homework Club with a teacher present, Tuesdays and Thursdays before and after school, open to any current student without signing up.
At Carlmont, the Academic Support Center offers free peer tutoring, and the eighth-grade FAQ describes an intervention team that any staff member can refer a student to. Freshmen take six classes, with support classes or Study Skills as an option, and the freshman schedule is not posted until the day before school at Freshman Orientation. Carlmont lists Compass, a summer program for students who may struggle with the transition, and Elevate, math preparation for Algebra I. Every Sequoia Union student can use free online tutoring through Varsity Tutors, and each high school has a site 504 coordinator listed on the district's 504 page.
A student with a current IEP or 504 plan must apply separately for College Board testing accommodations. Carlmont says College Board takes a minimum of seven weeks, so the application is worth starting early.
Private options in Belmont are specific. Charles Armstrong School, for grades 1 to 8, teaches executive functioning explicitly and systematically, and suggests home strategies such as timers and a visible family calendar. Notre Dame Belmont's Empowered for Success program includes a learning plan, a free audiobook account, a quiet testing room and a Freshmen Intensive class, with training in executive function, study skills and self-advocacy. Crystal Springs Uplands' middle school is on a Belmont campus, with a Study Skills Rotation on time management and organization.
Sources (checked October 2026): Ralston electives, Ralston Homework Club, Carlmont Academic Support Center, Carlmont 8th grade transition FAQ, Carlmont accommodation requests, Sequoia Union Section 504, Charles Armstrong executive functioning, Notre Dame Belmont Empowered for Success, Crystal Springs Uplands academic support.
Coaching alongside school support in Belmont
Ralston's class and Carlmont's tutoring center each cover part of the week. A 504 plan adjusts the classroom. None of them sits beside your student at home, looks at the whole week across six classes, and decides what gets started tonight.
The move from Ralston to Carlmont is the year we watch most closely. The plan, the staff and the district change at once, and the freshman schedule arrives the day before school. A coach who already knows your student carries the routines across that line, so the first semester does not start from zero.
We talk with teachers when you want us to, and your coach can attend an IEP or 504 meeting at your invitation. We do not represent families in those meetings and we do not offer legal advice; for questions about your rights, the procedural safeguards notice and the county SELPA are the right sources.
Three steps, then it is weekly
Free assessment
A 30-minute conversation about your student, their school and what is getting in the way. No pitch.
Matched, usually within a week
We propose the coach, a written plan around the first two or three priorities, and a weekly time. You meet the coach before the first session. If a match will take longer, we tell you on the call.
Weekly coaching in Belmont
60-minute sessions in your home or online, the same coach every week, and a monthly check-in with you.
No pitch on the call. If coaching is not the right fit for your student, we say so.
Per week
Or $215 a week online. Save more with a semester commitment. A coach and a subject tutor can work from one plan, at the same rates.
Common Questions
Do you come to our home in Belmont?
Yes. Most coaching happens at your kitchen table or your student's desk, because that is where the homework lives and where the systems have to work. Online sessions are available too, and some families mix the two.
Can you work with our student's 504 plan or IEP?
Yes. We work from the supports already in place, communicate with teachers when you want us to, and join IEP or 504 meetings at your invitation. We do not represent families in those meetings, and we do not diagnose or provide therapy.
Who do I write to for a special education evaluation?
The Belmont-Redwood Shores School District asks for a signed letter to the Director of Special Programs, or you can contact the school principal. The district's checklist lists what to include, and the letter can be uploaded with the online enrollment form, mailed or dropped at the district office.
Is the executive function class at Ralston only for students with an IEP?
Directed Studies is for students with an IEP, and students without an IEP take the equivalent Study Skills class. Both are year-long electives in seventh and eighth grade.
Do my child's accommodations carry over to the SAT?
Not automatically. A student with a current IEP or 504 plan has to apply separately for College Board testing accommodations, and Carlmont says College Board takes a minimum of seven weeks.
Is this tutoring?
No. Tutoring teaches the content. Executive functioning coaching builds the systems that let your student get the content done and turned in: starting, planning, tracking, following through, and asking for help. Families who want a coach and a subject tutor working from one plan can have both, at the same rates.
Who are the coaches?
Plato+ EF coaches are deeply experienced educators who understand learning differences, with years of work with ADHD, autism, dyslexia and twice-exceptional students. Our founder matches your student to one coach after the free assessment, and that coach stays with your student.
Ready to talk?
No commitment, no pressure. Just an honest conversation about what would help your student in Belmont.