Executive Functioning Coaching in Hillsborough
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 Hillsborough students who cannot get it done
It might show up as a quiet note from a Crocker 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 Hillsborough
Hillsborough students move through the Hillsborough City School District, ending at Crocker Middle School, and then go on to a high school in the San Mateo Union district, which assigns a school by home address. The move from a small district to a large high school is where organization gets tested.
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.
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504 plans and IEPs in Hillsborough
For a student enrolled in the Hillsborough City School District, the district asks you to speak with the principal or school counselor about your concerns, the Student Success Team process and the evaluation process. A parent, caregiver or teacher can request a Student Success Team for an academic, behavioral or social-emotional concern. The team includes the principal or assistant principal, the teacher, the counselor, other relevant staff and you, and interventions are monitored over four to six weeks before the team meets again.
The district's 504 coordinator is the school counselor, or you can ask the principal. A medical diagnosis can be considered but is not sufficient by itself. A 504 plan is not required before asking for a special education assessment, and a 504 plan from another district does not automatically transfer, though the school reviews it.
If your child is new to the district with an IEP, bring a copy of the current IEP to registration so the district can place your student. Families whose child attends a private school or is homeschooled in Hillsborough can call the district office at (650) 342-5193, where staff explain assessment, eligibility and equitable services. Families whose private school is outside Hillsborough contact the special education department of the district where the school is located.
The district's 2026-27 plan says it will revamp the Student Success Team and CARE team process, and lists full-time counselors at each school site and a full-time mental health therapist serving all four campuses.
Sources (checked October 2026): HCSD special education services, HCSD student support, HCSD Section 504, HCSD 2026-27 plan.
What support looks like at Crocker and beyond
Crocker's own school description says its curriculum includes executive functioning training, social and emotional learning and leadership. The school's pages do not say how that is delivered, so ask what it looks like for your student. The district's homework policy sets some useful rules: no homework is due the day after a weekend or holiday break, teachers set clear deadlines and define the parent's role on long-term projects, and a student who cannot meet a deadline is encouraged to talk to the teacher in advance. Parents are asked to contact teachers if a child is consistently unable to complete homework independently.
The district's 2026-27 plan funds a Math Lab and a Literacy Lab at Crocker, with extra support aimed at eighth graders, and says co-teaching is being implemented for students with disabilities. Crocker eighth graders who apply to private high schools have a form due by noon on Friday, December 4, 2026.
For high school, the San Mateo Union district holds an 8th Grade Info Night for families of students who receive special education, planned for spring 2027, covering services and the spring articulation IEP meetings. After enrollment, a special education representative from the assigned school contacts the family. Burlingame's pathway starts with a counselor and an online Request for Support, a weekly Student Intervention Team and, if needed, a Student Study Team, with Peer Tutoring, a Student Success Center, Flex Time, Guided Studies and AVID. Aragon offers Guided Studies, AVID and Flex Time twice a week, and a Wellness Center. Our San Mateo page covers the district's 504 steps.
Nueva's Hillsborough campus is its Lower and Middle School. Nueva has a dedicated social-emotional learning class every year from PreK through 11th grade, and middle school advisories led by a faculty mentor and advocate. Crystal Springs Uplands has its Upper School in Hillsborough. It offers a Formal Education Plan for documented learning differences, a Study Skills Rotation in middle school, and Upper School Tutorial Sessions in small groups that also cover executive functioning skills.
Sources (checked October 2026): Crocker homework policy, Crocker 2025 SARC, Crocker 8th grade high school information, SMUHSD special education, Burlingame High academics, Aragon accreditation report, Nueva social-emotional learning, Crystal Springs Uplands academic support.
Coaching alongside school support in Hillsborough
A Student Success Team, a Math Lab and a 504 plan each cover part of the week. A coach works on what happens after the bell, at home. We read the plan your student already has and help turn it into routines your student can run: a weekly look at what is due, planning long projects backward from the deadline, and the short conversation that gets an accommodation used.
The move from Crocker to a large high school is the year we watch most closely, because the staff, the portal and the district all change at once. A coach who already knows your student carries the routines across that line.
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 Hillsborough
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 Hillsborough?
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 talk to at Crocker about my child's support?
Start with the school principal or counselor. The district's 504 coordinator is the school counselor, and a parent, caregiver or teacher can request a Student Success Team for an academic, behavioral or social-emotional concern.
Do we need a 504 plan before asking for a special education assessment?
No. The district says a 504 plan is not required before asking for a special education assessment. A medical diagnosis can be considered, but it is not sufficient by itself.
We are at a private school in Hillsborough. Who evaluates our child?
Families whose child attends a private school in Hillsborough can call the district office at (650) 342-5193, where staff explain assessment, eligibility and equitable services. If your school is outside Hillsborough, contact the special education department of the district where the school is located.
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 Hillsborough.