A Little About Us
Fostering Empowerment and Independence
Precious Hearts Academy is a special education day school devoted to serving K-12 students with exceptionalities and their families by providing an individualized, enriched, trans-disciplinary and integrated educational program based on clinical evidence-based research standards to facilitate whole person development.
Every child has the ability to learn and grow. Together as parents, educators and the community, we collectively have the moral obligation to utilize the key held in our hands to unlock their destiny towards success!
What We Do
Get to Know Us
Board of Directors
Sharmel Weerasinghe, RN BSN
Sharmel is the co-founder of Precious Hearts Academy where she provides administrative and clinical support. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from Loma Linda University in 2001.
As a parent, Sharmel intimately understands the constant real life challenges of raising a child with autism. She is experienced in utilizing many evidence-based methodologies and is currently completing her Master’s Degree in Education, Curriculum & Instruction (Applied Behavior Analysis).
Sharmel has appeared as a guest speaker for workshops & conferences educating students and professionals on incorporating concepts of Applied Behavior Analysis into clinical practice and understanding the benefits of utilizing a trans-disciplinary approach with individuals on the spectrum. She is devoted to bring hope for children with exceptionalities and their families in the Inland Empire.
Jeevaka Weearsinghe, RN BSN
As a father of a son on the autism spectrum, Jeevaka understands first hand the dynamic needs and demands it places on the family along with the commitment and sacrifice parents choose to make . His passion for behavioral health, experience in administration and clinical expertise brought forth a deep desire to start this non-profit school to serve and give hope to families in our local community.
Francesca Kuruppu, MS
Francesca developed a strong sense of commitment for the nonprofit sector while working as Director of Operations for Kaiser Permanente, one of the largest Health Maintenance Organizations (HMO) in the U.S. These collective experiences enrich Francesca’s passion for caring for others and contributing to diverse communities.