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Getting Reacquainted with Success: What to Expect from Boarding School Academics

By Meghan Vivo

When adolescents are skipping classes, getting poor grades, or failing out of school, there is usually more going on than academic frustration. Often, these students have emotional, behavioral, or learning issues that need to be addressed in order for them to succeed in the classroom and at home.

At the Academy at Swift River, a therapeutic boarding school in Massachusetts, therapy, recreation, and academics blend to create a program that helps students get back on track in every area of their lives. One of the primary goals of the staff at Swift River is to reacquaint adolescents with academic success – in part, because success in school can increase the chances of a successful adulthood, but also because doing well in school can give teens the boost of self-esteem they need to excel in other areas.

So what can you expect from an academic program at a therapeutic boarding school? The following are just a few of the highlights:

Small Class Sizes and Individualized Attention

Whereas most public schools place 30-40 children in a classroom, therapeutic boarding schools offer a vastly greater amount of individualized attention. At the Academy at Swift River, the average class size is 8-10 students, with some classes having as little as four students.

In this setting, there are no cracks to slip through and no corners to hide in. Students’ needs are promptly tended to and issues are quickly identified and addressed.

For example, if a student isn’t understanding a certain topic or lesson in class, there is no way for the issue to go unnoticed for half a semester, as occasionally happens in public school. At Swift River, within a week the student will be getting extra help in the form of tutoring, study skills training, meeting with a learning specialist, testing for learning disabilities, or other appropriate support, with plenty of time to pinpoint the issues and deal with them in as many ways as possible.

“We work with a number of teens who have been placed in special education classes at public school, but they don’t belong there,” says Greg Williams, a science teacher and the Math/Science Department Head at Swift River. “Once they get the one-on-one attention they need and build their basic skills, we find that they are capable of joining the mainstream track and achieving great academic success.”

Teachers Who Are Invested in Their Students’ Success

Small class sizes make it easier and more gratifying for teachers to do their jobs. The teachers at Swift River are caring and involved, and genuinely want to discover what is getting in the way of their students’ success.

In order to do so, they meet each week with their students’ therapists and residential staff to get a more global sense of how each student is progressing. With a thorough understanding of every area of a student’s life, the staff is able to accurately assess each student and tailor the program to meet their specific needs.

“When we understand each student’s history, it allows us to teach more effectively,” states Williams. “We can set realistic goals, chart their progress, and offer insights that will lead to better academic performance.”

The teachers at private boarding schools also have more freedom to design their lesson plans and create courses that are exciting to both the students and faculty. Williams, who teaches chemistry and physics at Swift River, takes advantage of small class sizes by providing hands-on experiences and structuring assignments in fun and interesting ways. For example, when his class is studying projectile objects, the students build rockets and challenge each other to catapult battles.

“We want to re-engage our students so they care about academics again,” says Williams. “In order to do so, the learning process should be exciting and fun. When the lesson is interesting, the students start paying attention again and actually enjoy themselves in the process.”

Teachers at therapeutic boarding schools have specific expectations for classroom behavior and create a structured environment where students have few distractions from their studies. Because the teachers treat students with respect and dignity, they expect the same in return. The result is an environment that is conducive to learning as well as healthy personal and social development.

Catching Up in School

Teens who struggle with emotional or behavioral issues sometimes end up with “patchwork quilt” academic transcripts, receiving partial credits for some classes, failing out of other classes mid-term, and so on.

While public schools would generally require students to start over, therapeutic boarding schools like the Academy at Swift River specialize in filling the holes of patchwork student transcripts. By dividing courses into thirds and teaching to each student’s ability level, teachers are able to place students at the appropriate level from the moment they are admitted and provide academic credit for the work that has been done. At Swift River, two years' academic work can be completed in six trimesters, or approximately 18 months.

For students who need extra time learning certain concepts, the academy offers weekly tutorials outside the classroom where students work one-on-one with their teachers to ensure that each subject is fully understood before moving on.

“Some of our students had lost faith in their ability to experience academic success before coming here,” explains Williams. “They may have been too distracted by problems with drugs or alcohol or behavioral issues. In this environment, school is one of the most engaging aspects of their daily life and over time, they get more and more invested in having a successful academic career.”

College Preparation

Although therapeutic boarding schools offer intensive therapy and support for emotional or behavioral issues, this doesn’t mean the academic curriculum suffers. In fact, the Academy at Swift River offers a rigorous college-prep high school curriculum that is on par with local prep schools, and all students are on the “college track.”

The academy also has an impressive track record of placing students at their first and second choice of colleges to which they have applied after graduation. A full-time college counselor works with students intensively to complete college applications and pairs students with a college that is likely to be a good fit for their particular interests and abilities.

Because of the level of individualized attention they receive from both teachers and therapists at Swift River, many students who were failing in public school transform into “A” and “B” students and go on to achieve remarkable success in college and beyond.

An Investment in the Future

The combination of all of these academic supports makes therapeutic boarding school an ideal place for teens who have lost interest in school success. The level of support and involvement at Swift River brings out the best in struggling teens, turning apathy into motivation and failure into success.

“The number of teens who have turned around right in front of my eyes is amazing,” says Williams. “Our students are intelligent and talented, but they haven’t been appreciated for their academic ability because it was hard to see. For me, the best moments are when a student turns to me and says, ‘I understand now.’”