Academic progress and success is a major focus at Equinox. Many of our boys arrive at Equinox struggling in school. Sometimes those struggles are due to lack of motivation, lack of success, attention, or learning style challenges.
Often, these academic struggles are one of the things parents notice first, as concern grows for the welfare of their child. Sometimes they notice that their child, who previously excelled, begins underperforming. At other times, they recognize that their son’s challenge is due to a culmination of years of struggling to reach his potential.
As one of the leading residential therapeutic boarding schools for boys, we have designed our academic approach to meet the young men where they are and help them develop an individualized academic plan to restore their good academic standing. With small classes, personal plans, and strong support, Equinox students can see incredible academic gains. These improvements are just one part of the overall progress your son can experience at Equinox.
Small classes and individualized attention
Unlike other boarding schools for boys, class sizes are purposefully kept small with no more than 10 boys per class to allow more individual attention and hands-on learning. Our average class size is around 6 students.
Our academic program operates year-round, offering five 10-week terms during which students can earn a full quarter-credit in each class. Many of our students have begun falling behind in school due to the significant emotional struggles they are facing. Our shorter terms and flexible scheduling can help your son catch up academically. In addition, independent study courses are available for students interested in taking classes specific to their needs.
Integration of academics and therapy
At Equinox, we have put a great deal of effort into developing an academic program that is fully integrated with our clinical program. Our experience in therapeutic boarding schools for boys has shown that those teens who begin to succeed academically also experience a great boost in motivation in other areas of their lives. Students begin to feel good about themselves again by experiencing an increase in self-confidence and self-efficacy, which in turn has a very positive impact on their clinical progress and family relationships.
We use the following components of our program to assist in keeping academic and therapeutic progress fully integrated:
- A therapeutic phase program based on the archetypal “Hero’s Journey” which also has strong academic underpinnings.
- Weekly multi-disciplinary treatment team meetings which include the student’s therapists, residential staff, and academic team to integrate the discussion of therapeutic and academic progress.
- Master treatment plans including the identification of academic problems and goals.
- The presence of the academic director and teachers in group therapy sessions.
- Experiential learning opportunities, which include field trips, outings, camping trips, and other hands-on learning experiences that focus on a combination of education, recreation, community involvement and therapeutic process.
Additional Assistance with Different Learning Styles
Each student has an Individualized Academic Plan. This plan, created with the student, identifies the student’s academic goals and objectives, and is accessible to him, his team, teachers, parents, and therapist. Access to this information helps clarify our students’ strengths and challenges, as well as action plans that can be applied within the classroom. Students who need additional support with academic and organizational skills can receive tutoring during individual classes within the school day as well as one-on-one tutorial sessions outside of school.
We also offer a variety of additional academic support services as needed. If you are interested in your son receiving evaluation for additional support services, please let us know. The optional support services we offer include: Orton Gillingham reading programs, Occupational Therapy, and our own Study Skills curriculum. These, and the above support systems we provide to our students set us apart from other boarding schools for boys and raise our efficacy.
Graduation
High School Graduation: boys who complete high school at Equinox are awarded high school diplomas from the State of North Carolina. The diploma they will be awarded will come from our private academic program, which will not be referenced as a residential treatment school. Equinox utilizes North Carolina requirements for students when awarding a diploma. If a student is returning to another district, we are able to tailor course selection to meet that district’s requirements.
