AdolescentSchools.com

Location  Carolina Springs Academy is an innovative and effective program for teens who are struggling at home, at school, or in the community: it teaches values, integrity, honor, and respect for authority. It helps these teens to become an asset to the community.

Carolina Springs Academy also provides an atmosphere for teens struggling with self-esteem and emotional growth. Carolina Springs Academy is located near Abbeville, South Carolina. The program is situated on a beautiful campus. The youth experience a mixture of Old South courtliness, European heritage and American nostalgia. It is placed on the upstate farmland, a one-hour drive from Greenville, Columbia or Augusta, Georgia.

Behavior Modification  High standards exist. Inappropriate behavior is confronted, given consequences, and redirected, while appropriate behavior is reinforced and rewarded. The program offers tight supervision around the clock.

Each student follows a vigorous daily schedule and a firm set of rules. A merit system is used, requiring each student to earn his status and privileges through a standard program using a multi-level system based on positive behavior. As students advance, each level offers additional privileges motivating the student to work harder. The program becomes the testing ground to ascertain each student's level of commitment toward changing past behavior.

Emotional Growth Courses  Students participate daily in tightly-integrated emotional growth and personal development courses. Group feedback sessions are key in this program for developing self-awareness. During these sessions students begin to open up and learn to communicate appropriately; it also teaches them what is or isn't working in their lives. These courses effectively utilize resources such as audio and video tapes, selective reading material, and group feedback sessions.

Activities  On- and off-ground activities provide a proper balance of recreation, exercise, learning, personal development and social opportunities. Initially all activities are on grounds. Over a period of time, students may earn the privilege of participating in off-grounds activities.

The facility is located on a gorgeous mountain area which is conducive to a number of outdoor activities, such as: fishing, hiking, kayaking, rafting, and cross country skiing. Other activities include movies, bowling, and cultural events.

Academics  The academic program offers innovative techniques that allows students to maximize the learning process and earning of credits. With close support from a teacher/tutor, students are able to move effectively through their academic courses. Course credit is based on mastery of the subject matter.

Students are not held back by other teens in the class, lesson plans, teachers' schedules, course offerings, or class availability. The student receives credit when he/she demonstrates that the subject matter has mastered. The academic program is a performance-based system. A large selection of required and elective classes is offered.

Students are able to complete required credit--and even earn advanced credits--in Math, English, Science, History, Physical Education, and many elective classes. The student's transcripts are evaluated upon admission to the program, and the student is assisted in designing an ambitious course of study. In order for the student to earn credit for a class and move on to the next course of study, each class must be passed at a level of 80% or better. This means students must earn A's or B's.

This requirement ensures that the teen has truly mastered the material before he/she receives any credit for the class.

TASKS  (Teen Accountability, Self-Esteem and Keys to Success) Students participate in a series of seminars designed specifically for Red Rock Academy. During the TASKS seminars teens work on specific issues, such as: accountability, honesty, integrity, trust, choices, responsibility, anger and especially self-esteem. While the student is completing his or her series of seminars, the parents are invited to attend a Parent Seminar and monthly Parent Support Meetings held in regional areas. The culmination of the TASKS Program is when parents and students are invited to attend two effective Parent/Child Workshops. These are designed to assist each family in rebuilding the family unit, and this becomes the foundation for the After-Care Program.