Fun Facts About Therapeutic Boarding Schools

Fun Facts About Therapeutic Boarding Schools

The history of therapeutic boarding schools in the United States is full of interesting trivia and “did you know…” facts. From the earliest therapeutic boarding schools of the 1900s, to the sleek, modern facilities and curricula of today, the diversity of these programs has always led to the development of some unique facets. Read on to learn some surprising facts about therapeutic boarding schools.

• The therapeutic approaches used in therapeutic boarding schools are often described as a “tapestry” or a “patchwork” of strategies.
• Maslow’s hierarchy of needs—the theory that humans need to fulfill their need for air, water, food, and shelter before they can access more existential identity questions—often informs the curricula at therapeutic boarding schools.
• The stigma associated with placing teens in a therapeutic boarding school is dropping off dramatically, and more and more parents are seeking treatment for their children.
• The Hyde School, founded in 1966 in Connecticut, has been so successful it has launched three charter campuses in Washington, DC, New York City, and Connecticut.
• Therapeutic boarding schools grew out of the “emotional growth education” movement of the 1980s.
• Original “emotional growth” programs from the 1980s were strongly against medicating students for behavioral disorders.
• These days, most therapeutic boarding schools do offer medication in addition to psychotherapy, physical activity, academics, and clubs.
• The Montcalm School in Albion, Michigan, offers a unique school-to-work program, in which residential students can partner with local business and craftspeople in order to learn occupational skills.
• More and more therapeutic boarding schools are incorporating art therapy into their programming.
• At Turning Winds Academic Institute, in Troy, MT, students have access to a breadth of outdoor education which includes activities such as:  mountain biking, backpacking, rock climbing courses, whitewater rafting, and skiing.
• The first therapeutic boarding school to incorporate animal therapy, in the form of a horseback riding program, was the Grove School of Connecticut, in 1954.
• Pop artist Andy Warhol visited the Malvern Institute in Philadelphia, PA, in 1968 for an extended stay as artist-in-residence, leading classes in art expression for the residents there.
• Though many therapeutic boarding schools were founded in specific spiritual faiths, most modern therapeutic boarding school programs are unaffiliated with any particular religion.
• The Family Foundation School in Hancock, NY, offers Anime Club and classes in drafting comic strips.
• The King George School in Sutton, VT, requires family to attend once-a-month family therapy sessions with their enrolled children.
• Chrysalis, a school for girls in Eureka, Montana, offers students the opportunity to enroll in study abroad programs bound for Peru, Vietnam, France, or England.
• At Shortridge Academy in Milton, NH, residents participate in a three phase program: first “Foundations,” then “Relationships,” and lastly, “Leadership.”
• The Carlbrook School in Halifax, VA, boasts the highest student-to-faculty ratio of any therapeutic boarding school: 3:1. Average class size is only eight students.