Academics at Equinox
Academic progress and success are a major focus at Equinox. We have students who struggle in school due to issues such as lack of motivation, success, attention, or learning style challenges, and we also have students who find school to be an area of strength. Equinox’s academic program supports all students, no matter what their academic history is. Each student has potential and we help them harness it through a relational, holistic approach.
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 academically and help them develop an individualized academic plan to meet their unique needs. Some students may need to restore their good academic standing through credit recovery and/or accommodations that support their learning style through a scaffolding approach. Others may need to continue on a path of rigorous courses that are appropriately challenging them so they are prepared to successfully transition to their college of choice. 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.
“Do not train a child to learn by force or harshness; but direct them to it by what amuses their minds, so that you may be better able to discover with accuracy the peculiar bent of the genius of each.”
– Plato
Small Classes and Individualized Attention
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 challenges 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.
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 build positive relationships with their Equinox teachers and begin to feel good about themselves again and empowered by experiencing an increase in self-confidence and self-efficacy, which in turn has a significant very positive impact on their clinical progress and family relationships.
Additional Assistance with Different Learning Styles
As one of the top schools for teen boys, 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 and outside of morning class time.
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, such as Orton Gillingham reading programs, Occupational Therapy, or tutoring for college admissions tests. These, and the above support systems we provide to our students set us apart from other boarding schools for boys and raise our efficacy.
College and Career Counseling and Prep
Transitioning to New Schools: Equinox’s academic team understands that our students need to be prepared for what’s next – whether that is a public day school, boarding school, community college, or a 4-year university. We balance supporting students based on their unique needs while preparing them for a variety of future settings through varied instruction and learning approaches that are both traditional and non-traditional. We want to be sure that no matter what a student’s future holds, they are prepared to face it and have the tools to feel empowered to take on any challenge.
High School Graduation: if a student attends Equinox while in their second semester junior year or in their senior year, they can earn their high school diploma from Equinox and 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 is fully accredited by Cognia and 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.