Searching for an alternative for troubled boys in Iowa? Perhaps you will consider Heartland Boys Academy, an affordable Christian boarding school in Western Kentucky. Heartland is an adventure-based year-round boarding school serving boys from Iowa.

Heartland Boys Academy enrolls troubled boys from across the U.S., including from Iowa. It is an evangelical boarding school that employs adventure as a powerful therapeutic tool for turning around difficult boys. We are an early intervention school with a purpose to lead troubled teens to fulfill their individual purpose, or destiny, in Christ.

Heartland exclusively serves troubled or struggling boys. Parents of these boys find it constructive for their boy to spend time in a new environment here at Heartland that is away from negative influences back home in Iowa. We show love and respect to disrespectful and seemingly unlovable boys who are in need of a better life perspective including a foundational spiritual belief system. Our mentoring and encouragement is meant to bring about transformation where there was once only negative motivations and an impasse in the relationship with their parents.

Accredited School for Adolescents from Iowa

To provide a quality education is also our top priority. Heartland Boys Academy is a fully accredited private school that employs a model of independent study with personalized instruction. Students complete courses at their own speed, with weekly goals set by teaching staff based on the student’s program of study. Heartland also encourages students to work toward post-secondary goals by helping them prep for college testing.

Students from Iowa, who attend Heartland achieve phenomenal progress towards successful high school completion and beyond. Our partnership with Edgenuity produces an educational environment that spurs a desire to succeed, which gains momentum and encourages students to reach their full potential. Edgenuity is certified by COGNIA, the highest accrediting body for schools in the United States.

While the Edgenuity program is intuitive and self-paced, our own certified classroom teachers make sure that the boys keep up their coursework. They tutor, answer any questions, and give each student plenty of encouragement. Our teachers can see at a glance how well each student is doing. Students who lag behind or are having difficulty with a specific topic are helped, but if they are failing as an act of rebellion, they may jeopardize some on-campus privileges like free time until they understand it is better to get caught up.

Heartland’s Spiritual Focus

Spiritual life is the cornerstone characteristic of Heartland Boys Academy. We believe that ultimately Jesus Christ is the only answer for struggling teens from Iowa. We are committed to introducing every teen to a relationship with their Maker. We lead them toward their spiritual gifting and purpose in Christ.

Many Iowa teens who enroll have moved away from their spiritual heritage or have never professed belief in Christ. Heartland offers an open environment for them to renew or gain their faith as they may never have done before. Godly character surrounds everything we do at Heartland Boys Academy.

Where Adolescents from Iowa, Can Gain Leadership Training

Besides helping capable students learn to apply themselves academically and spiritually, we offer specific leadership training to unleash the potential in each teenager. We teach teens to serve and love each other. Mission trips and community service opportunities provide real life experience and application of the leadership principles learned at Heartland.

Replacing the Negative with a Positive Peer Culture

Heartland recognizes that adolescents and their families in Iowa, face huge challenges from the culture. Teens are surrounded by a barrage of negative peer pressure. The Heartland model for change is called Positive Peer Culture (PPC), which believes that teens can develop self-worth, significance, dignity, and responsibility only as they embrace the positive values of helping and caring for others.

Where Adventure Therapy is a Primary Tool

Adventure therapy is an important therapeutic feature of Heartland. We find that boys are more open to communicating and learning while enjoying adventure tasks, so we use those times to instill better thinking and to improve their communication skills. It also facilitates improvement in their ability to work in synch with others.

Adventure therapy is a type of experiential therapy that uses challenging adventure activities to aid the therapeutic transformation. It is meant to contribute to character maturation. Every teen takes part in our adventure program because of the important values that can be learned. We offer a number of adventure activities including camping, backpacking, rappelling, canoeing, swimming, hiking, hunting, and spelunking (cave exploration).

At a therapeutic school like Heartland, students enjoy being able to engage in various activities and new adventure experiences during their stay. Adventure therapy activities at Heartland are where boys learn to listen, learn regulation skills, and push themselves to accomplish challenging fun tasks. The challenges students face through our adventure programming are meant to forge a more positive identity, build character, and develop a sense of accomplishment. Students do not just participate in the activity; they reach for a goal and accomplish it. This is called experiential learning.

Our staff are trained to manage the adventure program in a safe and effective way for boys from Iowa. The same team members who live with students all week, building rapport and making connections, are then able to teach the boys during their adventure activities.

Heartland Boys Academy is a place of healing and hope for boys from Iowa. We have seen many at-risk and struggling teens transformed into hard-working, respectable adults. We help restore teens to their families; healthy, confident, and spiritually and academically on track. Call (888)300-2830 to learn more today, or fill in our online inquiry form.

To discover discover how our Christ-centered adventure-based therapeutic boarding school program can lead your struggling boy toward life transformation. To learn more, please contact us today.