Trying to find an nonprofit therapeutic boarding school for struggling boys in Chicago Heights, Illinois? Perhaps you will consider Heartland Boys Academy, an affordable Christian boarding school in Western Kentucky. Heartland is an adventure-based therapeutic boarding school known for its devotion to teenage boys who have made poor choices academically, emotionally, legally, or socially.

Heartland Boys Academy enrolls underperforming boys from across America, including from Chicago Heights, Illinois. It is an evangelical boarding school that uses adventure as a powerful therapeutic tool for turning around negatively motivated boys. We are an alternative school with a purpose to lead troubled boys to achieve their individual purpose, or destiny, in Christ.

Heartland exclusively serves troubled or struggling boys. Parents of these boys find it advantageous for their boy to experience a new environment here at Heartland that is detached from negative influences back home in Chicago Heights, Illinois. We display love and respect to disrespectful and seemingly unlovable boys who are in need of a new life perspective including a foundational spiritual belief system. Our mentoring and encouragement brings about new thinking and motivations where there was once only negative motivations and failed family relationships.

Accredited School for Teens from Chicago Heights, Illinois

Our commitment to a quality education is also a top priority. Heartland Boys Academy is a fully accredited high school that operates under a model of independent study with tutelage. Students complete courses at their own pace, with weekly objectives established by instructors based on the student’s program of study. Heartland also encourages students to work toward post-secondary goals by offering assistance with college testing.

Students from Chicago Heights, Illinois, who come here achieve phenomenal progress towards successful high school completion and beyond. Our partnership with Edgenuity produces an educational environment that builds 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 on-campus teachers make sure that our students reach goals with 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 fail to keep up or are not understanding a specific topic are helped, but if they are dragging their feet as an act of rebellion, they may lose out on some on-campus privileges like free time until they choose to get caught up.

Heartland Spiritual Focus

Spiritual life is the cornerstone characteristic of Heartland Boys Academy. We believe that ultimately Jesus Christ is the only answer for troubled teenagers from Chicago Heights, Illinois. We are devoted to introducing every boy to a relationship with their Maker. We lead them toward their spiritual gifting and purpose in Christ.

Many teenagers who enroll have rebelled against their religious heritage or have never professed faith in Christ. Heartland offers a safe place for them to renew or gain their faith, perhaps for the first time. Godly character surrounds everything we do at Heartland Boys Academy.

Where Teens from Chicago Heights, Illinois, Can Gain Leadership Training

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

Reversing the Bad Attitudes with a Positive Peer Culture

Heartland knows that adolescents and their parents in Chicago Heights, Illinois, face enormous pressure from the culture. Teens are impacted by a barrage of negative peer pressure. The Heartland model for change is called Positive Peer Culture (PPC), which believes that teens can learn self-worth, significance, dignity, and responsibility only as they devote themselves to the positive values of helping and caring for others.

Adventure Therapy is a Primary Tool

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

Adventure therapy is a form of experiential therapy that uses challenging adventure activities to aid the therapeutic healing process. It plays a key role in character growth. Every boy participates in our adventure program because of the important values that can be gained. We offer many kinds of adventure activities including camping, backpacking, rappelling, canoeing, swimming, hiking, hunting, and spelunking (cave exploration).

At a therapeutic school like Heartland, students are allowed to engage in many activities and new adventure experiences during their stay. Adventure therapy used at Heartland are where boys learn to listen, learn regulation skills, and push themselves to overcome challenging fun tasks. The obstacles students face through our adventure programming are designed to forge a more positive identity, build character, and develop a sense of accomplishment. Students do not just participate in the activity; they learn how to do it themselves. This is called experiential learning.

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

Heartland Boys Academy is a campus teeming with healing and hope for boys in Chicago Heights, Illinois. We have been privileged to see many at-risk and troubled boys transformed into hard-working, respectable adults. We help restore boys to their families; healthy, confident, and spiritually and academically on track. Call (888)300-2830 to learn more today, or contact us through our online inquiry form.

Please consider looking beyond Chicago Heights, Illinois to see how our Christ-centered adventure-based therapeutic boarding school program can guide your troubled teen toward life transformation. To discover more, please contact us today.