Seeking out an alternative therapeutic boarding school for struggling boys in Columbia, South Carolina? Perhaps you will consider Heartland Boys Academy, a low-cost Christian boarding school in Western Kentucky. Heartland is an adventure-based year-round boarding school known for its dedication to teenage boys who have wandered away academically, emotionally, legally, or socially.

Heartland Boys Academy accepts troubled boys from across America, including from Columbia, South Carolina. It is a faith-based boarding school that uses adventure as a powerful therapeutic method for turning around difficult boys. We are an early intervention school with a purpose to lead struggling teenagers to realize their individual purpose, or destiny, in Christ.

Heartland exclusively works with troubled or struggling boys. Parents of these boys find it valuable for their boy to spend time in a new environment here at Heartland that is away from negative influences back home in Columbia, South Carolina. We show love and respect to disrespectful and unruly boys who are in need of a new life perspective including a foundational spiritual focus in life. Our mentoring and encouragement is meant to bring about new thinking and motivations where there was once only ungodly motivations and an impasse in the relationship with their parents.

Accredited School for Adolescents from Columbia, South Carolina

To provide a quality education is also our top priority. Heartland Boys Academy is a fully accredited high school that operates under a model of independent study with tutelage. Students work through courses at their own pace, with weekly goals set by instructors based on the student’s chosen course work. Heartland also encourages students to prepare for post-secondary goals by offering assistance with college testing.

Students from Columbia, South Carolina, who attend Heartland achieve phenomenal progress towards successful high school completion and beyond. Our partnership with Edgenuity facilitates an educational environment that spurs motivation to succeed, which gains momentum and helps the boys to reach their full potential. Edgenuity is certified by COGNIA, the highest accrediting body for schools in America.

While the Edgenuity program is intuitive and self-paced, our own certified on-campus 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 fail to keep up or are having difficulty with a certain 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 understand it is better to get caught up.

Heartland Spiritual Focus

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

Many teens who come have moved away from their religious heritage or have never professed faith in Christ. Heartland offers a safe place for them to take ownership of their faith, perhaps for the first time. Godly character surrounds everything we do at Heartland Boys Academy.

Where Adolescents from Columbia, South Carolina, Can Receive Leadership Training

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

Reversing the Bad Attitudes with a Positive Peer Culture

Heartland knows that teens and their families in Columbia, South Carolina, face enormous pressure from the culture. Teens are assaulted by a barrage of negative peer pressure. The Heartland model for change is called Positive Peer Culture (PPC), which believes that young people can develop self-worth, significance, dignity, and responsibility only as they embrace the positive values of serving and caring for others.

Adventure Therapy is Key

Adventure therapy is a key therapeutic tool of Heartland. We understand that boys are more open to discussion and learning while enjoying adventure activities, 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 healing process. It plays a key role in character development. Every boy takes part in our adventure program because of the valuable life skills that can be learned. We offer a number of adventure activities including camping, backpacking, rappelling, canoeing, swimming, hiking, hunting, and spelunking (cave exploration).

At an adventure therapy program like Heartland, students get the opportunity to engage in numerous 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 overcome challenging fun tasks. The challenges the boys 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 staff are trained to facilitate 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 the boys during their adventure activities.

Heartland Boys Academy is a campus teeming with healing and hope for boys in Columbia, South Carolina. We have seen many at-risk and troubled teens transformed into hard-working, respectable young men. 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 Columbia, South Carolina to learn how our Christ-centered adventure-based therapeutic boarding school program can guide your troubled teen toward life transformation. To find out more, please call or inquire online today.