Looking for an nonprofit therapeutic boarding school for troubled boys in Norfolk, Virginia? Perhaps you will consider Heartland Boys Academy, a low-cost 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 accepts troubled boys from across the U.S., including from Norfolk, Virginia. It is an evangelical boarding school that employs adventure as a powerful therapeutic method for turning around troubled boys. We are an alternative school with a calling to lead troubled boys to achieve their individual purpose, or destiny, in Christ.

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

Accredited School for Boys from Norfolk, Virginia

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 pace, with weekly goals set by tutors based on the student’s program of study. Heartland also supports students to prepare for post-secondary goals by offering assistance with college testing.

Students from Norfolk, Virginia, who attend Heartland achieve phenomenal progress towards successful high school completion and beyond. Our partnership with Edgenuity facilitates an educational atmosphere that builds a desire to succeed, which gains momentum and encourages the boys 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 having difficulty with a certain topic are helped, but if they are falling behind as an act of rebellion, they may jeopardize some on-campus privileges like fun times until they choose to get caught up.

Heartland Spiritual Focus

Spiritual life is the foundational characteristic of Heartland Boys Academy. We believe that ultimately Jesus Christ is the only answer for troubled youth from Norfolk, Virginia. We are devoted to introducing every boy to a relationship with their Maker. We help them find their spiritual gifting and purpose in Christ.

Many teens who enroll have dismissed their spiritual 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 permeates everything we do at Heartland Boys Academy.

Where Boys from Norfolk, Virginia, Can Gain Leadership Training

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

Changing the Negative with a Positive Peer Culture

Heartland acknowledges that teenagers and their parents in Norfolk, Virginia, 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 asserts that young people can develop self-worth, significance, dignity, and responsibility only as they devote themselves to the positive values of helping and caring for others.

Adventure Therapy is Paramount

Adventure therapy is an important therapeutic feature of Heartland. We find that boys are more open to discussion and learning while enjoying adventure tasks, so we use those times to instill better thinking and to improve their communication skills. It also helps improve 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 transformation. It plays a key role in character growth. Every boy participates in our adventure program because of the valuable life skills that can be gained. We offer many kinds 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 obstacles the boys 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 team 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 students during their adventure activities.

Heartland Boys Academy is a campus teeming with healing and hope for boys in Norfolk, Virginia. We have seen hundreds of at-risk and troubled teens transformed into hard-working, respectable graduates. We help restore boys 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.

Please consider looking beyond Norfolk, Virginia to see how our Christ-centered adventure-based therapeutic boarding school program can move your struggling boy toward life transformation. To find out more, please contact us today.