Trying to find an alternative therapeutic boarding school for troubled boys in Peoria, Illinois? Perhaps you will consider Heartland Boys Academy, an affordable boarding school in Western Kentucky. Heartland is an alternative therapeutic boarding school known for its commitment to teenage boys who have gotten off track academically, emotionally, legally, or socially.

Heartland Boys Academy enrolls underperforming boys from across America, including from Peoria, Illinois. It is an evangelical boarding school that employs adventure as a powerful therapeutic tool for turning around difficult boys. We are an alternative school with a purpose to lead wayward teenagers to realize their specific 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 detached from negative influences back home in Peoria, Illinois. We display love and respect to disrespectful and unruly boys who are in need of a better life perspective including a new spiritual belief system. Our mentoring and encouragement brings about new thinking and motivations where there was once only ungodly motivations and an impasse in the relationship with their parents.

Accredited Education for Adolescents from Peoria, Illinois

To provide a quality education is also our top priority. Heartland Boys Academy is a fully accredited high school that uses a model of independent study with tutelage. 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 offering assistance with college testing.

Students from Peoria, Illinois, who come here achieve quick progress towards successful high school completion and beyond. Our partnership with Edgenuity facilitates an educational environment that spurs a desire to succeed, which gains momentum and helps the boys to do their best. 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 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 progressing. Students who lag behind or are having difficulty with a specific topic are helped, but if they are falling behind as an act of rebellion, they may lose out on some on-campus privileges like fun times until they understand it is better 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 teens from Peoria, Illinois. We are dedicated to introducing every student to a relationship with their Maker. We lead them toward their spiritual gifting and purpose in Christ.

Many teenagers who attend have moved away from their spiritual heritage or have never professed belief in Christ. Heartland offers a safe place for them to renew or gain their faith as they may never have done before. Godly character frames every aspect of life at Heartland Boys Academy.

Where Adolescents from Peoria, Illinois, Can Receive Leadership Training

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

Replacing the Bad Attitudes with a Positive Peer Culture

Heartland recognizes that adolescents and their parents in Peoria, Illinois, face enormous pressure from the culture. Teens are impacted by a barrage of negative peer pressure. The Heartland plan for change is called Positive Peer Culture (PPC), which believes that teens can learn self-worth, significance, dignity, and responsibility only as they become committed 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 find that boys are more open to talking and learning while participating in adventure activities, so we use those times to instill better thinking and to develop better communication skills. It also facilitates improvement in their ability to work cooperatively with others.

Adventure therapy is a type of experiential therapy that uses challenging adventure activities to aid the therapeutic transformation. It plays a key role in character development. Every student participates in our adventure program because of the important values that can be learned. 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 enjoy being able to engage in numerous 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 challenges the boys face through our adventure programming are meant to forge a more positive identity, build character, and create 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. The same team members 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 Peoria, Illinois. We have been privileged to see 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 think about looking beyond Peoria, Illinois to learn 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.