Searching for an nonprofit therapeutic boarding school for struggling boys in Richmond, Virginia? Perhaps you will look at Heartland Boys Academy, a low-cost Christian boarding school in Western Kentucky. Heartland is an alternative year-round boarding school known for its devotion to teenage boys who have gotten off track academically, emotionally, legally, or socially.

Heartland Boys Academy enrolls troubled boys from across America, including from Richmond, Virginia. It is a faith-based boarding school that uses adventure as a powerful therapeutic method for turning around difficult boys. We are an alternative school with a calling to lead troubled teens to realize their individual purpose, or destiny, in Christ.

Heartland exclusively works with troubled or struggling boys. Parents of these boys find it beneficial for their boy to grow in a new environment here at Heartland that is detached from negative influences back home in Richmond, Virginia. We show love and respect to disrespectful and seemingly unlovable 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 failed family relationships.

Accredited Education for Boys from Richmond, Virginia

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

Students from Richmond, Virginia, who come here achieve phenomenal progress towards successful high school completion and beyond. Our partnership with Edgenuity facilitates an educational atmosphere 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 classroom 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 are kept informed online how well each student is progressing. Students who fail to keep up or are having difficulty with a specific topic are helped, but if they are failing 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 cornerstone component of Heartland Boys Academy. We believe that ultimately Jesus Christ is the only answer for struggling teenagers from Richmond, Virginia. We are committed to introducing every student to a relationship with their Maker. We lead them toward their spiritual gifting and purpose in Christ.

Many teenagers who come 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 as they may never have done before. Godly character surrounds every aspect of life at Heartland Boys Academy.

Where Boys from Richmond, Virginia, Can Gain Leadership Training

Beyond helping capable students get back on track academically and spiritually, we provide specific leadership training to unleash the potential in each student. 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 taught at Heartland.

Replacing the Negative with a Positive Peer Culture

Heartland acknowledges that teenagers and their parents in Richmond, Virginia, face huge challenges from the culture. Boys are assaulted by a barrage of negative peer pressure. The Heartland model for change is called Positive Peer Culture (PPC), which states 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 Paramount

Adventure therapy is a key 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 positive thinking and to develop better 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 development. Every student participates in our adventure program because of the valuable life skills 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 get the opportunity 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 obstacles 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 reach for a goal and accomplish it. This is called experiential learning.

Our team 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 instruct the boys during their adventure activities.

Heartland Boys Academy is a place of healing and hope for boys in Richmond, Virginia. We have seen hundreds of at-risk and struggling boys 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 Richmond, Virginia to see how our Christ-centered adventure-based therapeutic boarding school program can guide your struggling boy toward life transformation. To learn more, please contact us today.