Seeking out an private therapeutic boarding school for troubled boys in Springfield, Illinois? 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 devotion to adolescent boys who have gotten off track academically, emotionally, legally, or socially.

Heartland Boys Academy enrolls underperforming boys from across the U.S., including from Springfield, Illinois. It is a faith-based boarding school that uses adventure as a powerful therapeutic tool for turning around troubled boys. We are an alternative school with a mission to lead troubled boys 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 grow in a new environment here at Heartland that is separate from negative influences back home in Springfield, Illinois. We display love and respect to disrespectful and difficult 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 transformation where there was once only ungodly motivations and an impasse in the relationship with their parents.

Accredited School for Boys from Springfield, Illinois

Our commitment to a quality education is also a top priority. Heartland Boys Academy is a fully accredited high school that employs a program of independent study with tutelage. Students complete courses at their own speed, with weekly goals established by instructors based on the student’s chosen course work. Heartland also supports students to work toward post-secondary goals by helping them prep for college testing.

Students from Springfield, Illinois, who attend Heartland achieve quick 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 helps 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 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 not understanding a certain topic are helped, but if they are falling behind as an act of rebellion, they may lose out on some on-campus privileges like special outings until they choose to get caught up.

Heartland Spiritual Focus

Spiritual life is the cornerstone aspect of Heartland Boys Academy. We believe that ultimately Jesus Christ is the only answer for troubled youth from Springfield, Illinois. We are dedicated to introducing every teen to a relationship with their Maker. We lead them toward their spiritual gifting and purpose in Christ.

Many teenagers who come have dismissed their religious heritage or have never professed faith in Christ. Heartland offers an open environment for them to renew or gain their faith as they may never have done before. Godly character surrounds everything we do at Heartland Boys Academy.

Where Boys from Springfield, Illinois, Can Gain Leadership Training

In addition to helping capable students learn to apply themselves academically and spiritually, we offer specific leadership training to unleash the potential in each teenager. We teach teens to serve and love others. Mission trips and community service opportunities give real life experience and application of the leadership principles learned at Heartland.

Replacing the Bad Attitudes with a Positive Peer Culture

Heartland knows that adolescents and their families in Springfield, Illinois, face huge challenges from the culture. Boys are impacted by a barrage of negative peer pressure. The Heartland plan for change is called Positive Peer Culture (PPC), which asserts that young people can develop self-worth, significance, dignity, and responsibility only as they embrace the positive values of helping and caring for others.

Adventure Therapy is Paramount

Adventure therapy is a primary therapeutic tool of Heartland. We find that boys are more open to talking and learning while enjoying adventure activities, so we use those times to instill positive 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 healing process. It plays a key role in character development. Every teen 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 are allowed 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 accomplish challenging fun tasks. The obstacles students face through our adventure programming are designed to forge a more positive identity, build character, and create 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 Springfield, Illinois. We have been privileged to see hundreds of at-risk and troubled teens transformed into hard-working, respectable young men. We help restore teens 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 outside of Springfield, Illinois to learn how our Christ-centered adventure-based therapeutic boarding school program can move your troubled teen toward life transformation. To learn more, please contact us today.