Northwest Academy

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By the time my son arrived at NWA, he had already been to multiple wilderness programs and a full year at another therapeutic boarding school. As such, I had a better idea of what to look for in his next school. NWA only accepts students in their junior or senior year of high school so almost everyone finishes within a year or so. While other therapeutic boarding schools emphasize their therapeutic component, and academics are almost a second thought, NWA builds its program around academics. Before the student even arrives on campus, the academic team would already have an academic schedule for each quarter and a projected graduation date. Of course things can change (a lot of kids actually end up exceeding the required credit requirement and take college courses while at NWA) but it gives the students (and parents) an achievable goal to focus on. For my son, that was a game changer. To be clear, when my son started at NWA, he was ready to make changes. Still, of the many therapists he has had, the one at NWA has, by far, made the most progress. She clearly worked for him, not for us. She would advocate for him (and eventually helped him advocate for himself) at school. This therapist had to leave a few months before my son graduated but she came back for his graduation, driving 3 hours each way. That tells you everything you need to know about her. The new therapist is also amazing - seasoned and calm. She guided us through the trickier part of the process I think. It is what the school called transition phase. Technically, it’s a preparation phase for the transition. It had never occurred to me that once my child turned around and made real progress at the school, I would have a whole new set of worries. But there they were, so many things could go wrong when he leaves the bubble in Idaho. Thankfully, his therapist guided us through it and now my son is home and working. He’s been accepted at a few colleges (some with scholarships and even to honors program!) and waitlisted at more for the fall. It’s great to see my son happy and excited about the future. There were many more things at NWA that contributed to my son’s outcome. I can share information about the extracurricular activities at local schools and communities, outdoor day trips and overnight trips, therapeutic retreats, parent workshops, family trips, communication with the school, college and career counseling, recovery program, even their nurse and access to medical care outside the school. Please contact me if you are seriously considering this school for your child.

Northwest Academy is a good environment for emotionally troubled teens to take time away from drugs and harsh family environments. In many ways, my time at NWA was the best year of my life. The therapy was intense, but i grew a lot from it. Most of the staff were amazing people, the food was great, and I had amazing friendships. The best parts were working out and learning to love myself again. I had such`a good experience here. It had its flaws, as in it was difficult, but many things are difficult and I needed this.

Boarding schools can be a huge leap of faith for parents and families trying to find a place where their child/student can grow and mature in a safe, enjoyable way. During my time in wilderness programs and boarding schools, my parents and I had bad experiences with Education Consultants, Therapists, Programs, and Staff that had no business doing the jobs they did. The good schools are far a few between, and there are hundreds of horror stories from students and parents that chose the wrong schools for their children to attend. I was unfortunate enough to go to one of these schools for a short time before I was transferred to Northwest Academy. While it was still difficult to be so far from home, the school was future oriented, which is unlike other schools that focus on the mistakes you made in the past. NWA's focus was moving on with my life, getting into a good college, and finding what my passions were that I could follow and be successful with. As I moved up in the program, I gained privileges that allowed me to go off campus and play music locally in a jazz band, and others were able to participate in local team sports. In my time at NWA, I increased my GPA from a 1.2 to a 3.5, got $50,000 in scholarships to college, conquered my anxiety and depression and rekindled the relationship with my family. While I cannot contribute all of that to the work NWA and their staff did - I was through my own effort that these things happened, I will say that NWA provided an environment in which I could grow to my full potential and focus solely on myself for the two most important years of my high school career. I have stayed in touch with a few of the staff at NWA that made a lasting impact on my life, attended and spoken at two parent/alumni conferences, and was one of three students to return to the school the day before the old campus closed and the school transferred to the new one. I, along with these students, felt that this school impacted our lives to put us in the successful positions we are now in. This program was by no means easy, and completing it was the hardest challenge i've faced in my life. But it was well worth it, and I would trust the staff I came close to with my life (and did on a few occasions of adventuring). I think that negative reviews or opinions of this place are much like those of other school and are fueled by those who lost a lot of money because their students chose to waste their time at the school because they felt that growth was some form of "brainwashing". I went to a school that ACTUALLY tried to brainwash and manipulate parents. Students will always have a hard time being away from there home, friends, and family. Parents will always have a hard time investing over $100,000 to their children's future, especially when their children waste it. But if they had the mentors and influences I came in contact with, I think they would see things differently. For people in hard situations, reactions are always emotional. Coming from someone who is getting my degree in Business Administration at the College of Charleston, owns my own business, has been a personal trainer and professional bodybuilder, and helped many of my clients and friends get through situations that i was faced with before I went to boarding school, I would say I'm more than qualified at 22 years old to speak honestly and openly about the subject. If anyone has any concerns or questions please contact me through email or through the school, i'd be happy to speak to anyone inquiring about it.