Academics

Newport Academy places great emphasis on our residents’ personal development and academic growth. The education program at Newport Academy is designed to maintain the resident’s academic performance level during their stay. Our curriculum adheres to the State Standards and combines individualized academic planning with specialized therapeutic services.

The goal of our education program is to provide the students the skills and knowledge required to integrate back into their community schools with as little disruption possible. Newport Academy has gone to great lengths to ensure the residents’ academic success, including the following:

  1. Hiring creative and State credentialed teachers
  2. Low student teacher ratio of 1/3
  3. Small classrooms—no more than 6 students per classroom
  4. Individualized lesson planning
  5. One computer for every three students
  6. Administering “Learning Style Surveys”
  7. Alternative teaching methods using audio, visual, and experiential techniques
  8. Activity-based learning, including field trips
  9. Access to individualized tutoring
  10. SAT and ACT preparation

Though each student may have their own individual needs, the basic educational philosophy of Newport Academy is to work with the residents’ existing school in order to best facilitate the transition back to their prior academic life. In cases where the existing school is not able to coordinate with Newport Academy, there are a number of different options for the residents including: on-line schooling, enrolling in the local district, and/or working with a continuing education program.

There may be extenuating circumstances in which the student (or parents) may want to change the course of the resident’s educational process. For example, the student may choose not to return to their community school due to special circumstances such as peer pressure or an existing drug culture. In this instance, Newport Academy will put in place a team consisting of parents, teachers, program director, etc.) that will assess and determine what would be the preferred course of action. Options may include enrollment in the local school district, online schooling, continuation school, long term treatment, boarding school, GED and/or Junior College, etc.

Testing: Educational, Physiological, and Psychological

The residents at Newport Academy may have struggled academically for a myriad of different reasons. Most typically their academic struggles may be attributed to a lack of effort, interest, or a high absentee rate. However, drug and alcohol abuse may conceal underlying educational, psychological, or physiological conditions that could have affected the students’ academic performance. While a teen is in active addiction, testing for such conditions is rarely accurate. Therefore, the resident’s stay at Newport Academy presents a valuable opportunity for educational intervention. When appropriate, the staff of Newport Academy will work with well respected and licensed educational and psychological testing and treatment specialists to provide psychoeducational assessments and psychodiagnostic evaluations if needed.

Family Participation: Empowering and Educating Parents

The parents of Newport Academy residents will be presented an overall assessment of their child’s educational standing within the first week of their arrival. This will allow parents the opportunity to evaluate whether their child is reaching goals that may have been predetermined by the student, parents, or family. Should the conclusion indicate that a student is falling short of the intended goals, the parents, along with teachers and a treatment team may work together to determine how to get the student back on track to reach their goals. In the event that the parents feel that the student needs to change the course of their educational process, the treatment team at Newport Academy will be available to offer options and suggestions.

Empowering Parents

The parents are by far the best advocates for their children within their home school district. If the home school fails to cooperate with the teaching staff at Newport Academy, the parents will become part of the process. In the event that a home school is completely non-cooperative, Newport Academy has a variety of other options that can be explored.

Progress Reports

Teachers at Newport Academy provide a weekly comprehensive Progress Report of each student. This progress report is e-mailed directly to the parents each Friday. Parents are also e-mailed an Academic Plan tailored specifically for their teen and updated throughout the teens stay at Newport Academy.

Educational Services

All residents admitted to Newport Academy will attend on-site, year-round educational services 3 hours per day, 5 days per week. The educational services will be conducted by a State of California credentialed teacher. Each resident will have an Individualized Academic Plan (IAP) to encompass both academic skills and emotional needs. Moreover, each student will be given a Learning Styles Survey to determine the most appropriate mediums to be used in their education at Newport Academy. The following procedure will be followed for determining the needs of each resident student:

  • A release will be signed upon admission authorizing Newport Academy to contact the resident’s home school.
  • The teacher at Newport Academy will use the above release to obtain an academic history, immunization record, and any special needs that may have been previously identified. An initial assessment will then be made based on this information.
  • A Learning Style Survey will be given to each new admission and the results will be used to help formulate the Individualized Academic Plan.
  • Newport Academy’s teacher will set up an Individualized Academic Plan meeting the student’s specific needs in various subjects.
  • The teacher will set academic goals based upon teacher and student input for each student. When appropriate, the teacher along with the treatment team will also set behavior goals for the individual. These goals will be set within 7 Days of the resident’s admission to Newport Academy.
  • The teacher will complete an evaluation of the student’s progress on a weekly basis. This evaluation will be shared with the treatment team and integrated into the resident’s overall treatment plan. Any dangerous or unusual behavior will be documented by the teacher in the resident’s chart/progress notes. If needed, additional educational testing will be ordered to discern any learning disabilities. Such testing will be done by licensed individuals that specialize in educational testing for adolescents.
  • Upon discharge the resident’s overall progress will be evaluated and a transcript can be requested for the home school.
  • A follow-up questionnaire will be sent to the resident’s home school after discharge. This will request an evaluation of the educational services, communication, and compliance with the IAP provided at Newport Academy.

Academics at Newport Academy

While in treatment, Girls at Newport Academy continue their education in a tailored and structured academic program that consists of class room instruction for 3 hours each day mirroring their educational program at their home school. Our full-time, credentialed teachers work collaboratively with the resident's home school in developing an Education Plan tailored to meet the girls' specific academic needs. This individually tailored Education Plan is aligned with age appropriate State standards.

Collaborative efforts between the student, Newport Academy's teacher and tutors, home school teachers and school district, parents and therapists help insure that girls at Newport Academy excel academically and keep current with their home school curriculum.

Gender-Specific Environment

Newport Academy's gender-specific treatment strives to create an environment that invites a feeling of safety and freedom to participate, take positive risks, develop healthy peer interactions, and establish supportive relationships while in a trusting and safe learning environment. One way we accomplish this objective is our small classrooms (typically one educator for every three girls) in order to optimize the academic environment. Newport Academy's teachers are educated and sensitive to gender-specific developmental issues that influence the learning process.

A common misconception with teen substance abusers is that they lack academic potential. In our experience this is without merit. Many adolescent substance abusers tend to be extremely bright, however once they become habitual substance abusers, concentration diminishes, and poor academic performance is inevitable. Newport Academy's goal is to identify learning strengths, assist with learning weaknesses, and help residents reach their academic potential.