Spring Ridge Academy

What's a Parent to Do?

A lot, because parents play an active role in the Spring Ridge Academy program.

Spring Ridge Academy is about a process, and it's a process that very much involves you. No matter how angry and frustrated you may be with your teenager at this moment, you remain deeply committed to her welfare and deeply hopeful about seeing her become a successful person in the world. We respect that commitment, and want it to become an important part of the process.

Your daughter will be learning a lot at Spring Ridge Academy, and much of it will be about herself and her relations with others, including parents and peers. She will learn how and why she has become hostile and abusive, or has retreated to drugs and alcohol. She will learn better ways of coping, better means of expressing herself, better tactics for handling the disappointments, rejections, and upsets which are an inevitable part of life.

Throughout this process, your support and participation is vital. Your willingness to consider a program such as Spring Ridge Academy is itself a meaningful demonstration of support for your daughter. In the coming months, you will find many other opportunities to express that support. We create those opportunities through a variety of means, including a widely-praised workshop series that can help begin the process of restructuring and improving a relationship that has deteriorated because of your daughter's ongoing behavioral and academic problems. We strong encourage parents to attend these workshops, which are held every few months.

With the exception of the first eight weeks in residence, when no phone calls are permitted, we encourage students to keep in contact with their parents. You will also be assigned a therapist who will meet with you regularly by phone, keeping you aware of your daughter's progress and answering any questions you have.