Academics at Red Mountain Colorado
One of the biggest concerns parents have about treatment programming is that their child will fall behind in school. That’s why we take your teen’s education just as seriously as you do.
Red Mountain is committed to working with students to identify learning strengths and to focus on those strengths to support students in achieving their own academic goals. These goals are developed by the team including the student, parents, and staff. Red Mountain uses transcripts, previous testing, and state assessments to plan for any accommodations or learning differences to ensure that each student experiences academic success.
We offer an exceptional academic program that your teen will participate in during weekdays as they’re getting treatment. A balance of evidence-based treatment and schooling will heal your teen’s mind, body and spirit and allow them to pick up their education where they left off.
College Preparatory Academics
Once your teen starts treatment, they’ll participate in our academic program four days a week, similar to how they would if they were still going to school back home. During the weekdays, your teen will spend the morning participating in experiential therapy to promote healing. This will help focus your child’s mind and prepare them for their school sessions later in the day.
Your teen will work independently through online courses catered specifically to their academic needs. They will be guided and supported by our Master’s-level teacher and additional education support staff.
Our academic team will manage your teen’s education plan, review their progress, keep their studies on track, and guide them every step of the way. Your teen’s teacher is also available to provide personal and direct instruction tutoring if needed.
Accredited Educational Program
Our education program at Red Mountain Colorado is built around Alta Independent, an online alternative to traditional education that makes it easy for your teen to continue their education while in treatment.
Alta Independent is an established online high school accredited by the Northwest Accreditation Commission (NWAC) through Cognia. With curriculum and coursework for grades 6-12, Alta Independent provides the resources and flexibility your teen needs to maintain their education while at Red Mountain Colorado. With a wide range of courses and college prep, Alta Independent can also help your teen earn the credits and knowledge necessary to prepare for college.
Individualized Education
Academic programming is completely individualized at Red Mountain Colorado. When your child first arrives at the program, our academic team will review their testing scores to determine academic areas of growth where additional support may be needed.
We will also work with your teen to build a personalized education plan which clarifies how we will accommodate and support his academic strengths and areas of concern. They will discuss the areas he would like to see growth in and his personal goals.
The classes that your son takes during their time at Red Mountain Colorado are determined by which credits he needs to graduate from school. We are extremely flexible in our class offerings. Students can receive class credits from our outdoor adventure activities. Depending on your son’s strengths, he can take regular or honors classes in a variety of subjects. Each class earns students half credits.
Planning for the Future
We offer The Greenwood System 45™, an optional assessment that helps students plan for their future and forge a path towards happiness and success. This detailed assessment, developed by Dr. Janet Greenwood, is a questionnaire consisting of 800 data points that take into account the lifestyle an individual hopes to obtain, their priorities, family history, personality profile, and grit score. It’s an extremely thorough analysis that helps students build a better understanding of themselves and what career they may like to pursue.
This assessment is helpful for students of all ages, but it’s especially beneficial to students who are getting ready to graduate and go off to college. When planning for a student’s discharge, this assessment can guide students towards a specific major or career path that is best suited for them.
Learn more about the Greenwood Assessment by visiting
Accommodations for Executive Functioning Issues
Students who demonstrate difficulties with executive functioning are directly supported by a teacher working with that student to ensure that meaningful progress is made on a weekly basis. This is done by setting daily goals and individual instruction as needed to support those learning goals. Students are able to see their progress weekly and most students are intrinsically motivated by their own success.
When students arrive at Red Mountain Colorado, we are able to quickly assess their executive functioning skills based on their ability to complete academic tasks and to sustain attention. Students who demonstrate difficulties with this are supported with a “work tolerance” plan. This means that the student is encouraged to make a goal and stay on task for a specified amount of time and then take a break. As the student gains independence, then he will be encouraged to work for longer periods of time without breaks. As the student experiences success, they are more motivated to complete more academic tasks.
504/IEP/AP
If your son has a 504 or IEP, we will follow all accommodations to the best of our ability. For example, if your son struggles with reading and learning online, we can use text to speech for his online classes so that he can hear all of the class materials.
Students who are advanced learners and have taken AP classes are placed in honors classes. Supported by Alta, they can move quickly through classes and only take the portions of classes needed to pass if they’ve already taken a similar class, but didn’t get credit for it. For example, if they are well versed in Algebra II, they can skip through areas where they have already demonstrated proficiency.
Maintain Your Teen’s Education at Red Mountain Colorado
Your child’s education is important. While their health takes top priority, we also aim to ensure that your teen continues their academic studies. Our school program at Red Mountain Colorado will help prepare your teen for all that lies ahead once they’ve completed treatment.
To learn more about our academic program and discover what your teen’s education will look like during treatment, contact our expert team today.
