Academics Build the Foundation for Success
At Cherry Gulch, we offer a curriculum that covers all core subject areas, including English, Math, History, and Science. We also provide enrichment electives, including Fine Arts, Music, Life Skills, Foreign Language, Creative Writing, and Learning Strategies. We design lessons to be fun, engaging, and tailored to each student’s needs. Our low student-to-teacher ratio allows us to give each student what he needs to succeed.
Our Academic Mission at Cherry Gulch
At Cherry Gulch, our mission is to reinvest students in the learning process through individual, dynamic, multi-sensory education so that students can develop into independent and organized learners, problem solvers, and effective communicators.
Desired Results for Student Academics:
- An Independent, Dynamic, Organized Learner – demonstrates active self-regulation, perseverance and curiosity in the continual pursuit of learning.
- A Problem Solver – Demonstrates reflective and purposeful decision-making and collaboration, based on data from oral, written, kinesthetic, and mathematical activities.
- Effective Communicator – Demonstrates effective oral and written communication to express core concepts in diverse academic disciplines and navigate social norms within the school.
We Add a Therapeutic Element to Our Academics
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- At Cherry Gulch, we believe that success in the classroom is critical for overall student success. The Academic Team works collaboratively with our gifted clinicians to provide a well-rounded, robust experience for all students. We want to teach students to navigate their learning differences and emotional challenges within the classroom in order to be successful when they return home.
*Academic Learning Rubric:
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- This rubric aligns with the therapeutic phases of our program and measures skill building in the areas of Executive Functioning, Self-Advocacy, Oral and Written Communication. We utilize rating on the rubric to determine a students’ readiness to advance phases, as well as supports and interventions he needs at Cherry Gulch and beyond. Upon arriving at Cherry Gulch, we evaluate each student on our rubric to determine goals in specific areas of academic concern. At the end of every term, teachers evaluate skills to monitor improvement and determine interventions and instruction needed. Upon discharge, we use this data to make recommendations for transition.
Character Development Counts!
At Cherry Gulch, we believe that character development is paramount to growth, success, and happiness. At Cherry Gulch, we have created a curriculum that encompasses all of the major therapeutic modalities that we use at our school. These modalities support the personal development of each of our boys, aiding them in their journey to self-discovery and greatness. Some of these modalities include: The RULER Approach to Emotional Literacy, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens, The Feelings Words Curriculum, Mindset, Grit, The Seven Paths, The Hero’s Journey, The Anatomy of Peace, and Social Thinking. The goal of this course is to teach each of the boys that character does matter, leadership is important, and that remaining focused, values-centered, and goal-driven is the key to success.
