College Preparatory Boarding School in Utah

Oakley School, Salt Lake City:
Located in Oakley, just 45 miles east of Salt Lake City in Summit County, Utah, Oakley School is a leading college preparatory therapeutic boarding school for boys and girls in Grades 9-12. Oakley is accredited as a Therapeutic School by the Utah Department of Human Services and the Northwest Association of Accredited Schools. We provide treatment and student development support programs consisting of our Off-Form Program, Intensive Clinical Services, Trails (an outdoor experience program) as well as recovery programs with individualized strategic counseling, family therapy and group therapy.

Boarding Programs for Boys & Girls in Grades 9-12: 

Treatment and Student Development Support Programs:
The reality is that not every single Oakley School student is able to follow through with his/her verbal commitments delineated during the admission process.

Knowing that through the implementation of the Social Model we will see re-emerging maladaptive behaviors in our students, and expecting these behaviors to surface, is the theory that governed the design of the Oakley School.

Off Form
The Off-Form Program is designed to provide additional therapeutic, counseling, and structural support to assist the student in resolving his/her problems and return him/her to “regular” programming. With this goal in mind, the Off-Form Program has two objectives.

The first is to add intensified support to the change process of a struggling student. The second is to create distance between a “toxic” student and others whose personal progress may be jeopardized by the student.

Intensive Clinical Services (ICS)
At Oakley, we are uniquely positioned to provide Intensive Clinical Services (ICS) contingent upon the clinical needs of a student as identified above. ICS are delivered in monthly blocks.

At the end of such a block, the multi-disciplinary team, in consultation with the parent(s), will evaluate whether or not additional ICS services are needed to assist the student in making the desired changes relative to his/her individualized master treatment plan.

Trails
Trails is a short outdoor experience with two counselors who accompany a group of 2-6 students on a back-country expedition. In addition to the 2 outdoor counselors, Oakley will insert House Coaching staff and/or therapist to augment the field experience in order to achieve a specific, strategic outcome.

At times, to facilitate a targeted outcome, high functioning students with proven skills may accompany such a “struggling” student group to serve as role models, motivators, and provide positive peer support.

Recovery Services:
Upon admission to the Oakley School each student is assessed as to her or his substance use (and addictive behavior) history. Depending on the individual student’s experience with addictive behaviors, and progress in recovery prior to enrollment at Oakley, they may be placed in the Recovery Program.

Therapy
All students can benefit from the personal growth available in a supportive context.

At the Oakley School, students claim the power of their emotions and learn to exercise intuition, creating balance with the analytical and reasonable aspects of themselves. They learn to be sensitive to their own needs and to the emotions of others, as well. Wholeness, accountability, and understanding result.

Therapy is integrated daily and weekly into each student's time at Oakley.

* Individualized, strategic counseling is required on an ongoing basis to assist students in taking full advantage of all elements of the Oakley program.
* Family therapy is scheduled on opposite weeks of individual sessions with the parents, therapist and student, and is held via telephone conference calls.
* Group therapy is scheduled a minimum of 4 times per week, broken into small school-wide focus groups, dorm-specific groups, and gender-specific groups.
* Each dorm comes together twice a day. The students start each morning with a Sun-Up gathering prior to departing for breakfast, and a Sun-Down gathering at the end of the evening prior to lights out.
* Recovery Group is built into the class schedule for students in need of recovery support. On and off campus 12-Step meetings are offered evenings throughout the week. A student in recovery typically attends a minimum of one Recovery Group and one 12-Step meeting of his or her choice per week.

Academics:
The Oakley School provides a college preparation program where learning is its own reward. Oakley stresses a "hands-on" learning environment, where lessons are not only applied and retained, but a lifelong love of learning becomes part of the student. We provide a  full curriculum with college preparatory courses, honors and Advanced Placement courses, in all areas - stressing academic achievement.

Oakley School provides a full range courses for its students. Our curriculum includes English, math, science, social studies, foreign language and technology classes, helping students keep pace with the rapidly changing global community.

Fine Arts Program:
We offer art courses each trimester and module blocks ranging from introductory to advanced courses:

* Drawing
* Water color and oil painting
* Charcoal and pastel
* Ceramics
* Sculpting
* Black and white photography
* Film studies
* Print making
* 3D design
* Color theory

Experiential Education Program:
As part of our experiential education program we also offer outdoor education kayaking, rock climbing, mountain biking, river ecology and fly fishing during the spring, summer, and fall. Students can also take part in community service.

Academic Assistance:
* Study Skills – Students may participate in a study skills course that addresses learning strategies, guided study and cognitive training.
* Evening Study Hall – All academic teachers are available one evening study hall per week to assist students.
* Learning Specialist – a certified instructor is available to students with learning differences to develop cognitive skills and strategies. There is an additional fee.
* Academic Probation – if a student is struggling academically the academic advisor will put the student on a study intensive program restricting the student’s time for socialization without jeopardizing modules and/or athletics.

College Counseling:
The Oakley School offers comprehensive college counseling services for our enrolled students. Our focus in the college counseling process is to continue to educate and empower the ideal of autonomy and personal responsibility as we guide our students to a post-high school education search that fits the individual student both academically and socially.