Building Success Through Family Involvement

Unlike traditional boarding schools, parents are very involved at Mountain Springs Preparatory Academy. Because Mountain Springs is usually the step immediately prior to a student returning home, parents must be involved extensively in every aspect of the program of their son or daughter. Parents play a key role in helping determine initially what skills and principles are most important for their son or daughter.

Once enrolled, continuing therapy with a community-based therapist is recommended. As part of that therapy, family work is a vitale component. Before returning home, the student's therapist, in coordination with the Dean of Student Life at Mountain Springs, help parents and the student create an aftercare agreement, or where one was already created in a prior treatment setting, update and refine it based on the progress made at Mountain Springs.

The program at Mountain Springs is designed to put the responsibility of decision-making and parenting back in the hands of the parents. Mountain Springs takes on a consulting role, giving parents feedback about where their child is at and what their needs may be. However, the parents are integrally involved in such things as when home visits will happen, setting up the structure for those visits (in conjunction with their therapist) and being a participant in making decisions about consequences and solutions for their child's mistakes both at the school and at home.

At Mountain Springs, parents are a part of developing the MAPP plan. One section of this plan is family goals. Parents work with their student to address issues and solutions that need to be resolved in order to make returning home successful. Each quarter, a Family Seminar brings parents on campus to workshops and activities prepared for them. These workshops give parents tools in effectively integrating the philosophy utilized at Mountain Springs in the home environment.