Daily Life

Students attending the Upper Course will have time each day to work on school work from their sending school. Students can bring laptops/chromebooks with them to complete their work and will have access to our teaching staff for any needed support.
If a student transitions to the 45-Day program, they are then enrolled in courses using Independence Academy’s curriculum that are in line with their sending school schedule.

At Independence Academy, we believe it is essential for adolescents to be able to practice daily health-enhancing behaviors in order to live a healthy life. We have also come to understand that physical activity and a daily habit of exercise has a wide ranging impact on many of the important areas of our life like, emotional regulation, mood, focus, learning, self-concept, and substance use. Students are not only scheduled into a daily Health and Wellness class which provides them with a selection of available activities, they are also educated on the science, neurobiology, psychology, and physiology of movement. Health and Wellness at Independence Academy is the foundation of our work.

Providing adolescents opportunities to explore different forms of self-expression (music, writing, painting) opens doors for them to communicate their thoughts, feelings, and ideas more effectively. Self-expression also helps them connect with others who share their ideas and passions, and ultimately lead to new social connections. We believe that when students have more interests and hobbies that bring them joy and fulfillment, their overall healthy growth and development is impacted. We provide students with time during the school day to explore new interests and engage in activities that they find meaningful.

Daily lessons highlighting critical areas of social-emotional development drive a student’s schedule throughout their time in Independence Academy’s programs. Where most schools use academic lessons to promote SEL skills, Independence Academy uses SEL lessons to promote academic standards and skills. Daily activities, such as wellness and reading, are used for emotional regulation purposes and high interest curriculum is used to drive home concepts around relationship skills and self-awareness.

All students have access to our counseling staff at any time. In addition to scheduled meetings and groups, counselors interact regularly with students and provide supports in all areas of our school day and beyond. The work at Independence Academy is individualized and students receive interventions based on their own identified needs. Independence Academy counseling staff works closely with families and community-based providers to provide the best possible support for students.