Academics

Academic Repair and Success

We value education and academic success, considering it key to long-term life success. Most of our staff have advanced degrees.  Many of the students who come here lack sufficient high school credit to obtain their diplomas in a timely manner, but we help them get caught up and even to retake classes for a higher GPA. 

Every boy on campus is taught and tutored several hours each day.  Our disciplined and structured approach to learning, with individualized academic goals and progress, helps the boys get back on track with their education and our courses are fully accredited and transferrable.

Individual Tutoring — Individual tutoring is given to students who are struggling academically. Diagnostic testing is provided to students upon entry into the program. Learning gaps and educational deficits are identified. Information is sought from previous schools, and an individually tailored academic plan is put in place for each student.

Fully Accredited Classes — Students may continue their progress toward a high school diploma by taking fully accredited classes at our Private Christian School.

Accreditation and Dual Enrollment — Students at Teen Challenge’s private Christian School are simultaneously enrolled in Edgenuity’s Online school.  Edgenuity Virtual Academy is a leading provider of online curriculum and instructional services. It is in use by more than 20,000 schools, including 20 of the 25 largest school districts, to meet academic goals and improve student outcomes.

Edgenuity Virtual Academy is accredited through Cognia (formerly AdvancED) and the Northwest Accreditation Commission (NWAC) and as such has nationally recognized accreditation. Cognia (formerly AdvancED) is the parent organization for the former North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement (NCA-CASI) and the Commission on International and Trans-Regional Accreditation (CITA). It gives students courses through an accredited program which will help them transfer credits, apply for federal grants, and pursue admission to colleges or universities while still being enrolled at Teen Challenge’s private Christian School.  The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has also approved the Edgenuity instructional model and curriculum for online instruction of student athletes.

While the Edgenuity program is intuitive and self-paced, our own certified classroom teachers make sure that our students keep up their coursework, offer tutoring, answer any questions, and give each student plenty of encouragement.  Our teachers and parents as well are able to see at a glance how well each student is doing, through the online Edgenuity portal.  Students who fail to keep up or are having difficulty with a certain topic are specifically helped, but if they are just dragging their feet out of rebellion, they may lose out on some privileges like outings and fun times until they choose to get caught up.  

• • Multi Award-winning platforms for virtual learning.
• • Fully accredited by COGNIA (formerly known as AdvancEd).
• • Three levels of Internet filtering/monitoring for a safe & secure online learning experience. 
• • Flexible course options.
• • College courses available for those that graduate HS while in the program.

Our Classroom Teachers Keep the Boys on Track

Our teachers and counselors also lead our own faith-based character-building training courses with the boys, which are a key aspect of our overall program.  We utilize landmark books by today’s leading evangelical Christian authors to teach key concepts, and of course, the boys are immersed in daily biblical instruction. Christian speakers and musicians regularly come to our campus to provide spiritual instruction, encouragement, and motivation and the boys are taken to off-campus spiritual events.

Edgenuity is About Increasing Student Engagement, Progress, and Achievement

Keeping students engaged in what they’re learning is vital to ensuring they master standards so they can move forward in their education

Edgenuity is an online classroom program that is especially helpful for students who are failing or have fallen behind in their studies. It meets the rigor of Common Core and state standards, as well as various state’s graduation requirements. Our online courses and curriculum are grounded in research and are aligned to state standards.

Edgenuity lays out the curriculum using a variety of teaching strategies and assessment tools such as direct instruction video, use of e-notes, transcripts of lessons, warm-ups, practice journals, quizzes, tests, writing exams, etc.

Students who want to use their time here to get ahead can often complete two courses in the same amount of time it would take to complete one classroom course, allowing them to make up credits that they missed out on prior to attending TCAR, or allowing them to get ahead or retake courses to improve their GPA.

Students who return home before graduating high school here can easily continue their Edgenuity courses online at home, making for a seamless educational experience.

Edgenuity Makes Learning Easy for All Students

• • On-screen teachers model problem solving by thinking aloud, allowing students to understand how experts think about mathematics.
• • Lessons include a guiding question to promote inquiry and focus on big ideas.
• • Students read and write, explore and create, practice, predict, and more in order to develop the analytical and critical thinking skills they need to succeed both now and in the future.
• • An abundance of rich graphics, charts, diagrams, animations, and simulations help students relate to and visualize the content. Our full suite of learning tools, including read aloud, text translation, and Guided Notes in select core courses, helps students access content, organize information, and complete assignments.
• • A variety of assessments test for mastery and immediately provide direct, actionable feedback so students can monitor their own progress and teachers can step in to provide additional help when needed. Pretests assess students’ strengths and weaknesses, and help build an individualized content review program so students only receive instruction and practice on skills they have yet to master.
• • Performance tasks allow students to demonstrate understanding with meaningful, real-world applications.
• • Students can access data to monitor their own understanding and stay on track, and educators receive real-time data and reports to monitor students’ progress and performance.

The Option to Continue Classes from Home after Teen Challenge

Students also have the option of continuing their class work at home after they leave Teen Challenge. Because of dual enrollment, students can continue their classes through the Edgenuity distance education program. They will continue to have assistance from certified teachers while at home. Continuing school with the Edgenuity Online Academy from home may be the preferred option for students whose families are worried about how their child will do if he re-enrolls in their local school district after Teen Challenge.

Teen Challenge Adventure Ranch has always been successful in helping students transfer academic credits back to other schools (private and public).