- What is Red Hill Academy?
- What is the anticipated
opening date for RHA?
- Is RHA a school for
students with dyslexia only?
- My child has received
diagnoses such as High Functioning Autism, Pervasive Developmental
Disorder, NOS, and Asperger's Syndrome. Can RHA help us
with all of these conditions or just Asperger's Syndrome?
What differentiates Asperger's Syndrome from these other
conditions?
- Can RHA help my
child with diagnosed behavioral issues?
- I am only interested
in your summer school program. Can my child attend RHA summer
school?
- What about speech and
language issues?
- What are the goals of
the school program?
- Will the RHA academic
program challenge my child?
- Does my child need
to be formally assessed prior to applying for admission?
- How will my child's
academic and social/emotional/ behavioral progress be measured?
- What subjects are
offered?
- What is the average
classroom size?
- What are the teachers'
qualifications?
- How many students
will RHA serve?
- What is required of
families enrolled at RHA?
- Why is individual
therapy not offered as a core clinical service?
- Will transportation
be offered?
- Does RHA provide
scholarships or financial aid?
- Will my child be
required to participate in a wilderness program as a pre-requisite
for admission to RHA?
- I am interested only in
the After School Program. What services will my child receive
with this arrangement?
What
is Red Hill Academy?
Red Hill Academy is a specialized, co-educational day and
boarding school for adolescents ages 14 to 17. Our students
struggle with a variety of learning differences and are further
challenged by a range of social, emotional, and behavioral
difficulties stemming directly from those differences.
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What
is the anticipated opening date for RHA?
Red Hill Academy will open on September 2, 2008
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Is
RHA a school for students with dyslexia only?
No. Red Hill Academy is a school for students with a variety
of learning differences including dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia,
NLD, ADHD, or Asperger's Syndrome. Our students are further
challenged by a range of social, emotional, and behavioral
difficulties stemming directly from those differences.
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My
child has received diagnoses such as High Functioning Autism,
Pervasive Developmental Disorder, NOS, and Asperger's Syndrome.
Can RHA help us with all of these conditions or just Asperger's Syndrome? What differentiates Asperger's Syndrome from these
other conditions?
There is considerable subjectivity in any attempt to arrive
at an accurate and useful diagnosis for any given set of challenges.
Asperger's Syndrome and Autism are both specific Pervasive
Development Disorders (PDDs), and there are similarities between
these two conditions. These similarities are most readily
apparent when considering High Functioning Autism (HFA); a
phenomenon that has led some to conclude that Asperger's and
HFA are essentially the same condition. A diagnosis of Pervasive
Developmental Disorder, NOS (PDD, NOS) is warranted when clinically
significant developmental delays are apparent, but the criteria
for a specific PDD are not met.
RHA is designed to serve students with Asperger's Syndrome
because Asperger's students, if accurately diagnosed, do not
demonstrate significant delays in cognitive development. By
contrast, cognitive delays are frequently observed in students
accurately diagnosed with other specific PDDs and with PDD,
NOS. Cognitive development and IQ are inherently linked, and
the RHA program is designed specifically to serve students
of average to above average intelligence.
Students with complex or ambiguous diagnostic presentations
will be considered for admission to Red Hill Academy on a
case-by-case basis .
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Can
RHA help my child with diagnosed behavioral issues?
Red Hill Academy's highly skilled and experienced staff are
well equipped to assist students demonstrating social, emotional,
and behavioral difficulties in the mild to moderate range.
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I
am only interested in your summer school program. Can my child
attend RHA summer school?
Red Hill Academy is a year-round school offering a regular
school year and a summer session. Tuition is inclusive of
both sessions. Requests for summer session-only enrollment
will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
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What
about speech and language issues?
Many Red Hill Academy students struggle with speech and language
issues. For students with identified language-based difficulties,
the RHA speech and language teacher provides individualized
assistance with pragmatic language, decoding, and articulation.
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What
are the goals of the school program?
The overriding goal of the academic program is to instill
in our students a love of learning, an unbridled curiosity
about themselves and the world around them, and a strong sense
of hope for the future. The fundamental goal of all treatment
interventions is to improve self-esteem, foster the development
of pro-social attitudes and behaviors, and to assist each
student and family in achieving their identified goals.
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Will
the RHA academic program challenge my child?
Red Hill Academy employs a "whole child" approach
in working with its students, and all aspects of the program
reflect an awareness of the importance of developing both
academic and life skills. While remediation of deficits is
an important component of the RHA program, equally important
is our focus on identifying and developing strengths and aptitudes
in our students.
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Does
my child need to be formally assessed prior to applying for
admission?
Yes. A comprehensive evaluation of academic, neuropsychological,
and social/emotional functioning is essential to the process
of selecting only those students Red Hill Academy is designed
to serve.
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How
will my child's academic and social/emotional/ behavioral
progress be measured?
Progress will be measured using standardized academic and
clinical assessment tools, standardized self and parent reporting
instruments, and RHA teacher, therapist, and staff observation.
Measurable academic outcomes will be drawn from the California
curriculum frameworks and will reflect current performance
in all subject areas. Parents will receive written progress
reports on a bi-monthly basis
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What
subjects are offered?
Please refer to the RHA
Curriculum Guide for an overview of course offerings.
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What
is the average classroom size?
Classrooms are limited to 12 students
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What
are the teachers' qualifications?
All of our teachers have Education Specialist Credentials.
They have numerous years of experience in the classroom and
they have attended numerous trainings in different areas of
Special Education.
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How
many students will RHA serve?
Red Hill Academy will serve 36 students in 2008-2009, 60 students
in 2009-2010, and 84 students in 2010-2011.
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What
is required of families enrolled at RHA?
Family involvement is essential for both day students and
students in residence. Parents of day students receive periodic
academic progress reports and are encouraged to maintain regular
contact with RHA school personnel to monitor student progress
in the broader sense. In addition to receiving academic progress
reports and maintaining regular phone contact with both their
adolescent and RHA personnel, parents of students in residence
are also required to participate in face-to-face quarterly
review conferences on campus. Family counseling occurs bi-monthly
and is fundamental to sustained efficacy in functioning in
both the family arena and the community at large. Sessions
are conducted either in person on the Red Hill Academy campus
or via telephone conference calls.
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Why
is individual therapy not offered as a core clinical service?
Our longstanding experience in providing mental health treatment
services to adolescents has demonstrated that group therapy
within a positive peer influence model, particularly when
combined with family therapy, is a very powerful treatment
modality. Developmentally, adolescents are naturally drawn
to one another and the culture they embody. Despite their
continued need for adult support and guidance, adolescents
are much more influenced by their peer group than by any individual
adult outside of the family. Defining group therapy as a core
clinical service reflects attunement with the developmental
imperatives of adolescence and provides an arena for our students
to derive maximum benefit from a strong, supportive, and pro-social
peer group. Making individual therapy available to students
for an additional fee reflects an awareness of the fact that
some of our students will come to Red Hill Academy with issues
and concerns that cannot be adequately or appropriately addressed
in group or family therapy settings.
Will
transportation be offered?
Red Hill Academy will provide daily student transportation
to and from convenient locations in the East Bay, Sonoma County,
and San Francisco, as required. Parents will be responsible
for delivering their child to the designated location each
morning and picking them up promptly each afternoon.
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Does
RHA provide scholarships or financial aid?
Red Hill Academy intends to offer scholarships to appropriate
candidates for admission for the Fall 2011 semester. Referrals
to tuition financing institutions are available upon request.
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Will
my child be required to participate in a wilderness program
as a pre-requisite for admission to RHA?
No. Red Hill Academy does not require participation in a wilderness
program as a pre-requisite for admission.
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I am interested
only in the After School Program. What services will my child
receive with this arrangement?
The After School Program offers structured therapeutic and
enrichment activities to all participating students. Group
Leaders facilitate skill building groups as well as therapeutic
recreational activities including sports, hiking, biking,
swimming, and kayaking, an equestrian program, martial arts
instruction, and local theatre productions, art shows, and
concerts. Experiential exercises promote adaptive social functioning
and the development of "friendship skills." Enrichment
Specialists provide instruction in music, multi-media creative
arts, and expressive arts, including drama.
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