Diamond Ranch Academy (DRA) takes a personalized approach to each teen who participates in one of the six comprehensive treatment programs that are offered at DRA on its 55-acre campus. The customization of each program allows for specialized attention to each teen while giving them access to all the resources they need to accomplish the goals that have been set for them.
Each of the academic programs are accredited through AdvancED which is a non-profit educational organization representing three of the primary pre-college regional accreditation groups that include the Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA CASI), the Council on Accreditation and School Improvement of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, and the Northwest Accreditation Commission (NWAC) in concert with the Utah State Office of Education. This recognition ensures that each teen can earn academic credits leading to a high school diploma as well as transfer to any school in the U.S. including the majority of colleges and universities.
In order to give each teen tools they need to accomplish their goals, DRA structures each program to give access to the resources that will help them. These resources include the following:
• College Readiness Skills
• Assessment of Career Goals and Skills
• ACT Testing
• SAT Testing
• PSAT Testing
• ASVAB Testing
• Choosing and Applying to Colleges and Universities (including scholarship applications)
• Secondary School Transitioning
• Availability of College Courses (for students who have already graduated from a secondary school)
• Field Trips (for real-life experiences including career scenarios)
• Hands-on experience in vocational fields
Because teens develop at stages depending on their age and have gender-specific developmental needs, there are also programs dedicated to boys that are structured for different ages:
Stone Ridge (for boys ages 14-15)
With a focus on the individual aspects of a teen’s developmental growth, this academic program is unique in its approach. The activities aim to teach teens to understand that they are responsible for the choices they make and how to cope with the consequences of their actions. The faculty is specially trained to work with each teen to circumvent through the process. Each teen also has an opportunity to bond with other boys that are experiencing the same accountability issues as them and know that they are not alone in their struggle.
Academically, the Stone Ridge program allows each teen to develop at their own pace with certified teachers who set up a mastery-based learning structure that won’t allow any teen to move on until they have shown success through assignments and assessments that are at an 80% or better average.
Lava Falls (for boys ages 16-17)
This program keeps in mind that boys at this age are on the verge of becoming adults, yet they can be emotionally immature. They are also acting out independently and making choices without the benefit of advice from others, but they do not necessarily have the skill set that they need to work through the consequences of their actions. The Lava Falls program helps them to transition from the emotional trappings of being a boy to understanding how to make life decisions as a man. It also lets each teen interact with others that are making this same transition and learning from their experiences in this journey.
The academic design of the program takes into account that many teens at this age level are not fully committed to the idea of the benefits of getting an education. They also have a need for nearly instant results and have not developed the maturity in understanding that everything has a process leading to success, so many of these teens have not experienced a level of achievement in their academics that have developed confidence in their academic abilities. Each teen will work at their own skill level and pace with certified teachers that will assess their academic assignments and allow students that accomplish an 80% or better on their work to move ahead to the next academic stage of their learning.
Sage Canyon (age 18+)
These are teens that are technically adults but continue to struggle with emotional and academic issues that are keeping them from entering adulthood with the necessary coping skills and educational level that they need to succeed in the adult world.
The academic structure for these teens focuses on completing the academic credits they need to complete their secondary degree and prepare for college. This also includes developing a firm foundation of college preparatory skills that will help them to develop a level of confidence in entering a new phase of their education. The certified teachers in this program will assess each student’s academic content and move each teen along their educational path at their own pace while setting individual goals based on each teen’s educational stage. This will lead to help with college applications once the teen has earned their accredited high school diploma.
