What makes Valley View unique?

We are living in a time when the nature and quality of specialized therapeutic services can be terribly confusing to families as well as referral sources.  It is all the more necessary for a treatment facility to summarize, as clearly as possible, what it does.  The following is intended to highlight what sets Valley View School apart.

-Valley View has a proven track record spanning thirty years. This history has been built around a nucleus staff representing over 130 years of professional therapeutic experience.

We are not experimental. Our traditional approach has earned us the respect of referral resources, including educational consultants, psychiatrists, and psychologists throughout the United States and other parts of the world.

-Students are carefully screened and represent a more gentle and treatable group of youngsters than exists at many other treatment facilities.

We do not accept alienated, delinquent, or psychotic boys. All Valley View students, though at risk, show good promise. Many have a history of ADD, with or without hyperactivity, and may be oppositional or disruptive in a traditional school setting.

-Valley View is and will remain a small setting.

We have deliberately chosen to keep Valley View a reasonably small standalone facility limited to 54 boys. Doing so maximizes the ability to know all of the youngsters and their families and to provide an optimal level of communication and service.

-We have a definite system of structure and consequences that encourages students to progress academically and to behave in a more socially appropriate manner.

Consequences which are understandable may be positive or negative, ranging from honor roll, athletic letter jackets, and earning privileges, to academic probation and restriction. Our goal is to give boys the "tools" they need for a more productive future.

-Boys benefit from constant daily "on the spot" counseling, feedback, and praise for a job well done.

Throughout the day students are guided by teachers. Evenings and weekends an experienced counseling staff provides supervision. Where appropriate, individual psychotherapy by Ph.D. psychologists is made available. Direction for the overall program is provided by a Clinical Psychologist, who is a Diplomate of the American Board of Professional Psychology, and also by an ACSW Social Worker.

-Through a well-designed and closely monitored system, boys learn to work and are able to pay for many of the things they do.

This system is based on the earning of points for doing campus jobs, such as raking leaves, shoveling snow, waitering meals, etc. Points may be lost for negative behavior. Earning of such points becomes translated into spending money, where the goal is to provide motivation for responsibility.

-The basic therapeutic approach is that of a therapeutic milieu that is "adult driven" and based on an expectation of reasonable functioning.

Because we are not working with boys who are alienated (tough, hardened), almost by definition we want to work with youngsters who want to please adults, although they do not always succeed. This leads to a program where the emphasis is on the adult as role model, mentor, and limit setter, rather than extensive use of peer group confrontation to facilitate change.

-For a specialized facility, the athletic program is outstanding. We compete against other private schools.

Sports include varsity and junior varsity soccer, three basketball teams, tennis, golf, cross-country running, softball, and lacrosse.

-The School's travel program to exotic locations during the Spring Break exposes students to the complexity and stimulation of other cultures.

We have traveled to numerous interesting places in the world, including China, Russia (including Siberia), India, Israel, South Africa, and Vietnam.

-An activity program provides boys with a wide variety of experiences designed to promote a feeling of success. A good deal of this is weighted towards the outdoors.

Regularly scheduled activities include canoeing, camping, bicycling, skiing, fishing, swimming, and hiking.

-We are committed to boys having the opportunity to explore self-expression through a full range of artistic endeavors.

The art studio, directed by a full-time instructor, offers the ability to explore a range of mediums. Also, we have a drama program, involving full-length productions occurring twice a year, and music lessons are available.

-Our supportive school provides a traditional curriculum offering academic credits accepted throughout the country. Most boys eventually go to college.

Courses include: U.S. and World History, numerous English and Science courses, and Math courses including Geometry and Algebra I and II. Extensive use is made of computers.