Another success story!

Okay, for this story we bring up a truly exceptional young man-in more ways than one!

Angel came to us as a young man with extreme trouble with concentration and focus. Acronyms like ADD and ADHD were used early and often before he came to us.

In class, he had serious problems concentrating for more than a minute or two at a time. Our teachers would have him sit close to them so they could repeatedly "bring him back" every time his attention wandered. A tap on the arm, calling his name, etc. just to keep him with the rest of the class.

Over time Angel's concentration improved and he was better able to focus on classwork. We were also pleased to see his relationships with peers and parents improve as he matured into a responsible, hard-working young man. He was continually willing to help both staff and other students and was a fine example of what can be accomplished with hard work and consistency.

He graduated from Fieldstone with the GPA and study skills to succeed in college. Good work Angel!

Bunnies...

We had a few rabbits/bunnies for awhile here at the school, and I believe we still do! Meaning that the students loved them but weren't perfect at keeping them in their hutch!

I assume we will see some of their children come spring running around the horse pasture!

Just a good picture!

A group of students, young and old, and the little boy of one of the staff members! Just hanging out.

Devil's Sandbox

We have been enjoying an extended fall season this year, and we have been taking advantage of it! One of the favorite field trips recently has been to a place called Devil's Sandbox.

The name isn't flattering, but the scenery is amazing and the view is breathtaking. It is north of Bryce Canyon National Park, but really it is a stand-alone example of how beautiful our state is.

For reference, you can see our 15-passenger van and some of our students in this picture.

The other fun part of it is that climbing to the top requires a lot of effort, but no serious climbing equipment, so the willing are rewarded with some spectacular views!

In December in Utah, and still outside like this! Amazing.

This cube is something the boys found. It is nearly a perfect cube of stone but without tool marks...interesting!

Fieldstone Dance!

We had a lot of fun a couple Saturdays ago when we hosted a dance at the school! I went around and religiously took pictures, of course, but then made the mistake of letting one of the students handle the camera for awhile!

All pictures accidentally deleted...

Of course we will not mention any names in this horrible crime against this blog post; however, on an entirely different topic, our thanks to Logan for his help at the dance! :)

Everyone had a good time and we had a pretty good turnout from the community. Of course, we only advertised it for a total of two days before we had it, so we didn't expect too much.

Our students wanted to have the dance nonetheless, and it was a lot of fun. We had a great DJ who came all the way from Utah County, and even the decorations were perfect (we left some of them up just for fun.)

We look forward to an even better dance next time, but this was a great start!

Three years behind...

Basic facts: Alex (last name kept for privacy), from Chicago Illinois, 17 when enrolled, 18 when graduated. Came as a Senior in age but an early Sophomore by credits earned.

Alex suffered from anxiety when it came to school work. He had attended highly reputable schools and then home-based distance courses when he became dissatisfied with his progress in school. He came from a highly educated and highly successful family who wanted him to succeed but he had three years of work to catch up on.

He was referred to us by an educational consultant, Jeanette Spires, and took a very proactive approach to getting accepted and making the arrangements so he could attend. He was the first student we've had who actually made his own travel arrangements and bought plan tickets himself. He came with a great drive to succeed and a near desperation to repair his GPA and past academics.

Like most high school age students who have had problems academically, Alex struggled with math and algebra, and spent hours of extra time working with our math teacher. There are still marks on the wall under the whiteboard in our math room where Alex would sit for long periods working on equations while one foot tapped away!

Alex worked hard, stayed at the school during the summer terms, and kept his focus on not only graduating, but going on to college.

Alex graduated from Fieldstone in September of 2011 and is currently submitting applications to the colleges of his choice. Neither his GPA or his ACT scores will hold him back.

Academic Recovery

People often ask what makes us different than other boarding schools. Though there are some smaller details like smaller class sizes and a very successful ACT Prep system, there is one thing that we excel in which is fairly rare in the boarding school industry:

Academic Recovery.

What this means is that we are willing to accept students who have fallen behind in their schoolwork or who have begun struggling in school. This ranges from students whose grades have dropped in the past month or two, to students who are behind by a year or more.

Our Academic Recovery system allows students to succeed who otherwise would have no hope of even graduating high school.

We will be posting some of our success stories on this blog to show what we have achieved in the past.

One statistic: Our incoming Academic Recovery students have an average GPA of 1.9. Our graduated Academic Recovery students currently have an average College GPA of 3.5.