More Articles on Boarding School Written by Students
Making a Difference
February 14, 2007
Who We Are, And What We Do
By Josh Stanfield, Student WRA
White River Academy is a school where teens that are having problems in
every day life are sent to better themselves. Some of these problems include
Inconsiderate of Self, Inconsiderate of others and Low Self Image. These stu-
dents are just regular kids who chose not to make good decisions in life.
White River uses a concept called Positive Peer Culture (PPC), which is
combined with a counselor on staff to help. PPC is a concept that uses a group
setting, meaning there are groups of students; these groups can hold up to 13
students. White River currently has one group of nine students. The group
works on the 12 problems labeled by PPC by having a group meeting. The
group meeting starts when the students are in a circle. The students then begin
by identifying which problems they have had in the past 24 hours. After the
labeling of problems, the students decide who they think “needs” or “should
have” the group meeting for that day. Once awarded, the group begins helping
the student. The group members then give solutions to the selected student for
his core problem, or the root of the problem, that has been labeled. The group
concludes when the group leader summarizes the meeting. These meetings last
for an hour and a half and are held Monday through Friday. The goal of White
River is to instill in the students a long lasting desire to do what is right.
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