Student Profile
What Oliverians have in common is their uncommonness. We’re smart, sensitive, and sometimes quirky! We see the world a little differently. If that sounds like you, you might be one of us!
Who Are They
Our students are bright, college-capable adolescents who have struggled to find their place in more traditional settings. These are the “in-between” students who need more support than a traditional school provides but who are not looking for treatment.
- Our Students are often:
- Our Students often struggling with:
Our Students are often:
- Bright
- Creative
- Sensitive
- Adventurous
- Intellectually curious but uncomfortable in a traditional classroom
- Quirky / out-of-the-box thinkers
- In search of a more confident, authentic sense of self (identity)
- Relationally motivated and willing to accept adult guidance and support
- Tired of struggling and ready to change, grow, take responsibility, and find their place
- Ready for the next step following a successful treatment experience
- Ready for more support after having struggled in a traditional setting
Our Students often struggling with:
- Anxiety
- ADD/ADHD
- ASD1
- Learning Differences
- Executive Functioning Deficits
- Depression
- Self-Isolation
- Over-use of Technology
- School Avoidance
- Low Motivation
- Low Self-esteem
- When a Student is Ready
- When a Student is Not Ready
When a Student is Ready
To succeed at Oliverian, a student must be at a point in their journey where they are ready to take on more freedom, personal choice, and autonomy. Our school has elements of a traditional high school and a therapeutic program but is an alternative to both. As such, we favor support over structure and influence over control; we provide room for students to make good choices and mistakes, and we provide the guidance necessary to learn from both. This highly experiential “step-up” approach requires that students are at a place in their journey where, with our support, mistakes are more likely to lead to growth than a serious setback.
When a Student is Not Ready
Oliverian is not the best place for students who are currently…
- Not capable, even with support, of doing college-preparatory academic work
- Highly manipulative
- Highly oppositional
- Addicts not deeply engaged in their own recovery process
- Suicidal
- Not relationally motivated and/or disinterested in relationships with adults
- Predatory or violent
- In need of a primary therapeutic intervention
- Struggling with psychosis, strong features of a personality disorder, or a life-threatening disorder such as untreated anorexia
Start your journey to finding your place in the world