We help young people find their place in the world.

Adolescence has become an increasingly hazardous journey in the past two decades. Fewer and fewer teens are making a smooth and timely transition into young, semi-independent adulthood. Anxiety, depression, self-harm, school avoidance, technology addiction, and substance abuse are all on the rise.. “Failure to launch,” and “boomerang kid” are the catchphrases of this generation.

We want something different for our students.

Oliverian graduates become artists, spouses, college freshmen, scientists, graduate students, teachers, parents, doctors, dog owners, furniture makers, best friends, chefs, world travelers, entrepreneurs, engineers, philanthropists, free spirits, and lots of other interesting things.

Most importantly, though, they know and like themselves. They’re confident and socially at ease. They have a sense of purpose. They’re ready to find and occupy their own unique place in the world.

  • "This school is an amazing, transforming place. It has been a perfect fit for our son and he is so grateful to be there. We feel a debt of gratitude to the amazing staff—what a wonderful group of people. We did thorough research and don't believe there is another place like it. Anywhere."

    KIERNAN ANZELC

Oli at a Glance

MISSION

We help young people find their place in the world.

SCHOOL

Oliverian is a supportive college-preparatory boarding school located in the pristine White Mountains of New Hampshire.

WE OFFER:

  • Nearly a 1 to 1 staff to student ratio
  • Counseling support
  • Learning support and college counseling
  • Social and life-skills support
  • Fine arts, forestry, community service, adventure, internship, travel learning, culinary-arts training, and much more

Our school is an intimate, homelike community with a nearly 1:1 faculty to student ratio. We hire master’s and PhD level teachers and licensed therapists who, by the way, absolutely love their smart, quirky, challenging students.

APPROACH

  • We are fundamentally relational in our approach to teaching, mentoring, and counseling.
  • We provide the freedom to make independent decisions and enough support to learn from good ones and poor ones alike.
  • All of our students choose to be here—enrollment is 100% voluntary.
  • We view our most important role—whether teacher, dorm parent, or counselor—as that of co-parent, aka “en loco parentis.” We favor an authoritative parenting approach to parenting teens.
  • We strive to meet our students’ developmental need for a balance of autonomy, connectedness, and competence, in keeping with the Self-Determination Theory of motivation.
  • Our therapeutic approach is eclectic, utilizing a variety of evidence-based modalities including family-systems approach, motivational interviewing, DBT, Rogerian therapy, CBT, talk therapy, and experiential milieu-based approaches. Our goal is for students to become willing and educated consumers of mental health and wellness services.
  • We can provide highly individualized support by maintaining a nearly 1:1 faculty to student ratio.
  • We are committed to small class sizes to optimize learning—our classes usually fall in the 4 – 8 student range.

STUDENTS

Oliverians are bright, capable students who have not thrived in traditional schools. Our students are at a point where they need support but not necessarily treatment. They may have struggled with mild to moderate social, emotional, and/or learning challenges but are ready to take on school and life. Our students are variously described as smart, quirky, creative, sensitive, challenging, square pegs, unique, and outliers. We see their immense potential as “pre-achievers.”