Frequently Asked Questions

My child is disabled and/or has a medical condition requiring frequent monitoring. Is RCS equipped for such students?

How does Ridge Creek Boarding School manage prescription medications and medical care?

What happens when my child turns 18?

Does Ridge Creek Boarding School accept insurance?

Help for teen with Anorexia/eating disorder?

Interventions for juvenile delinquency?

Does Ridge Creek School help teens with ADHD or ADD?

What makes Ridge Creek Therapeutic Boarding School unique?

A focus on the development of the student physically, academically, socially, and therapeutically rather than merely coping skills.
A college preparatory academic curriculum. Ridge Creek Therapeutic Boarding School students have a 100% college acceptance rate.
Parent and family workshops.
A large number of available breaks/home visits for students.
Small class size – 10:1 ratio.
A team approach to student care.
A significant number of activities that rival traditional boarding schools. We give students more opportunities to succeed than most schools.
A Therapeutic Curriculum complemented by a Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills group.
Weekly individual and group therapy 3 times per week.

What is Ridge Creek Therapeutic Boarding School’s philosophy?

Ridge Creek School’s mission statement is to provide care by helping a child develop physically, academically, socially, spiritually, and emotionally. Our dedication to this philosophy continues to help Ridge Creek School and its students achieve the success and direction needed for a better future.
Back to Top

What kind of students attend RCS?

Our students come from all over the United States and several countries. They are bright, capable teenagers who often demonstrate oppositional and defiant behaviors. They are often described as at risk and troubled teens because their emotional and impulsive actions have caused them difficulty with authority figures. These behaviors cause significant clinical impairment in their academic and social functioning. The most common characteristics are :

Often loses temper
Often argues with adults
Often actively defies or refuses to comply with adults' requests or rules
Often deliberately annoys people
Often touchy or easily annoyed by others
Often angry and resentful
Often spiteful/vindictive

In a supportive structured environment that focuses on group counseling and individual therapy these children regain their youthful optimism with responsible goals for the future.
Back to Top

Who will be working with my child?

Our students and families benefit from a comprehensive team approach. During your child’s stay, they will be working with a team consisting of:

A Primary Therapist who is the main contact throughout the program, conducts individual therapy.
An Element Therapist who leads groups based on our unique therapeutic curriculum based on Erik Erickson’s stages of development.

What should I expect from my child in the first few weeks?

Students typically have difficulty accepting their placement at Ridge Creek Boarding School. This reaction is not only due to missing family, but is also a result of losing the ability to use unhealthy coping skills that gave your child a sense of control. It is beneficial to remind yourself of the reasons that led to the enrollment of your child at RCS and keep in close contact with your child’s Primary Therapist.
Back to Top

When will I hear about my child?

Your child’s Primary Therapist will call you shortly after enrollment and at least once per week with a progress report. This updates will include how your child is doing socially, behaviorally, and emotionally. These scheduled calls last approximately 30 minutes. Certainly, feel free to contact your child’s Primary Therapist or Headmaster via email or phone with any other questions during the week.
Back to Top

Are you a licensed facility?

Ridge Creek School is licensed as a Child Caring Institution with Georgia’s Department of Human Services.
Back to Top

When will I be able to speak with my child?

For the first three weeks of the program, students will be allowed to call you once a week for a conference call. A member of the RCS staff will set a convenient time for this call during the first phone call after admission. These calls will last 15 minutes and will be supervised by one of the student’s counselors to ensure the student is respectful and appropriate. After your child has been at RCS for three weeks, has written you two letters, and has received one back from you, they are eligible for regular calls.
Back to Top

What are the other ways that I am able to communicate with my child?

Our program encourages family involvement and communication. You may email your child or send letters/cards through conventional mail. Your child’s Primary and Element therapists will distribute this mail to ensure this mail is truly from parents. However, the therapist does not read the mail so privacy is ensured. If you have concerns about your child receiving mail from someone other than individuals of whom you approve, please notify the Primary Therapist that you would like him/her to read the mail received.
Back to Top

My child is disabled and/or has a medical condition requiring frequent monitoring. Is RCS equipped for such students?

Ridge Creek School complies with the Americans With Disabilities Act by ensuring our buildings have accessibility. In addition, those students with diabetes or asthma have immediate access to monitoring devices, insulin pumps, and medications. Modifications in a student’s diet are also possible. We ask you provide us with a doctor’s order to make sure our Dispensary is equipped to provide the care your child requires.
Back to Top

How does Ridge Creek School manage prescription medications and medical care?

Ridge Creek School has a Dispensary, where we store and dispense all medications. The Dispensary does not diagnose or treat illnesses other than the common cold or nausea. The Dispensary staff coordinate visits to local medical and dental professionals as needed. We have a psychiatrist who comes to campus for students requiring psychotropic medication monitoring.
Back to Top

Are you accredited?

Ridge Creek School holds the prestigious dual accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and Southern Association of Independent Schools. In addition, we are also accredited by the Georgia Accrediting Commission. These accreditations allow us to award high school diplomas, and ensure quality in our college-preparatory curriculum. If your child does not graduate high school from Ridge Creek School, earned credits will transfer without difficulty to the next facility/ school.
Back to Top

What happens when my child turns 18?

Upon your child’s 18th birthday, they are required to sign themselves in and make a decision to finish the program. Most parents successfully influence their child to stay by refusing financial support if the child decides to leave the program early.
Back to Top

How are parents involved?

Even though your child stays on our campus, we believe families are enrolled at Ridge Creek School. We are here to help you become an active parent. In addition to weekly contact with the Primary Therapist, we have parent workshops during your child’s stay. These workshops are very important since they allow parents to receive more in-depth updates on your child’s progress, and educate parents on ways to improve communication, establish parental guidance, and bond more closely with your child. It’s our goal for you to have a renewed relationship with your child by the time he/she leaves.
Back to Top

Does Ridge Creek Therapeutic Boarding School accept insurance?

We do not accept insurance, third party payers, or government agency coverage; however, we can provide an itemized statement for parents to file with their insurance companies and/or sources of reimbursement. Many insurance companies cover the counseling portion of our program; however, we can not guarantee reimbursement.
Back to Top

Help for teen with Anorexia/eating disorder?

In this age, when mass media is promoting unrealistic, body-image goals for young people, causing insecurity and intense anxiety in many, eating disorders, such as anorexia and bulimia, are an ever increasing problem for adolescents. At Ridge Creek School our staff has extensive experience in, and training for, dealing with the needs of children struggling in the grips of these types of disorders. First and foremost, after the child is stabilized, we address the root causes of the disorder in an intense therapeutic setting in an attempt to address the issues, misconceptions, and insecurities which led to the manifestation of these behaviors. In addition, we monitor caloric intake and exercise regimes. Further, and if need be, we can provide bathroom escorts to be certain that the child is not perpetuating destructive habits, while undergoing the therapeutic process.
Back to Top

Interventions for juvenile delinquency?

The faculty and staff of Ridge Creek School believe that there is no such thing as a "bad" child. But, children can, and often do, lose their way on the path to responsible adulthood. Through an intensive therapeutic program and "grounding" wilderness experiences coupled with a strong, individualized academic program, RCS helps young people discover and eliminate the causes of their destructive behaviors, while accentuating the positive aspects of their character.
Back to Top

Does Ridge Creek School help teens with ADHD or ADD?

Due to the individualized college prep curriculum, as well as the therapeutic coping techniques taught at Ridge Creek, students with ADHD/ADD often find the success here, academically, socially, and therapeutically, which eluded them in other settings. RCS provides students with these needs the tools they need to succeed here and in their future endeavors.
Back to Top