Military Schools and Alternatives

Military High Schools, Military Schools for Boys, Coed Military Schools


Considering military schools for your troubled teen? If you are a parent struggling with a pre-teen or adolescent child due to problems with behavior, academics, or emotional issues, you may have thought about or threatened to send your teenager to military school. It's important for parents to examine the purpose of military schools to decide whether this is the best choice for a struggling adolescent. If your teen needs therapy or has special academic needs due to learning challenges or disabilities, other residential programs may be a better choice

Many military schools will explicitly state in their admissions policies that they are not a therapeutic school and will not accept students with behavioral or substance abuse problems.

Who are they for? Students who succeed in the military school environment tend to be under performing academically (below potential) due to issues other than learning challenges or disabilities. In other words, students who have developed poor study habits or have lost interest in school, but do not have underlying learning challenges such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

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What about juvenile boot camps? These boot camps are often simply short-term military-style discipline programs and troubled teens with emotional or behavioral problems may simply mask their issues while in this intense, non-therapeutic environment.

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Who are they not for? Students who have behavioral, emotional, and learning issues will often struggle in military schools. These teens often need therapy, focused academic attention, and specialized teachers to help them succeed in school and to improve their social skills.

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CRC Health Group