Cherry Gulch
Emmit, ID

Cherry Gulch already boasts one of the most beautiful views of any therapeutic boarding school. The school sits on top of a hill overlooking the spectacular Payette River Valley to the right and the 1100 acre Black Canyon Reservoir is directly in front of the school with mountain and rolling hills to the left and a mesa behind the school. Cherry Gulch has the look and feel of a Montana ski lodge. The main building is nearly 8,000 Sq. Ft. and there is a nearly 3,000 Sq. Ft. bunk house.

Cherry Gulch recently completed a 2,800 Sq. Ft. multipurpose playing court. The court was in large part the generous donation of the family of a recently graduated student. The gift was intended to be used to benefit the staff such as increased staff training. The staff unanimously wanted to use the donation for something that the boys at Cherry Gulch would enjoy and they knew our students had wanted a multipurpose court. We already have a very strong training schedule for our staff and had recently outfitted our staff with two-way radios and had spent hundreds of dollars on books to help our teachers improve services to our students with learning differences and had budgeted to spend thousands more on science equipment. So everyone enthusiastically agreed to build the multipurpose court. However, we were a couple thousand dollars short so our students gathered 900 tokens to contribute to the project. They can earn a couple of tokens per day based on their behavior, attitude, and academic performance. They also asked to put their hand print in the cement so they could leave their mark behind for future generations of Cherry Gulch students to see and as a way of continuing to unify the school and so they would not be forgotten by their Cherry Gulch family. The families of two other recent graduates each donated a high quality basketball hoop system to the school as well.

Cherry Gulch has also recently finished an outdoor riding arena for our equine program, an improved trail system, a covered wagon, recycling center, and organic garden.

Cherry Gulch is a ranch-style, therapeutic boarding school designed specifically for 10 -14 year old boys. Cherry Gulch's supportive, encouraging and respect-based approach is designed to build students up-rather than tear them down. Cherry Gulch is passionate about providing early intervention and prevention to help boys reach their full potential and become well-rounded, pro-social young men. We are dedicated to providing outstanding therapeutic and academic services to students and their families. This is accomplished in the context of a safe environment working toward "Building Brighter Tomorrows for the Boys of Today."