Shortridge Academy Article in Recent JTSP

Shortridge Academy Founder Adam Rainer and Research Consultant Dr. Kristine Baber recently co-authored an article in the Journal of Therapeutic Schools & Programs (JTSP), Volume V, Issue 1 entitled: Positive Youth Development: Bridging Theory into Practice at Therapeutic Schools and Programs. This article represents the second publication from Shortridge Academy describing its use of the strengths-based, authoritative community perspective based on Positive Youth Development (PYD). In November, Rainer and Baber's co-authored invited chapter in the series Advances in Child Development and Behavior, Volume 41, September 2011 was released.

In the JTSP (a.k.a. the "NATSAP Journal") article, Rainer and Baber give a history of Positive Youth Development, describe the Shorridge Academy program and services, and outline how Shortridge Academy embraced the PYD framework almost 4 years ago by engaging and partnering with students and delivering a clinically informed program in the context of an authoritative community. This comprehensive effort puts Shortridge Academy at the forefront of the therapeutic schools industry and represents a model for other programs that offer a clinical program yet want to incorporate the latest research on Positive Youth Development and adolescent brain development.

The Shortridge article provides a response to a recent JTSP article by Duerden, Widmer, and Witt (2010) whereby these authors argue that "it is timely for therapeutic schools and programs to consider PYD as a powerful scientific and programmatic modality to be integrated with, added to, or even replace existing clinical models."

For more information or a copy of the Shortridge JTSP article, please contact Adam Rainer, Founder and President.

Shortridge Academy is a year round, college preparatory, therapeutic boarding school for young men and women ages 14-17 years old at enrollment, grades 9-12. Shortridge Academy is one of only a few therapeutic boarding schools in the Northeast accredited by the rigorous New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) and the only school of its kind that explicitly utilizes the evidenced-based Positive Youth Development (PYD) perspective to guide the individualized therapeutic programming for students. Since 2002, Shortridge Academy has been helping students and families who are struggling with academic performance, loss of interest in activities and increased conflict in family or peer relationships.