The purpose of VPP was to provide an in-depth view of Newport Academy to several visiting Independent Educational Consultants and other professionals working in the private parent-choice network of schools and programs for struggling teens.

Nothing was spared during our stay. Good food, good conversations and quality professional presentations were abundant. We had a chance to meet with most of the key staff. At the initial dinner, Newport Academy founder Jamison Monroe shared his personal story which covered many of the motivations for him both in founding the Academy and its related activities and his ambitious plans for the future. In short, Jamison had once been in treatment for addiction, and concluded that the state of addiction treatment was in a sorry state. He then resolved to establish a program that would do it right. The result was Newport Academy along with the adjunct Sober High School and Outpatient treatment program at a different location.

Left To Right: Jamison Monroe, Arden O'Connor, Nancy Sobel, Courtney Karp, Noelle Gamber, Jennifer Kelly, Carter Barnhart, Denise Woodbury, Lon Woodbury, Jim Nolan, Debbie Hopper

Newport Academy was founded in 2009 as a gender specific residential treatment center for teens. There is a boys' campus and a girls' campus with a ratio of four staff for each student. Later in 2009 an adolescent outpatient counseling center was opened for local adolescents along with them opening Orange County's first Sober High School.

Four years later, 2013, Jamison is satisfied enough with his model to expand elsewhere in the country. Currently plans to open in November of this year another residential program in Connecticut, and he is looking at establishing additional Sober High Schools in the East Coast and in other areas of California. In talking with Jamison, I get the impression that in his mind this is just the beginning. Additionally, he is talking about establishing an aggressive Endowment Fund so needy students without financial means can be granted scholarships.

Locally, they have four programs: The boys residential campus, the girls residential campus, and a third location which has the Sober High School for local residents from 9:30 AM to 3:30 PM, and the counseling center for local adolescents uses that location from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM.

We started our tour with the facility for the Sober High School and Outpatient Center. They have most of the second floor of a quiet office building, and inside it looked much like a school with bright colors, a comfortable classroom that doubles for group and several offices used for administration and individual counseling sessions. As explained by Director of Education Devon Green, the goal of the Sober High School is way beyond just academics. Although academics are important, equally important is to help each student recognize their personal strengths, set goals for themselves, and actively work toward achieving those goals (both personal life goals as well as career goals).

Next on our tour was the residential boys' campus. The facility was on a hill where it seemed like you could see forever. The facility was clean, the bedrooms were neat and picked up, and overall a very comfortable living space. We were treated to a great lunch, delicious and nutritious of course, overlooking the surrounding city. It was a little cloudy, but we were told on a very clear day Santa Catalina Island could be seen on the horizon. The facility tended to have a masculine feel, and this was especially noticeable in their popular indoor gym, which was well stocked with work out machines, floor mats for martial arts and wrestling practice, and much more. Referred to by the boys as their man-cave, use of it is considered a privilege that can be temporally lost for negative behavior. Comfortable and well used rooms were available in several buildings for therapeutic groups, individual counseling, academic classes and places for just hanging out. Just before lunch a group of the young men came into the kitchen and on their own, and we were assured this was with no prompting, proceeded to introduce themselves and shake all our hands. They looked good, clean cut with various degrees of confidence. They would have passed for typical teens with a positive attitude anywhere. Even more impressive is that action more than any other indicated a sense of safety and acceptance by them from being in this program.

The next stop on our tour was the girls' campus. As with the boys, the girls campus was clean, comfortable feeling and functional. As with the boys program, the students are kept very busy with academic classes, group, individual counseling and character building activities. In our tour we saw a number of the girls and again, they appeared comfortable with themselves and with being there. The bedrooms were comfortable, clean and picked up. The rooms looked lived in in a cozy way.

Next to the girls' facilities is the equine facility, which consists of several horses and everything necessary for housing horses. Although the girls don't have the view the boys do, by having the horses next to them the equine program seems to be a stronger presence. For example, it is primarily the girls who take care of the horses and all the facilities and while touring the girls program we occasionally would get the distinctive odor of horses.

Perhaps the highlight of the day was a mini equine therapy lesson we all received. Conducted by Mickey Troxell with the help of Robyn LeAnn, the effectiveness of nonverbal communication was demonstrated very well. And, of course, when done by amateurs such as ourselves how it can be non-effective. They used what they called their therapeutic horse, one that had been abused when younger and Mickey had helped train to be the equine therapist. The horse was very effective in sensing and reacting to our nonverbal communications which we were unknowingly using. After each exercise Mickey and Robyn helped us process the results, and tease out what might have been going on inside us that would cause the horse to act the way it had. If we had been a group of students, the processing would have been much deeper with the horse being the catalyst that provided significant hints as to internal emotional inconsistencies we might be going through during the exercise. It was a very effective demonstration of the whole point of equine therapy. I've had several equine therapy demonstrations in the past while visiting programs starting back in the 1990s, and this was one of the most effective in demonstrating the potential for equine therapy in working with struggling teens.

Overall, I saw a program with dedicated, caring and competent staff working with students and being successful in helping these troubled children get their lives together. I think we are going to be hearing a lot more from Jamison Monroe and Newport Academy as he expands his vision.