CARF International has announced that Stone Mountain School, a boarding school for boys with ADD, ADHD and learning differences or disabilities, has been accredited for a period of three years. This is the first accreditation that the international accrediting body has awarded to Stone Mountain School.
This accreditation decision represents the highest level of accreditation that can be awarded to an organization and shows Stone Mountain School's substantial conformance to the CARF standards. An organization receiving a three-year accreditation has put itself through a rigorous peer review process and has demonstrated to a team of surveyors during an on-site visit that its programs and services are of the highest quality, measurable, and accountable.
"We are very proud of Stone Mountain School for its achievement of CARF accreditation," said Phil Herschman, president of Aspen Education Group, the parent company of the North Carolina based program. "We continue to see the benefits of accreditation in our leadership, safety practices and the overall care of our students. This three-year accreditation is a wonderful reflection of our commitment to excellent care."
The CARF accrediting officials found strengths in many areas of Stone Mountain School's operations, noting that "the staff, management, and leadership are truly committed to quality and excellence."
To be most effective, Stone Mountain School relies upon positive referral relationships with psychologists and educational consultants across the country, and the survey summary reported that these "referral sources were very complimentary with respect to the openness, levels of communication, and responsiveness of staff" and recent programmatic improvements were seen by referral sources as "key to strengthening [Stone Mountain School's] market and service niche."
Other strengths noted that "parents expressed gratitude for the level of communication between the school and the family" and "innovative" educational services. "The teaching staff is well trained and dedicated to the students."
CARF is an independent, nonprofit accrediting body whose mission is to promote the quality, value, and optimal outcomes of services through a consultative accreditation process that centers on enhancing the lives of the persons served. Founded in 1966 as the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities, and now known as CARF, the accrediting body establishes consumer-focused standards to help organizations measure and improve the quality of their programs and services.
Stone Mountain Schoolis a long-term residential school in an outdoors environment that is geared to help boys ages 11-17 with emotional issues and behavioral problems related to learning differences or disabilities, attention deficit disorder (ADD), or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Stone Mountain offers boys a safe, structured environment in which they can thrive and succeed both academically and socially. For more information, visit www.stonemountainschool.com or call 888-631-5994.
Stone Mountain School is a program of Aspen Education Group, the nation's leading provider of therapeutic education programs for struggling or underachieving young people. Aspen's services range from short-term intervention programs to residential treatment, and include a variety of therapeutic settings such as boarding schools, outdoor behavioral health programs and special needs summer camps, allowing professionals and families the opportunity to choose the best setting to meet a student's unique academic and emotional needs. Aspen Education Group is a proud member of the National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs (NATSAP). Aspen also is a member of CRC Health Group, the nation's largest chemical dependency and related behavioral health organization. For over two decades, CRC Health has been achieving successful outcomes for individuals and families. For more information, visit www.crchealth.com.