New Loudoun County high school will help students recovering from substance use disorders stay on track

The staff at RISE Academy in Leesburg Virginia WTOP Scott Gelman The staff at RISE Academy in Leesburg Virginia WTOP Scott Gelman A new Northern Virginia high school set to welcome students this week will help them catch up or remain on track in class while they re recovering from substance use disorders The campus called Recovery Inspiration Strength and Empowerment Academy is located in a wing of The North Star School s building in Leesburg Jen Evans Loudoun County Community Schools director of trainee mental physical condition services explained opening the school was a priority for Superintendent Aaron Spence The model is the first of its kind in Northern Virginia and could expand to welcome students outside Loudoun next year The rigor that LCPS and other school divisions have for students that adds pressure Evans explained So then imagine you re also dealing with a therapeutic complaint of addiction at the same time Balancing those two is really hard to do The school is starting with students enrolled this academic year Evans stated There are four general guidance and two special schooling teachers in addition to a leadership company While students will engage with traditional coursework Evans stated within the school day there will also be individual or group counseling a chance to work with peer recovery specialists and sessions with area partners to emphasize wellness and nutrition among other things Related stories In a reversal vote Loudoun Co school board will allow charter schools to ask for funding to cover facility upgrades Virginia liberal arts Christian school shines among nation s best in US News ranking I make my move Kids learn enjoy chess after school Those topics are really fundamental when someone s in early recovery because they ve been using so once you get clean it s really hard to manage emotions that you have not felt in a while Evans mentioned Fredericka Mack the school s principal announced classes will be small and the small staff size means educators can collaborate more intensely and regularly I knew that we were taking on students that other schools find complex so that makes us a little different in that we want that population because we have that skill set Mack stated In particular cases Evans mentioned that students are behind academically or have to take a break from school to receive rehabilitation The new campus will allow kids to catch up to or get ahead of where they were in school Students are required to have a diagnostic provider to enroll and the school division is offering them transportation Evans explained Students can either return to their original school or work toward a diploma with the academy and remain there until they graduate How can we really touch as multiple lives as we could with these students and help to change the trajectory of their lives while they are with us Mack revealed Source