Shepherd's Hill Academy
Shepherd's Hill Academy (SHA) is a fully accredited and licensed therapeutic boarding school located in Martin, Georgia, USA, that provides year-round residential care and a private school for grades 6 through 12.
History
Shepherd's Hill Academy was founded in 1994 by Trace Embry and his wife Beth. Before starting a therapeutic boarding school that has served families from all across America and around the world, Trace served as a police officer and entrepreneur just outside Chicago from 1978 to 1991. Sensing a higher calling, Trace moved his family to Georgia, to pursue a Christian Education degree at Toccoa Falls College (TFC) in Toccoa Falls, Georgia.
Since living in Georgia, and before the founding of SHA, Trace served the local community by doing work for the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice.
During his time at TFC, Trace and his family searched for property to begin the work that would eventually become Shepherd's Hill Academy. In order to find the appropriate location, Trace and his family began an extensive search through Northeast Georgia. In what would become documented as a leap of faith;[1] Trace purchased a 60-acre tract of land in Martin, Georgia, with $200 and a handshake.
In 1994 Trace and his family moved onto the property and lived in the old abandoned farm house. The house had no running water, electricity or functioning facilities. Trace and his family diligently worked to build their home, while he was simultaneously attending classes at Toccoa Falls College and building the foundation for Shepherd's Hill Academy. In the very beginning, staff and students from TFC assisted with piecing together the Embry's home, which would later become one of the first buildings on campus for SHA.
From 2001 - 2003 Shepherd's Hill Academy partnered with an Atlanta-based school known as Gables Academy in a joint effort to provide residential care to families. At that time, the program was known as "The Edge at Shepherd's Hill."[2] Today, SHA, now residing on 86 acres, has broadened its reach by providing an accredited private school and licensed residential care for students and their families from all across America and around the world.
Governance
Shepherd's Hill Academy is a 501(c)(3) Organization and is governed by a board of directors. New members of the governing board are elected by the current members. The SHA Board of Directors are responsible for assigning an Executive Director, operational policies and the annual financial budget. Day-to-day operations are led by the Executive Director. The SHA's academic program and faculty are overseen by a Georgia certified on-site principal. The SHA therapeutic program and residential care are overseen by a licensed therapist.
Private School
Shepherd's Hill Academy's private school is accredited for grades 6 -12 through the Georgia Accrediting Commission (GAC) under the Education Agency with Special Purposes (EASP) accreditation. In addition, SHA is a member of the Georgia Association of Christian Schools (GACS), and the American Association of Christian Schools (AACS) and is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) sanctioned school.
As with most private schools, the principal ensures that all students are enrolled with proper transcripts and remain on track to fulfill the Georgia required minimum 23 credits. SHA provides its graduating senior class with the opportunity to take their SAT and ACT, earn their high school diploma and get them on track to enroll in college, a military branch or a trade school.
SHA provides Advanced Placement (AP) classes offered through Georgia Virtual School and extra curricular opportunities that range from intramural sports to local field trips pertaining to a particular area of study.
In addition, SHA students have been chosen from only thirty nine other students in the entire nation to attend [3] the annual AACS Youth Legislative Training Conference in Washington, D.C.
Residential Care
In addition to its private school, Shepherd's Hill Academy (SHA) offers a unique residential care facility for its students. SHA is licensed by the Georgia Department of Human Services through its Outdoor Child Caring Program licensure. In addition, SHA is a member of the American Association of Christian Counselors (AACC).
The structure of SHA's therapeutic program is congruent with the authoritative community model discussed in Hardwired to Connect: The New Scientific Case for Authoritative Communities,[4] which is a study conducted by the YMCA of the USA, Geisel School of Medicine and the Institute for American Values.
SHA typically serves students that struggle with, rebellious and defiant behaviors, addictions, ADD, ADHD, Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), depression and the like. SHA has also served students with Reactive attachment disorder (RAD), and many other medical and behavioral conditions.
Because of its authoritative community model, SHA uniquely assists families using a wide variety of therapeutic activities such as: wilderness-style living, high and low ropes courses, individual therapy, team building activities, sports, devotionals, and Equine therapy.
Other Works and Contributions
Due to its private school, residential care and radio broadcast, SHA has been acknowledged by several key leaders across America such as Ravi Zacharias, Tullian Tchividjian and David Barton.
The Executive Director of SHA, Trace Embry, is also the host of the radio broadcast known as License to Parent. License to Parent, a member of the National Religious Broadcasters, is a global broadcast that operates from its own studio on the campus of SHA.
Trace Embry has also contributed to the book The Digital Invasion.[5] SHA staff and students were featured in a full-length documentary directed by Colin Gunn and produced by Phillip Telfer entitled Captivated the Movie [6] which outlines effects of media on human behavior and brain chemistry.
References
- ↑ "Couple's Leap of Faith Bring Youngsters Hope," Heidi Cenac, The Independent Mail, 29 June 2007
- ↑ "Discipline Out of Love - The Edge Camp Offers Troubled Teens a Chance to Regroup," Rhiannon Brewer Patrick, Athens Online, 30 June 2002
- ↑ "Shepherd's Hill Academy Student Awarded Scholarship," Strugglingteens.com, 13 June 2011
- ↑ The Commission on Children at Risk. Hard Wired to Connect: The New Scientific Case for Authoritative Communities (New York City, NY: Institute for American Values, 2003)
- ↑ Dr. Archibald Hart and Dr. Sylvia Hart Frejd. The Digital Invasion by (Grand Rapid MI: Baker Books, 2013)
- ↑ Captivated the Movie Dir. Phillip Telfer and Colin Gunn. Media Talk 101, 2011. Film