Shepherd’s Hill Farm
For more information about this school, please contact Parent Help at 1-800-688-8706 or fill out our contact form.
Shepherd’s Hill Farm accepts male and female students between the ages of 13 and 17 who struggle with behavioral issues.
Program Type
Shepherd’s Hill Farm is an outdoor residential therapeutic program and school designed to equip at-risk and troubled youth with the tools necessary to become more productive members at home, school, and in the community. Our 80-acre facility lends itself to an atmosphere conducive for learning and growing spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and physically.
Program Description
At Shepherd’s Hill, therapy is not something that is reserved for an office. Therapy is done everywhere and all the time. Our 30 full- and part-time staff members are trained to look for teachable moments in every activity and in every situation. A variety of proven therapeutic strategies are used to challenge faulty thinking and encourage positive changes in behavior. The foundation of these strategies, however, come straight from the oldest and most reliable resource book known to mankind—the Bible. The relationships and trust developed between staff and student, based on Biblical truths, result in successful problem solving at camp, which transfers to successful problem solving in other environments. Our program takes kids out of their normal comfort zone by requiring them to help build their own living quarters in the woods. With no electricity, and the help of counselors and peers, every child succeeds while learning methods of coping skills and communal cooperation necessary for even the most basic daily needs. These skills are designed to be transferred into their societal roles, as rights and privileges are taught to be exercised only to the degree that responsibilities and obligations are fulfilled.
Facilities
The main campus at Shepherd’s Hill Farm is a continuous cycle of restoration, renovation, and building. The main campus is where the school house is located. There is an exercise facility and weight room, along with a newly-constructed shower house. There is a workshop for wood and metal working, along with welding, metal fabrication, and mechanical work. Kids can also learn auto body repair, and even involve themselves with the Shepherd’s Hill Farm race car in Mission Motor-sports. There is a pavilion for special events, a full-court basketball facility, and a new game room and sanctuary under construction. The riding arena is available for those interested in learning to work with our horses. Our barn serves as a great place to care for the horses, play games, and just hang out. Our business offices are located at the main campus, along with our “Next Step” houses, the Embry family home and staff housing.
Academics
Our Georgia state-certified junior and senior high school educators serve and educate our kids in our on-campus school house each day in compliance with Georgia state law. Since there is no education without a disciplined environment, respect for authority is transferred into the classroom. This comes from the truth, love, time, communication, and consistent training given to each student in the program. Shepherd’s Hill Academy is a fully-accredited junior and senior high school by the Georgia Accrediting Commission. Courses offered are based on requirements of the state of Georgia’s Quality Core Curriculum.
Follow-up Program
The “Next Step” program is our program designed for those kids who wish to make an easier transition back into the real world after a full year in the woods. After a one-year stint in the outdoor therapeutic program, kids are eligible to transition into our “Next Step” program, which finds them living back in a real house with a Shepherd’s Hill Farm house parent. Kids return to the use of modern conveniences such as television, CD players, video games, etc, in attempt to adjust them back into the real world with a more self-disciplined approach to life.
Tuition
The annual cost of the program is $58,900, and includes 24/7 supervised care, tuition, meals, room and board. Any medical expenses, insurance costs, prescriptions, and psychotherapy are not included. Unfortunately, at the current time scholarships funds are unavailable to the first-year student; however, we do accept Sallie Mae educational loans. Please visit slmfinancial.com for more information. Our school code is 606160.
