Academic Philosophy


Normalized

We want your teen to have a true high school experience.

This means talent shows, field trips, proms, dances, & spirit days. It means small classes and individualized attention, as well as modern technology in our classrooms.

Devoted

Our students at Journey Academy are bright individuals, and we believe it’s important to take the time to get to know them and understand who they are.

We create a calm and structured environment that is safe, accepting, and personal.

Connective

Our goal is to help our students expand their capacities to cope in the real world, to grow academically, and to find confidence in their unique expression of who they are.

We help your teen form connections to self, classmates and staff, and the larger community to holistically support them to be healthy and successful individuals in this complex world.

Accountable

Our goal is to help our students expand their capacities to cope in the real world, to grow academically, and to find confidence in their unique expression of who they are.

We help your teen form connections to self, classmates and staff, and the larger community to holistically support them to be healthy and successful individuals in this complex world.

Communicative

We believe conflict is a natural part of human experience. We use NVC conflict resolution and restorative justice circles to help our students navigate conflict and become more skilled at communication to create positive change.

We help your teen form connections to self, others, and the larger community as a path to being a healthy person in this complex world.

College Preparedness

We are a CDE certificated and WASC accredited nonpublic school, serving 9th-12th grade students with IEP diagnosis of Emotional Disturbance, Other Health Impairment, Specific Learning Disability and/or Autism Spectrum Disorder. We teach to the California state standards, and our instructors are special education credentialed with various areas of expertise.

Our classes have no more than 12 students, allowing for individualized instruction and highly-personalized interactions. Classes are staffed by an Education Specialist as well as an Instructional Aide so that each student’s IEP goals, accommodations and/or modifications can be implemented consistently across all classroom settings.

Each of our students has access to a Chromebook and each classroom has a Smart Board to maximize the ability for teachers to utilize interactive technology in their instruction.

All of our teachers, clinicians, and support staff are highly trained in trauma-informed practices as well as Crisis Prevention Intervention strategies so that they may help students identify emotional triggers, redirect away from and replace disruptive patterns, and explore what’s going on for them underneath their behaviors. Each classroom contains a box of coping tools that students are encouraged to use as needed and Instructional Aides track behaviors to celebrate and behaviors needing support on a daily basis to help students, families, and placing districts recognize when behavioral benchmarks have been achieved.

As members of our learning community, we expect our students to:

  • Use respectful language and actions toward others
  • Problem-solve and seek feedback
  • Be on-time and actively participate
  • Follow teacher and staff directions
  • Use appropriate support strategies to manage disruptive behaviors
  • Adhere to technology protocols

SMAA – Alternative Format Plan Journey Academy 2023