The trophy case isn’t exactly filled to capacity. But Tara Huber, Discovery Academy’s program director says that’s not the name of the game.
“Sports is a great thing to replace drugs and other behaviors,” she says. “It’s a good outlet for tempers and a great stress reliever. It helps them with leadership.”
That’s why Huber makes sure every eligible Discovery student that wants to participate gets a chance to play on the school’s sports teams.
This summer DA fielded two softball teams, one for boys and another for the girls. The games are sponsored by Provo City’s recreation department.
The city has youth leagues for basketball but there’s not enough community interest in youth softball. That leaves only the more “seasoned” players to suit up against DA. Students aren’t fazed by the fact they have to play adults.
It may not be pretty, but Huber says it’s definitely a lot of fun. Off-duty staffers volunteer to play with the Academy kids. Others like to come and watch.
“The kids love being out in the community. “They get so excited when staff or therapists come to watch them play.”
She’s often in the stands with her three-year-old and pizza for the team. “It makes them feel like they would if they were playing at home,” she says.
The only eligibility requirements are that students must be a Level 1+ in order to go off campus to play. They must also be doing well in school. Huber says that’s because the city usually schedules games during DA school hours.
With softball season behind them, practice is underway for the boys flag football team and a girls volleyball team.
“It’s a real rapport builder with the staff,” Huber says. She says with 24/7 therapy at the Academy, students and staff both enjoy an opportunity just to have fun together. “No trophies,” she admits, “but they laugh and keep a good attitude.”
Discovery Academy is proud of the men and women who work with our students as therapists, educators, and front-line staff. Each newsletter brings you a more personal look at some of the professionals who make Discovery Academy such a rewarding experience. We hope you'll enjoy getting to know them better.
Dorothy Ah Quin, Therapist, M. Ed., LPC
“I can’t actually remember when I started working here!” laughs Dorothy Ah Quin. She admits she gauges her time by the ages of her children who all grew up – in part – during her 16 years at DA.
Dorothy began her career with DA as a teacher and over the years has transitioned to counseling. She also serves as the liaison between the Academy’s educational staff and the therapy team.
“I love working with the students here,” she says. “I feel I have a responsibility to the parents and especially to the child. It’s my job to help them reach a resolution that will help the family be in balance and healthy again.”
In her spare time she loves spending time with her husband and four grown children. “We’re a Polynesian family. We like to just hang out, talk and eat,” she says.
She also enjoys camping, reading and sewing. “One of my goals is to learn to quilt,” Dorothy says. In the meantime, she’s helping DA students piece together their lives. “We work with the students until they figure out who they are, identify their value systems, and take control in a healthy way.”
Greg Beveridge, Teacher, BS, MA Mathematics
“They’re in an environment where they have to try. You just start at the very beginning and break it down for them.”
That’s how Greg Beveridge, Discovery Academy math teacher, helps his students develop an attitude of success when it comes to mathematics.
Greg’s been teaching in Utah County secondary schools for more than 21 years. His high school teaching assignments have included everything from general math to Advanced Placement calculus. He’s also an adjunct professor at Utah Valley Community College.
And if that weren’t enough to keep him busy, Greg says he’s found a new love in the Utah County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue team. “We do a lot of mountain rescues,” he notes.
He still remembers the time he spent an entire night helping a badly injured rock climber make it to the spot where a medical helicopter could reach him. “He was broken up pretty badly,” Greg recalls.
Not unlike some of the students he has helped over the last 14 years at Discovery Academy. While his students may not have physical injuries, Greg says many of them lack confidence when it comes to academics.
Beveridge says small class settings give him a great opportunity to really get to know his students. “I think one of the most rewarding things is gaining their trust and confidence,” he says. “I’m helping them with their problems by helping them be successful at school.”
When he’s not teaching math or doing mountain rescues, Greg says he loves taking his DA students fly fishing. Watch for highlights of their trip in our next edition!
Welcome to “In the Loop”, – the quarterly newsletter for Discovery Academy. We’re pleased to offer news and information to enhance your family’s DA experience. In the coming months you’ll see updates on programs, information about our staff, relationship helps and parenting tips from respected authors and speakers. We welcome your contributions as well. Please give us your feedback at editor@discoveryacademy.com
It’s graduation day. You and your student have been waiting and working for this moment for months. But what happens now? Did Discovery Academy really work?
In the first of a two part series, Discovery Academy therapist Joshua Turner, CSW, explains how DA staffers and parents work together to make the transition successful.
“Most parents are thinking, we put all this time and energy into our child. Is it going to take?” Turner notes. But a student’s plan for success after therapy actually begins the day he or she enrolls.
Begin at the End
“We start discharge planning the very first day the student is here,” Turner explains. “When a student first enrolls we try to find out what parent’s and student’s goals are,” Turner says. “We start building our sessions and services around those goals.”
For example, mending or building sibling relationships won’t figure as prominently for a student who is headed to college after DA as it might with a student who is going home.
Turner says not only does the therapy stay focused but it allows families to prepare as well. “Often times we’re asking families to make a huge change. It takes a while to get used to that change. This way they have six to eight months to get ready for their child to come home and get used to the house becoming a different environment.”
Structural Needs
Parents and therapists work to determine what kind of structure needs to be in place to create an environment for success. “Depending on what the student struggled with before DA, I ask parents to go through their home and look for areas that may be a problem.”
“If the student will be up in the bedroom playing computer games until all hours of the morning, move the machine to where you can monitor it,” he says.
A stocked bar that’s easy to access is going to be a problem for a student who struggles with an alcohol addiction.
After parents have identified potential trouble spots, Turner takes it a step further. “I challenge parents to remove the objects.”
His reasoning is simple. “You really are trying to build an environment where your student can be successful.”
Create Expectations
Turner says parents should be very specific about what they expect from their student once the child returns home. “They should talk to the therapist about what they’d like to see and talk to their child about exactly what they expect. That sets the tone even before the child gets home.”
Those expectations can be communicated during therapy sessions, in letters or whatever form parents are most comfortable with. The important thing, Turner says, is to make sure you’re clear on what you want.
“Being vague causes problems,” he says. “Be as specific as possible because that leaves no room for interpretation.”
Turner says most students are initially very angry as their parents lay down the new laws for home. “At the beginning of the program they’re angry with mom and dad for sending them here. At that point, it’s kind of like fanning the fire,” he explains. “Your student might say, ‘Then I don’t want to come home.’ After time and processing, the student realizes the new rules sound a lot like here, but it’s still home and he still wants to get back.”
Next quarter: The tools parents can use to prepare for a successful reunion.
Across America thousands of students are headed off to college this fall. Discovery Academy graduate Patrick Schmidt is one of them.
Patrick finished his D.A. experience this spring and is headed for Western Kentucky University where he plans to study business or sports management.
Patrick says Discovery Academy counselors were working on his graduation plans from the moment he enrolled. His goal was to finish high school in Utah and make it back to enroll in college in the fall. “It made it easier because I knew what I wanted to do,” Patrick says. “I had a goal.”
His mother, Melody, says she’s happy to see her son’s dream become a reality. “Throughout all of his journey this has been the goal, no matter how off the path he got. I’m so glad he’s going to see that goal materialize.”
Patrick says he’s ready to tackle college life. He took a U.S. history course at Brigham Young University while enrolled at D.A. He says his study skills have improved and so has his ability to pick good friends.
His father, Mac, says, “You always have to have dreams and plans for the future. Now he’s taken the next step in those plans. That’s a powerful feeling.”
by Linda Kavelin-Popov
The Maori of New Zealand have an expression: “I see you.” The first time I heard it, a Maori elder was looking deep into my eyes. That gaze felt life-changing. I felt that she was seeing my soul and knew me as a good person.
I remember longing for that personal recognition from my mother, even when I wore an adolescent scowl and snarled at everything she said. Underneath, I wanted to be known as a good girl, a worthy person.
Each one of us has far more personal power to see and bring out the best in others than we realize. It takes a discerning eye, and a willingness to look for virtues, even in the most troubled and aggressive child. The tools we need are vision, language, boundaries, and love.
1. Hold a Vision of their Best Possibilities
Notice what children are good at and see it as an asset that can be used in a positive way. An aggressive child is a potential leader. A rebellious person has a spirit of independence and often can be creative and original. If a child is failing to be responsible, hold fast to the knowledge that he or she can be, and call them to it. “I know you can be responsible. When I come back in fifteen minutes, I trust you to have this done.” If you know they are lying, tell them, “I know you are truthful most of the time. Please tell the truth now.” Look for any glimmer of goodness and name it. It gives them hope and incentive to keep trying.
2. Speak the Language of Virtues
Language is one of the most powerful ways to shape character and to give children a sense of who they are. Identity forms around the words we hear about ourselves and the way we are treated, as well as the unique characteristics and circumstances of our lives. It is easy to call a child a name that can put them in a box forever. Words like lazy, stupid, mean, or curse words are a script for behavior.
We can change the script by banishing negative words and replacing them with qualities of character, which tell someone that we expect the best from them. There are four ways to use this language: First, to acknowledge: “I see your courage.” Second to prepare: “You’ll need your courage for this.” Third for correction: “You need to use your patience. What will help you right now?” Fourth, to thank: “Thank you for your patience. You really called on your self-discipline.”
3. Set Clear Boundaries based on Restorative Justice
Be a strong, assertive leader. Create boundaries that you communicate clearly, and enforce them consistently, every single time. Word them positively and use one or more virtues to describe them. “We use only respectful language in this program.” “In our house we speak, act and treat each other with respect at all times.” Post the boundaries on a poster. Model the virtues and boundaries you expect of children. Just as you expect children to make amends and not excuses, when you make a mistake, clean it up and make amends. Have consequences that are educative, not punitive. If a child calls a sibling a name, have them replace it with three virtues acknowledgments. If you have a boundary that everyone does chores, when they fail to be reliable, they get more chores. When they are late for curfew, they lose freedom or hours the next time they want to go out. This living example of justice removes constant power struggles. It makes children feel safe.
4. Show Your Love
Everyone, no matter what behavior they are showing on the outside, longs to be loved. Find something you like or respect about each child, and speak it out loud. And when you feel love, show it in the way you smile, the way you look at them, and the words you speak to them. Love, above all, can do wonders.
Children need people in their lives who hold a positive vision of what is possible for them. Be a vision keeper. Your positive thoughts, words, and feelings are the best investment in their future.
Linda Kavelin Popov is author of The Family Virtues Guide and The Virtues Project Educator’s Guide, co-founder of The Virtues Project ™ , and an international speaker on personal and global transformation. www.virtuesproject.com. See www.paceofgrace.net for a list of virtues definitions.
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