Most parents don’t worry about grades when their son is in crisis. They worry about whether he will get through the day without imploding, isolating, or slipping further away. And yet, somewhere in the background, another concern hums quietly but persistently: What happens to his education if we choose treatment? At Align Adolescent Recovery, that question isn’t brushed aside or postponed. It’s built directly into the program, because learning how to function in the world again includes learning how to show up in a classroom, even when life feels hard.
At Align Adolescent Recovery, academics are not paused while therapy takes over. They are deliberately woven into treatment through San Pedro Valley Academy, Align’s on-site, fully accredited private school. The goal is not to force struggling teens back into a traditional classroom mold, but to rebuild their relationship with learning in a way that actually works.
One of the most common questions parents ask is whether San Pedro Valley Academy is a “real school.” The answer is yes, unequivocally.
“We’re accredited through Cognia, which is an international accreditation,” Academic Director Kala Phelps, M.Ed., explains. “We have to go through the accreditation process every few years, which is super in depth, more than any public school.”
That accreditation matters. It means credits transfer. It means transcripts stand on their own. It also means Align can operate the school separately from the treatment program so students are not labeled or stigmatized when they move on.
San Pedro Valley Academy offers honors and AP coursework alongside modified instruction for students with learning differences. The school is small by design, with highly qualified teachers, including special education support, so no student disappears into the cracks.
Most boys who arrive at Align do not come with a clean academic slate. Many have missed months or years of school. Some have been passed through without learning foundational skills. Others carry deep school trauma tied to ADHD, learning disabilities, or constant discipline.
Throwing them into a full academic load on day one would be overwhelming. Kala is blunt about that reality. “To throw them into school would just be crazy, like overwhelming, because they’re landing in some places completely different.”
Instead, academics are phased in alongside therapy. School runs Monday through Friday, but students move in and out depending on their clinical needs. The curriculum is condensed and focused on mastery, not busywork. The emphasis is on teaching boys how to be students again.
At Align, academic success is defined differently than most parents expect. It is not about straight A’s or perfect transcripts.
As Kala puts it, “Academic success is learning that they can do hard things and show perseverance… It’s not measured by an A, B, or C.”
Many students arrive believing they are “bad at school.” Years of frustration and failure have already taken a toll. Teachers at San Pedro Valley Academy work one-on-one to close gaps, reteach fundamentals, and help students experience small, consistent wins.
Sometimes that means celebrating the completion of a class with something as simple as a gold star. It may sound elementary, but for boys who have had very little to celebrate academically, those moments matter.
What really separates Align’s model from traditional schools is how closely academics and therapy work together. Kala meets weekly with therapists, and teachers meet regularly with clinical staff to share observations and coordinate support.
“If they’re diving deep into something in therapy, it’s going to show up behaviorally in school,” she says. “So there has to be that connection.”
That collaboration prevents school from becoming another place where students feel punished for struggling. Instead, it becomes a supportive environment where emotional work and academic progress reinforce each other.
In addition to coursework, San Pedro Valley Academy focuses heavily on executive functioning skills. Students learn how to follow a schedule, ask for help, take notes, and break down assignments step by step. For boys with ADHD or learning differences, these skills are often more valuable than content alone.
Kala emphasizes that students are not just learning algebra or English. They are learning how to learn. “We’re teaching them how to take a math test. We sit with them and talk through what the questions are asking,” she explains.
This approach helps students leave Align better equipped for whatever comes next, whether that is returning to school, transitioning to independent living, or exploring vocational paths.
Parents are deeply involved in their son’s academic journey, but not through constant grade notifications. Instead of traditional report cards, Kala meets with parents every month or so to review progress, challenges, and goals.
“I am getting more information about my kid than I’ve ever had in their whole academic career,” parents often tell her.
Over time, students are invited into those meetings, learning to advocate for themselves and take ownership of their progress.
The recovery high school model works because it respects reality. These boys are doing hard emotional work every day. School cannot be separate from that. It has to adapt, support, and grow alongside them.
At Align, therapy meets the classroom not as competing priorities, but as partners. And for parents watching their son rebuild confidence, consistency, and hope, that integration can make all the difference.