Meridian Academy is a fully accredited Special Education School designed to meet the needs of students classified as emotionally disturbed and those with learning disabilities who have not achieved success in a conventional educational setting. Our dedicated staff has developed a student directed program that assesses the individual strengths, talents, and interests of our students and supports their ideas in a way that enables them to succeed. Our certified counselors, working together with students, family, and teachers provide students with intensive reinforcement to assist them through daily and long-term difficulties. In addition to a full academic program, students participate in Art, Physical Education, and Health.

What makes our setting different and successful is the unique, integrated, behavior-based program that has been collaboratively developed by the entire school population. Our philosophy is that the school setting should mirror the real world of work as much as possible, and success is reached through hard work, a shared vision, and the collaboration of students and staff.

Our newly formed student council has been extremely successful in assisting Meridian staff with new student incentives. Our four-member Council (one representative from each class) recently orchestrated a school-wide Halloween Party, and they are currently making preparations for a Thanksgiving Feast. The Council also offers suggestions on how to handle daily problems and implement school policies. They have taken their responsibilities quite seriously and have made a wonderful contribution to the Meridian Program.

Appropriate socialization and character education is promoted and instructed in isolation and in conjunction with other courses of study. Among the topics reinforced include: positive coping strategies, coping mechanisms, and alternative anti-bullying practices, consequential thinking, respect, gratitude and appreciation, problem solving techniques and anger management strategies. The Meridian Academy provides a socialization center to further enhance the ongoing attainment of these skills. The focus of this training is to permit students to carry over these acquired positive, interpersonal skills to everyday living and interactions.

Meridian is proud to announce the addition of “Adventure Ed” to our program. Our goal is to foster skill development and team building. This adventure-based program was developed and is facilitated by Joe Chiarello, an experienced athlete and Program Director. Mr. Chiarello challenges teams of students to reach their potential and explore alternatives to problem solving, while building confidence, enhancing social skills, and improving listening skills in an adventurous setting.

Students study background information about the adventures and then experience them firsthand. For example, before students kayak, they learn about the equipment they will need, safety and first aid procedures, tide and environmental issues, and mapping all before they get into the water. This unique hands-on approach has proven successful with our students, and provides them with valuable life experiences in a safe and exciting setting.