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North Carolina Academic Discovery:
Academic Discovery is designed for the student who wants the excitement
of SOAR's adventure challenge program and needs the skills which allow greater
success in the academic classroom. Each week, the students participate in
3 and 1/2 days of academics and related activities in a residential setting,
then move into 3 and 1/2 days of adventure programming. This cycle continues
for the entire month of the course. The academic program includes individualized
remediation, tutorials in language arts or mathematics, a survey of specific
study skills and compensatory strategies, and a learning styles inventory
which will examine strength areas and opportunities for development.
The adventure experiences include: Adventure challenge initiatives which allow the groups to develop into teams; rock climbing on beginner to moderate routes in Pisgah National Forest; backpacking in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park or Pisgah National Forest; whitewater rafting the Nantahala or Ocoee rivers; caving in Whorley's Cave, jet skiing on nearby lakes; and a combination of all of these at Gee Creek State Park, on the scenic Hiwassee river in Tennessee.
Quick Facts:
Dates:
Session I: 6/10 - 7/5
Session II: 7/10 - 8/4
Days: 26
Tuition:$4,400
Ages:11 - 18
Bring a Friend and Earn $100 SOAR Credit.
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SUPPORT SOAR
Philosophy: SOAR believes all individuals identified with learning disabilities (LD) and attention deficit disorder (AD/HD) possess inherent talents and gifts. These abilities can mean incredible success in adulthood once these students negotiate the challenging obstacles of childhood, adolescence, and a traditional education system, usually unable to respond to individual learning styles.
Therefore, the SOAR model is based on two fundamental principles. First, youth with LD and AD/HD flourish when they are encouraged to focus on their strengths in an experiential setting. The second principle acknowledges that success can be generalized by encouraging our students to develop and utilize strategies, enabling them to compensate for those challenging characteristics of LD and AD/HD. To this end, SOAR staff strive to ensure success for each student across a wide range of experiences. Such success, in turn, builds essential self-esteem and self-confidence.
Based on these two foundations, SOAR participants develop problem solving skills, effective communication strategies, increased self-awareness, and social skills. Program activities include a broad base of wilderness adventure experiences that empower students to make healthy choices, learn more about themselves, overcome challenges, and establish relevance from these experiences to other aspects of their life.
SOAR's Specialty Courses are open to SOAR alumni and students with the maturity and experience level to be successful on the course. Acceptance is conditional on the approval of the course director. Most specialty courses are led by one of SOAR's year-round staff including Richard Peters, John Willson and Joe Geier.
SOAR’s programs are designed to allow students the opportunity to increase their independence while away from home. Independence is gained through self-motivation and life skills instruction. With this in mind, we involve our students in many decision making processes, such as setting individual goals, developing group guidelines, as well as trip and meal planning. This also comes into consideration when developing SOAR’s communication policy, detailed in our Parent Handbook.
SOAR is dedicated to serving the needs of individuals with learning disabilities (LD) and attention deficit disorder (AD/HD) and is proud to be the finest: