From the monthly archives:

July 2009

Walking the Walk

by Stepping on July 27, 2009

in Uncategorized

Crowds at the start of the L A Marathon 03.04.2007
Image by bossco via Flickr

One of the challenges we face as a leadership team is to resist the ever present option of seeking easy answers to complex problems.  This is especially true in instances where we run up against criticism or outright defamation.

The open-mindedness that a program of recovery espouses makes it important to sift through each separate situation without being hasty to attach a label or to prejudge.  While we recognize that no organization can control the discussions that take place concerning it, it none the less remains important to partake in those discussions where and when they are approached with a level of mutual respect, even when recognizing the disagreements.

Often when working with our students that are facing a difficult stretch, we advise some of the slogans: “keep it simple” and “do the next right thing.”  It’s not a surprise that following our own directives is having a positive effect.

As always, the leadership team of the Family Foundation School is open to meet with past alumni or individuals who would like to discuss any issues they may have with their experiences while attending the school.

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Ripples

by Stepping on July 21, 2009

in Uncategorized

(Fig.2) Iron dust spread on a water surface in...
Image via Wikipedia

Some more interesting content has emerged across the Stepping Stone Partner Blogs:

Mike Argiros reported on a fire in Hancock New York.

In the Living Skills category at the Family Foundation School blog, a post on brain science and healthy mindedness.

An engaging story about learning to work with a dog at Eagle Valley Dogs.

…and on the lighter side, the joys of picking wild blueberries in the Catskills.

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Study links teen drinking and behavioral problems

July 19, 2009

Image by penguincakes via Flickr

Shrink Wrap blog shares an interesting post concerning a study that links teen drinking to behavioral problems.
“Forty-three per cent of students who reported behavioral or other problems also reported having been drunk more than 10 times in their lives, while only 27 per cent of students who reported few or no [...]

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Study explores teen depression and television

July 17, 2009

Image by YlvaS via Flickr

An recent article on US News and World Report explores an interesting study concerning teen depression and television usage:
“So, Brian Primack, a pediatrician at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine who studies how teenagers’ use of media affects their health, analyzed survey data that followed 4,142 teenagers from 1995 to [...]

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Eagle Valley Dogs in the press

July 15, 2009

Eagle Valley Search Dogs was featured in the Times Herald Record for its work searching for the area around Stewart Airport for the missing body of Laura Garza.  The case has received national attention since Garza went missing this past winter.
Eagle Valley is a K-9 Search and Recue Team whose members are based in the [...]

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Ripples

July 14, 2009

Image by Akira ASKR via Flickr

An array of interesting content continues to emerge across the Stepping Stone Partner blogs.  You are encouraged to click through to explore and participate in the conversations.
Mike Argiros shares his discovery of interesting references from Carl Jung and Vincent Norman Peale concerning the 12  Steps.
Brain Science and healthy mindedness are [...]

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Therapeutic Boarding Schools and Selection

July 11, 2009

Therapeutic boarding schools are but one of the many options for providing services to struggling teens.   There are community services, residential treatment centers, wilderness programs, and a variety of hybrids.  Discerning which placement would best suit the needs of a student can be a difficult and wearisome task.
At the Family Foundation School, we realize that [...]

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Meeting challenges new and old

July 10, 2009

Image by suchitra prints(Away for a few days) via Flickr

There are many pressures on organizations like ours that focus on serving struggling teens.  Cultivating a therapeutic milieu takes constant attention.  Attempting to close the academic gap for students like ours who often often arrive at therapeutic boarding schools behind in their studies demands a team [...]

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Struggling Teens and a Compass for Living

July 9, 2009

Image via Wikipedia

Spiritual progress, not spiritual perfection, is a fundamental goal of recovery.  Progress needs a goal for its movement.  To that end, the four absolutes as developed by the Oxford Group, honesty, purity, unselfishness and love, provide a guide for struggling teens seeking to grow along spiritual lines.
These principles, which align with the spiritual [...]

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Renewal of School Spirit

July 8, 2009

Over the last two days we have renamed the family units at the Family Foundation School, a therapeutic boarding school in Hancock, NY.  Each residential unit now has a house name derived from a hero of recovery.  The change was ushered in with group competitions that encouraged participation and enthusiasm.
What was fascinating from the [...]

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