High School Targets Students Overcoming Addiction

WILDWOOD – On March 1, Coastal Preparatory High School, a recovery postsecondary school, is scheduled to open its doors in Cape May County. A growing crisis of teenage addiction disrupting the normal pursuit of a high school diploma has led to the growth of recovery high schools in 11 states with others in the planning stages.
Recovery schools have a special mission. They are designed specifically for teens who have already made a commitment to recovery from substance abuse disorders and who desire to earn a high school diploma.
Coastal Preparatory represents a partnership between Cape Assist, a county non-profit dedicated to preventing and treating substance abuse issues, and the Middle Township School District, which has already added Coastal Preparatory to its current list of two elementary schools, one middle school and one of the county’s public high schools.
Coordinating the effort for the two organizations are Dr. Toni Lehman, director of Curriculum and Instruction for Middle Township School District, and Katie Faldetta, executive director and chief executive officer for Cape Assist.
The establishment of the school is supported by a $500,000 state grant. 
The Problem
National statistics show that an estimated 1.3 million 12- to 17-year-olds have some form of substance abuse disorder. For those who seek recovery through rehabilitation programs, the grim reality is an up to 70 percent relapse rate when the teen reenters high school. The special support environment of a recovery high school aims to reverse that trend.
According to the Association of Recovery Schools, schools can vary by state depending on the availability of local resources and the nature of state education standards and funding. Yet, all such institutions seem to share basic traits.
First, the school is there to educate students who are in recovery from substance abuse disorders. Next, the school is committed to meeting the state requirements for a secondary school diploma. Lastly, the recovery school seeks to offer a safe and strongly supportive environment to aid the student in the continuing recovery process.
Recovery high schools are not new – the first date to the 1980s. Faith in the schools and their programs grew slowly, especially in light of the higher costs involved. By 2001, only a handful of such schools were registered in the country.
The arrival of the opioid epidemic pushed a search for options to deal with the large numbers of teens unable to cope with traditional school environments while struggling with recovery from substance abuse. The number of recovery high schools grew. Today, the website of the Association of Recovery Schools lists 40 schools in 15 states. Political leanings aside, the states of California and Texas each have eight recovery schools listed.
Coastal Preparatory High School will be New Jersey’s third recovery high school, the other two being in Union and Monmouth counties. 
Coastal Preparatory
Coastal Preparatory sees its mission as “empowering recovery adolescents.” With a program designed for “students in recovery from substance abuse disorders,” the school requires that the student come from an appropriate recovery program environment. The recovery phase comes before enrollment.
Students must be enrolled in a state high school district. For those for whom that status is a problem, Coastal Preparatory helps establish that enrollment.
Parents or guardians must consent to the program and be active participants in it.
Most importantly, students applying to the program need to be “committed to taking part in all aspects of the program.”
Coastal Preparatory is available to students in eight South Jersey counties, including Cape May, Atlantic, Cumberland, Salem, Ocean, Gloucester, Camden, and Burlington. Each of the three recovery high schools in the state has a multi-county coverage area, meaning some students may have a long daily commute in order to participate.
The program is not residential. Students live at home and transportation is provided to the school daily with school hours from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The state may open a fourth school in the western part of the state, reducing the coverage area for Coastal Preparatory. 
Funding for the program is through the state grant. There is no cost to the student’s home school district. Future state funding is not guaranteed but Lehman pointed to continued funding of the previously established recovery schools as a hopeful sign.
The school expects to have three to five students when it begins operation.  Enrollment at the two already established schools in northern New Jersey is in the seven to 12 range, according to Lehman. The school will be situated at the Cape Assist location in Wildwood.
The program will combine recovery and academics in a non-judgmental environment free of the many triggers that often lead to relapse into continued substance abuse.
How long a student is in a recovery school can vary substantially. According to Lehman, some may reach the point where they can safely return to their home school district relatively quickly and others may want the additional support of the recovery school for a longer period. Students will also come into the program at various stages in their high school progression.
To support the academic program, a teacher will be on-site to work with students. Students will have access to New Jersey Virtual School classes which provide an accredited online environment for instruction. Staff members work directly with each student’s home district. It is the home district that eventually awards the diploma. 
Two of the expected four staff members at the school will be credentialed and certified for certain subjects offering face-to-face classes to augment the online academic experience.
The program blends academics with ongoing recovery support with an on-site recovery coach and daily sessions focused on the recovery effort. 
Do Recovery Schools Work?
The sample size of recovery high schools has only recently arrived at a point where one can study the effectiveness of the programs long-term. 
Academic studies are positive, citing the much lower relapse rates. The Surgeon General’s Report on Alcohol, Drugs and Health speaks positively about the impact of these schools, as does the National Institute of Drug Abuse.
One study by Recovery.org argues for the effectiveness of recovery high schools by citing a relapse rate of 30 percent for students who attend the program vs. 70 percent for those who do not.
The trade magazine “Social Work Today” notes that recovery schools offer students a “peer group quite different from what may be found at their original school.”
Challenges abound. They are met with the commitment and resources of an educational environment that supports the recovery effort.
Those interested in knowing more about Coastal Preparatory can call 609-522-5960 or go to the school’s website at https://coastalprephighschool.com
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.