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New Directions

New Directions School is a non-public school serving students in grades 5th – 12th who have social/emotional issues and have had difficulty in school due to experiencing trauma, and who need the support of a small school environment with intensive counseling support. Students are referred by their public school district through the IEP process, with the goal of eventually returning to the less restrictive public school setting. New Directions has a long history of successful counseling and academic services helping students return to mainstream school as quickly as possible. New Directions School works together with students, families, school districts and other support providers to put into action the factors to support healthy students: Social and Emotional Competence, Social Connection, and Parental Resilience.

Academic Mission

New Directions is fully certified as a non-public school by the California Department of Education, and contracts with the Sonoma County Office of Education and each public school district in Sonoma County. We follow the same rigorous core academic curriculum standards as public schools, but also offer extensive supplementary curriculum and instructional to support each student’s individual academic needs. Our classrooms typically have 12 students, with a full time credentialed Education Specialist teacher and two full time teaching assistants in each class. This allows considerable focus on student’s individual learning needs. New Directions works with each student’s school district of residence to ensure that academic coursework matches that of the home school district so re-integration to the public school can be as seamless as possible.New Directions also offers all students regular Vocational Education with an emphasis on preparing students for life beyond high school, both with their further education plans and in the world of work.

Therapeutic Mission

All students at New Directions receive a minimum of 60 minutes individual counseling and 60 minutes group counseling weekly. Additional individual counseling, and family/parent counseling, are available through the school district IEP team determination. New Directions has a highly respected, well known Art Therapy program, including Trauma-Focused Art Therapy. Counselors are also skilled in many other research based therapeutic offerings in order to best meet the needs of each student. These include Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Object Relations Psychotherapy, and Solution-focused Therapy.

Community Partners

  • redwood empire
    redwood empire