New Hope Academy - Stretching minds as well as bodies
February 04 2008 @ 04:42 PM
By RACHEL CANELLI
February 1, 2008
When their eighth-grade son, Daniel, was failing almost every subject several years ago, Mary Jane and Glenn Tecker said they started to lose hope.
After public and private schools and home-schooling didn't help, the New Jersey residents thought they ran out of options.
But then a non-traditional private school in Lower Makefield gave the Teckers new hope.
Founded in 2000 and with a 2-1 teacher/student ratio, New Hope Academy's philosophy is to look at the head and heart of a child before the brain, said owner and president Kathleen Rosso-Gana.
For 18-year-old Daniel, who will graduate this year, that meant overcoming what his father called a "disaster" of two years in middle school. Now, Daniel is New Hope's chess team captain and newspaper editor. He's also taking classes at Bucks County Community College.
"He's had a significant turn-around," said Glenn Tecker, who is a strategy consultant in Yardley. "The richness of New Hope is that the curriculum content, instructional strategy and difficulty level is individual for each student."
Daniel's brothers, 15-year-old Nicholas and 12-year-old Ethan, also attend the school. Since all of the young men have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and Nicholas also has dyslexia, Glenn Tecker said the individual attention is worth paying the tuition of more than $30,000.
The biggest class size is five pupils and 90 percent of New Hope's 35 graduates each year move on to higher education, Rosso-Gana said.
Tucked into an office complex, the nonprofit school, which also accepts another 50 students at its Doylestown campus, serves more than 90 sixth-through 12th-graders, including alternative placements.
"It's a cross between a home, school and an office," said Rosso-Gana, a former Neshaminy teacher and educational radio speaker. "We establish relationships to accommodate their academic needs and provide high emotional support."
New Hope Academy is run through the Yardley-based Motivational Educational Training Company Inc., a tutoring studio, officials said.
More than half of the students are sent through their local school districts, including Bensalem, Council Rock, Pennsbury, Neshaminy and Bristol Township, among others, administrators said.
"We don't take every student," said English teacher Brian Wagner. "Just those that we think we can help and that will thrive in this environment."
That atmosphere includes a family room where the teachers and young adults eat together and celebrate birthdays.
Besides providing the required standard curriculum, the kids can enjoy electives like music, art, yoga, chess and even a massage area to ease the tension.
Educators like Monica Welsh and Bela Kis, who teach yoga and chess, said those activities help the children plan ahead, thwart anxiety and focus to make decisions.
With a majority of its students dealing with learning, behavioral and anxiety disorders, the school also provides full-time counseling, Rosso-Gana said.
Despite non-traditional aspects, like mandatory monthly meetings with parents, New Hope still keeps a hint of tradition with proms and drama productions.
Parents and their children said a personal relationship with the faculty helps the students no longer feel anonymous, but instead become more active.
"Before, I felt like my teachers just didn't pay attention or understand," said 16-year-old Allison Rickert. "Here, they care. It's smaller and homey. No one judges you."
Allison added that attitude has renewed her hope that she can learn.
Rachel Canelli can be reached at 215-949-4191 or rcanelli@phillyburbs.com.
NHA is Different
New Hope Academy promotes Education through Inspiration & Motivation.
Benefits to School Districts
Communication and Follow-up: Our instructors provide continual updates to all contact persons.
Benefits to Parents
We regularly contact parents to update them on interactive behavior, tests, cooperation, & respect for authority.
Our Two Locations
NHA operates at two locations, but as one school. There is a location in Yardley, PA and Doylestown, PA.
