State’s first recovery high school opens

PROVIDENCE – Anchor Learning Academy, Rhode Island’s first recovery high school, opened its doors on Aug. 28 as part of the new school year. The new high school is a two-year pilot program approved by the R.I. Board of Regents for Elementary and Secondary Education in March, supported in part through a grant from The Rhode Island Foundation.
Anchor Learning Academy offers an innovative approach to help students who have completed substance abuse treatment keep up with their peers academically while focusing on their recovery, according to Providence Center officials, who are managing the recovery high school.
“Rhode Island has the highest rate of illicit drug use in the nation for 12-to-17 year olds,” said Dale K. Klatzker, president and CEO of The Providence Center. “Studies have demonstrated that virtually every student who completes treatment and return to their schools is offered drugs on their first day back.”
The Anchor Learning Academy, Klatzker continued, offers a means for these students to achieve their potential both academically and as a person in recovery. “A recovery high school in Rhode Island can be a solution for these students and their families”
The school will balance providing tools for students to maintain their recovery, including recovery groups, recovery sponsorship and access to clinical services. Students will also benefit from internships at the Anchor Recovery Community Center, a community center for people in recovery, which is also operated by The Providence Center.
Recovery high schools are becoming a national model, with 35 recovery high schools operating in 10 states around the country.