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New Perspectives - Aug, 1997 Issue #47
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ALASKA WILDERNESS ACADEMY
A UNIQUE PROGRAM FOR TROUBLED YOUTH
(A Press Release sent June 9, 1997)
Ketchikan, Alaska
Norm Cluff
801-224-4644 or 888-920-4700
Twenty miles North of Ketchikan, Alaska, and in the heart of the Tongas National
Forest, Alaska Wilderness Academy is a short term emotional growth program for troubled youth. The Academy is located on Grant Island
which is two miles long by three-quarters of a mile wide and totally uninhabited except for the Academy and several bald eagles. All
of the land in this region is covered by lush rain forests and surrounded by the pristine waters of the inside passage. The climate
is mild both winter and summer, warmed by the Japanese currents. “Surprising to many, all of Alaska is not a cold waste land as many
would think”, states Norm Cluff, a resident of Orem, Utah and one of the founding partners. “This 24 bed facility is on the waters
edge in a very unique and picturesque setting. Residential care combined with a wilderness program that is implemented by trained
and experienced staff, Alaska Wilderness Academy creates an environment that interrupts negative behavioral patterns, enhances feelings
of self-worth, fosters introspection, and improves social skills for young men ages 14-17.”
Each student attending the program will learn to take responsibility for
his behavior, set goals, make productive decisions, and generate a plan for his future.
Distinguishing Alaska Wilderness Academy is a curriculum that effects change
by combining an insight oriented residential treatment with a wilderness experience. During the wilderness phase, students gain an
understanding that in nature there are neither punishments or rewards, just consequences. They will be physically challenged by working
on service projects and feeling the satisfaction that comes with accomplishment.
Recreational activities such as fly fishing, canoeing, halibut fishing, shrimping,
rope courses, panning for gold, rock climbing, etc., can serve as motivators and a reinforcer for change, but only awarded when earned.
Alaska Wilderness Academy seeks to instill personal traditional values, along
with a positive self-image to produce socially, emotionally and physically well rounded individuals with vision, motivation, and direction.
Alaska Wilderness Academy believes that these essential characteristics are the foundation on which to build positive productive lives.
Copyright © 1997, Woodbury Reports, Inc. (This article may be reproduced
without prior approval if the copyright notice and proper publication and author attribution accompanies the copy.)
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