Situated in the Blue Ridge Mountains of northern Georgia, Eckerd Academy of Blue Ridge was originally founded in 1996, and was re-opened for private pay clients in October 2007. The Academy is a licensed and accredited outdoor therapeutic program and alternative school for students ages 10 through 17. It is designed for adolescents with low self-esteem, drug and alcohol abuse, school suspension or expulsion, negative peer pressure, defiance of authority, depression and confrontational behavior.

The program specializes on "Educationally Challenged Children" who may have difficulty with one or two academic subjects, is on the "borderline" with a learning disability and is unable to succeed in a regular classroom setting. The school features traditional academics and focuses on students with special needs, who may be missing the basic building blocks in their education by helping them "get caught up" in their core classes. State certified teachers utilize "Classworks," a diagnostic/ prescriptive reading and mathematics curriculum that lets students work at any level, including advanced placement courses.

Students also participate in numerous experiential trips, including visits to museums and the symphony, nature hikes, mountain biking and an extensive seven-day canoe trip.

Eckerd Academy of Blue Ridge is affiliated with the Georgia Department of Education, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Secondary Commission - Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS CASI), Council on Accreditation of Services for Families and Children, Inc. (COA), and the National Association of Therapeutic Wilderness Camps (NATWC). The Academy's Director is Tim McMahon; Clinical Director is Grafton Lamb, LCSW, and Academic Director, Ron Swiftek.

[The information for Eckerd Academy of Blue Ridge came directly from their website and from their brochure.]