Safe Harbor Academy is proud to have been awarded certification from the Coalition of Residential Excellence (CORE), reflecting our commitment to providing a responsible, structured, and high-quality residential environment for the teenage boys entrusted to our care.
For parents considering a residential program for a struggling son, choosing the right environment can be one of the most important—and difficult—decisions they will make. Families want to know that a program takes seriously its responsibility for the safety, education, supervision, development, and well-being of its students.
Safe Harbor’s certification from the Coalition of Residential Excellence provides families with an additional indication of our commitment to responsible residential care and professional standards.
A Commitment to Residential Excellence
Operating a residential program involves far more than providing a place for students to live and attend school. Young people need appropriate supervision, consistent expectations, caring relationships, meaningful activities, educational opportunities, and an environment designed to encourage healthy growth and greater personal responsibility.
At Safe Harbor Academy, these elements are incorporated into everyday life.
Our Christian residential program combines academics, counseling, mentoring, seamanship, maritime training, vocational experiences, physical activity, and practical responsibilities. The goal is to provide boys with both the structure they need today and the skills they will need as they move toward adulthood.
CORE certification complements that mission by recognizing Safe Harbor’s commitment to excellence within the residential-program community.
Giving Parents Greater Confidence
Families researching residential programs are often confronted with many different types of schools, treatment programs, youth homes, and other alternatives. Understanding the differences between them can be challenging.
Independent professional affiliations and certifications can therefore be valuable considerations during a family’s research.
Safe Harbor believes parents should ask questions, carefully investigate their options, and understand how a prospective program operates before making a decision. Our certification from the Coalition of Residential Excellence is one of several ways families can learn more about Safe Harbor’s commitment to providing a quality residential environment.
More Than Four Decades of Experience
Safe Harbor Academy has been helping struggling teenage boys since 1982. What began when a juvenile judge asked founders Doug and Robbie Smith to take a young man into their home aboard a boat eventually developed into the distinctive Christian residential program Safe Harbor operates today.
Over more than four decades, Safe Harbor has continued to build upon its original mission while maintaining the elements that make the program unique: Christian principles, strong relationships, structure, education, counseling, responsibility, and life-changing experiences on the water.
Students don’t simply attend classes. They participate in a community where daily responsibilities and real-world experiences provide opportunities to practice perseverance, teamwork, accountability, and leadership.
Continuing Our Commitment to Families
Certification from the Coalition of Residential Excellence represents another milestone in Safe Harbor Academy’s continuing effort to provide families with a residential program they can carefully and confidently consider for their son.
While certifications and professional affiliations are important, Safe Harbor ultimately measures its mission through the growth of the young men it serves—helping boys move beyond the difficulties that brought them to the program and develop the character, skills, education, and sense of purpose necessary for a more promising future.
For families searching for a structured Christian residential program for a struggling teenage boy, Safe Harbor Academy offers more than 40 years of experience and a distinctive combination of academics, counseling, mentoring, vocational training, and maritime adventure.
