The Learning House saved me. Mark and his staff want students to improve. At this school, many life lessons are taught that no public school can teach, such as work ethic, discipline, social skills, responsibility, and especially accountability. During my first year there, I learned how to control myself, respect others, and hold myself accountable for my actions. For my last year and a half, I thrived in the school, becoming a leader, making friends, having amazing grades, fixing up the school, and becoming a better person than I was. Throughout the time I was there, I wanted to just be done with school and live my life, so I did just that; I worked and worked until I graduated a year and a half early. I hope my story will be told by teachers to students that aspire to graduate as early as possible. read more

Our son struggled with severe social anxiety and school refusal. We had the opportunity to pick from different alternative schools and choose The Learning House because of the year-round concept and their summer program. Having a dedicated therapist on staff for him that he was able to connect with on a regular basis was very helpful. He flourished in his academics with the mastery approach program. He loved the sports program. My husband and I found the parent sessions reassuring and helpful to talk with other parents. I want to add that they did not "cure" my son of his anxiety but helped him learn to cope. The school was the right place at the right time. He gradated with honors and was accepted into college. read more

I just happened to see these reviews online about The Learning House and our family had a totally different experience then what I am reading. Although I am normally not someone who writes reviews, seeing the comments that are posted, I believe it is important to share mine and my daughters experience. My daughter came to The Learning House after an 18 month stay at one of the top residential centers, several IOPS and PHP programs, intense individual therapies, and several other modalities. None of these treatments compared to the care and support she received at The Learning House. When she first arrived at The Learning House she was struggle with past traumas and severe abandonment. I never thought my daughter would be able to heal and her growth exceeded far beyond what I thought she could possibly do. My daughter did experience some bumps along the way and there were a few things I questioned such as the value of the summer program. The summer program ended up having a lasting impact on my daughter that I never thought was possible when I first heard about the program. It got her out of her defensive and destructive shell, motivated her to open up to new experiences and challenges, increased her positive peer relationships, and taught her the importance of goal setting. Any concerns I did have about the program I felt comfortable talking with carious staff in which all my questions and concerns were worked through with understanding and partnership. I was also able to repair the struggling relationship between me and my daughter. When my daughter did not make the right choices, staff made it easy for me to understand all of the pieces of why she was making those choices and worked with me on ow to support her in that growth opportunity instead of just providing consequences. The program provides on call therapy support to both parents and students. Not only were they available to help when my daughter was struggling but it was just as much a support for me. They were available around the clock, and it took several months to fully understand their commitment to helping myself and my daughter. One of the common themes I am seeing in these negative comments are people not willing to make changes within themselves. Change can be very difficult. When parents and students' make the commitment to put in the work that is when both are able to to see the positive changes and growth. Not only did I gain support through individual therapy, but I was also provided monthly parent support group meetings where I didn't feel so alone, and I was able to bond with other parents who were experiencing similar struggles. I learned that this program is a team effort, it cannot just be the child making the changes, but the parents must be invested as well. My daughter is currently in her first year at Valparaiso University majoring in social work. My experience was the entire staff team was invested in my daughters healing and growth and every single one of them was a key component in helping her achieve her goal of graduating and attending university. read more

I'm so happy that my son went here for high school! Without the opportunities they offer for mastery learning, and their focus on accountability and goal setting, he would have failed miserably at his district high school. Let's all stop making excuses for our kids and encourage them to make better choices. The Learning House can help:) read more

I started as a graduate clinical student and my experience with the owner revealed him along with the school build an illusion they care for their students. For starters they build no culture or spirit of what a school carries. Non of their educators are actual teachers. My discussion with Mark (the owner) revealed he never actually read over my clinical expectations and requirements as he acted like we would just go with the flow and figure it out. Thats frightening as this is my future career. In a healthy environment students grow to be happy with school life or aspects of. Beginning with lunch all they served was processed foods such as pizza bites, chips, soda, or other frozen and heated foods. This place performed more like adult baby sitting and lacked any structure for learning. Just after one day I was released based on atrocious claims. After meetings with a board of professors it was concluded i was placed in a toxic environment and non of their findings made sense up to the point they were flagrantly made up by the principal. If you are sending your children to any therapeutic day school this is not the place to grow their education. My university even scrubbed the school off of their potential options to send students and they even scrubbed them off my transcript. If you want to teach this place will not make you love your job of teaching special education. read more

If I could give this school no stars I would mark absolutely doesn't care for the students unless it's also in his best interest he dose y care about his staff in the 4 years I was there I've seen more than 20 staff members leave some that were there for a good while and some didint even last half a year he once fired a therapist for giving a student glasses when one of there staff actually broke them by hitting them with a ball he walks around with chewing tabaco he yells and swears at his staff I saw him push a pregnant girl there to the floor he also fired an interpreter that was actually helping all becuase it wasent in his interest unless the student is white I wouldn't recommend you to send them there their is also a reason why they don't allow phones plz tell ur kid if they go there to not turn in there phone or to turn in a decoy and have him or her take pics of the school and record mark and you can see why it's such a horrible school they make u do consequences if you want to use the bathroom during class if u forget something and need to leave they live off of donations every 3 or so months they have a mandatory donation weather it's raffle tickets 200 total or beef jerky's for sale candy sale but the point is you have to give up the money school is also run down so i don't know where the money goes that the parents n kids give for the donations cause the lockers are run down the "gym" equipment is old and broken the books are old computer are old the food they get is from Costco the only thing they re did was the gym floor he also has people that give him money from his fishing competitions I don't know what there called but he gets paid for them and also like a donations kinda thing he own a fancy boat but that's about it so I don't get where the money goes never seen upgrades in the 4 years I was there they also have a rule that if u get caught with a phone they go thru it and keep it for a little over half a year the only good this that if u got money u can order lunch from outside like DoorDash or something or that u get paid like 6. Bucks 30/min to clean something from 11-11:30 3-3:30 or the Sumer trips but even then it's like 50-300 bucks for those there over night and even then kids can't bring there phone even if it's for safety but that's about it for the good things read more

Just wanted to say that this school ruined my life. Mark gives ZERO crap about the students and is in it only for the money. Kids hate it so much that he actually had to pay the students to attend. This school puts your child in an environment where they are more prone to do drugs, self harm, be bullied because that's all the kids at this school do. There is no form of treatment plan whatsoever. I needed more help and because I got out of this school I am now I'm college about to graduate and go onto veterinary school. I am probably one of the 10% of successful students at this school. About 80% of the alumni have committed suicide and or have been killed. DONT SEND YOUR KIDS HERE. It will make them worse, not better. The only advantage is they don't let you have bad grades but if you value mental health and love your child, DONT SEND THEM HERE!!!! read more

We wish we would have taken the online reviews more seriously. We would have never sent our child to this school. Our experience was horrific and their tactics lent son in the hospital. Please do not send your child to this school. read more

At the time I thought this school's disciplinary tactics were a little unorthodox and strange. I liked how my old high school didn't seem to care at all, thus making me care even less. Henceforth I was sent here to learn all seasons of the year. I caught up on 2 years of high school credits in one year here. The staff was life changing in a lot of ways and I'll never forget my experience here read more

I give this school a 5+. If you're looking for some place that coddles your kid, this isn't it. They are supportive, kind, but they don't take any b.s. which is what I like. They teach kids how to deal with real life and they reward kids for their good behavior, while instilling fair consequences for challenging behavior. Close to 2 years ago my son was refusing to go to school, failing out, had all sorts of behavioral and emotional things going on. The Learning House has helped him grow up. He's getting all A's and B's now. He takes ownership and accountability. They've gone through some staff changes, but my son has bounced back each time and has learned that things and people change. Their summer outings are OUTSTANDING. Their parent support program, while I've never used it, reaches out to parents to help them through tough times. Mark and his staff are amazing, and I've watched my son grow up and reach out. I owe a tremendous amount of gratitude for these guys. read more