ThorpeWood's primary mission is to serve as "a mountain retreat for at-risk youth." We partner with schools, after-school programs, and other groups serving young people at-risk to provide a safe place for troubled, disadvantaged, or other kinds of at-risk young people to contextualize, reinforce, and expand the lessons they are learning. Our natural resources, isolated setting, and highly capable staff create a rich learning environment for our kids. ThorpeWood's programs fall into four general categories, though many of our curricula integrate elements of more than one category.

Curricular and Academic Support
Many of the at-risk youth with whom we work need remediation to bring academic skills up to grade level, reinforcement of those skills in a "real world" setting, and hands-on experiences with curricular topics to which they have only abstract exposure. ThorpeWood's mountain setting, with all of the natural resources we offer, provides context and material for such experiences.

Personal Growth and Identity Enhancement
Our personal growth programs teach skills and processes that many of us take for granted - things such as self-reflection, goal setting, empathy development, and healthy reliance on self and others. These programs use an array of methods including biographical analysis, journaling, cooking, and photography.

Life Skills and Problem Solving
Many of the students we serve have developed destructive survival strategies, including those related to problem solving, decision-making, communication, and the exercise of power and leadership. ThorpeWood's Life Skills programs re-teach many of those lessons, offering more appropriate alternative strategies and then providing opportunities for the students to apply their new skills and learn their value.

Vocational Training
One of the most difficult challenges facing at-risk youth today is the transition from school to careers. Unemployment rates in the neighborhoods in which many our at-risk youth live exceed 50% for those less than 25 years of age, and the few jobs available rarely offer career advancement. ThorpeWood's vocational training programs address this situation by enlisting student participation in large-scale building projects, teaching employable skills and then allowing students to work under the guidance of experienced craftsmen, foremen, and site managers, and finally matching up the most motivated students with potential employers.

• Long Term Partnerships