Admissions Policy

For 30 years we have partnered with school districts for out of district placements, and for 20 years we have accepted students privately placed by their parents. Our students are often bright and creative children who, for whatever reasons, do not do well in traditional school, but who would not do well in traditional alternative schools either. Some of our students feel that they just “do not fit in” with most kids. Many of our students struggle with anxiety, social skills, and depression. Others are socially/emotionally strong, but struggle to attain academic success or behave appropriately. No matter what their disabilities or disorders, NHA’s children are loved, educated, and changed for the better forever. NHA is the only non-profit, non-traditional private/alternative school in the county offering

• Two-to-One Ratio of Students to Teachers (Staff is 50% Male and 50% Female)

• One-on-One Instruction and Small Group Classes (3 to 5 Students)

• Licensed and D.O.E Approved by PA and NJ (Curriculum Meets State Standards)

• High Level Academics Balanced by Strong Therapeutic Support (Full Time Counseling)

• The Capability of Accommodating a Dual IEP (Gifted and Learning Disabilities)

• Certified Special Education and Secondary Education Teachers (Also Trained in the New Hope Model ™)

• Quarterly Parent In-services (To Support Student Growth and Change within the Home)

• Hassle-free School District Partnerships (For Over 30 Years with Nearly 40 Districts)

In order to continue graduating happier and healthier adolescents, as well as more solid and successful students, we as parents and educators must push past the old limits of academic possibilities. In this the twenty-first century, families and schools need to partner to find the best placement for each child in order to meet the needs of more complex children living in a deeply complicated world.

At NHA, we have more children paralyzed by anxiety than teens poisoned by addiction; most people do not realize that. Emotional disorders do as much damage to a child’s education as academic or learning disabilities. Our success is in helping students to change and grow beyond their fear every year. Our advantage is our two to-one ratio of student to teachers.

Please contact the Yardley Campus at 215-493-4200 or the Doylestown Campus at 215-345-9333. Ask for one of our senior staff members in Yardley: Tiffany Trunell, Head of School & Senior Director of Pupil Services, Jeremy Dickerson, Dean of Students, or Dave Kennedy, Senior Director of NHA; or in Doylestown: Casey Barut, Director of the Doylestown Campus and Director of Pupil Services, or Colleen Kaufmann, Dean of Students.

Best wishes from Team NHA! Thank you for your interest in New Hope Academy!

NEW HOPE ACADEMY The New Hope Model ™

• The Goal – is to guide students to learn, grow, and focus on their future, whether preparing for a trade or focusing on college. We are successful because of our philosophy of head and heart before the brain. We reach them, teach them, and then work them hard. Students are told that we will meet them where they are, but we won’t keep them where they are. We raise the bar at the right time and teach them strategies and workplace ethics to help them to clear the bar.

• The Environment – is like no other school. Every room is designed to help students to feel safe and valued, so they can be productive and proud. With three state of the art computer labs – Mac, Dell, and Animation – students delve into future careers. Music, theater, and art bring creative energy to all as our building’s walls are transformed into a gallery of photography and artistic expression. Our theatrical productions push students beyond their wildest dreams, and we are all mesmerized.

• The Curriculum – follows state standards in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. We offer Honors courses and AP courses taught by certified AP teachers. Students are supported in their major courses with academic skills training. We also offer hands-on opportunities for students to explore the career opportunities of various trades. Individual needs are respected and IEP goals and objectives are honored and implemented.

• The Teachers – are certified and highly qualified to work with the needs of our student population. Many of our children backed out of the academic arena a long time ago, so the teachers are trained to use our model’s strategies to evoke trust and inspire the students to motivate themselves. Once that happens, the learning happens – sooner or later.

• The Results – have given us an exceptional reputation that has spread from district to district and parent to parent. We have created a model that has the positive emotional support and effective teaching strategies to get more at-risk adolescents to turn their lives around than any other alternative/private school. Thus, 90% of our students go on to college. Our model works because we all make it work.

• The View – is truly unique. Please visit NHA, if you have not already been here. We are so very different that all who visit say they are glad they came to see us because seeing is believing. Also, it is great to put a face to a voice. Strong relationships and consistent communication help us to better serve and save the children…and that is the reason we all became teachers.

Following is a partial list of the types of children we have worked with for over 30 years:

• Mentally Gifted and Creative Individualists with or without Respect and/or Behavioral Disorders

• Homebound or Home-Schooled Students (Now in need of increased academic instruction and/or more social interaction)

• Students Who Need Catch-Up Credits as a Result of Physical/Emotional Illness

• Children Who Do Not Fit In (For whatever reasons)

• Lower IQ Children Who Need Individual Attention

• Sensitive Children Who Have Been Bullied

• Angry Children Who Bully

Some of the issues that NHA routinely deals with are:

• Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

• Language Based Disabilities

• Nonverbal Learning Disabilities

• Central Auditory Processing Disorders

• Dysgraphia

• Executive Functioning Disorders

• Socially Based Disabilities

• Withdrawn/Shutdown Behavior

• Dyslexia

• Learning Disabilities (LD)

• Reading Deficiencies

• Emotional Impairments (Emotional Support)

• Depression and Hyper-Anxiety

• Bipolar Disorder

• Behavioral Disorders

• Personality Disorders

• Impulsivity Disorders

• Eating Disorders

• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

• Hyper-Focusing Disorders

• Addiction Behaviors and Recovery

• Intermittent Explosive Disorders

• Phobias

• Emotional Dysregulations

• School Avoidance Disorder (SAD)

• Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADD/ADHD)

• Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD)

• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

• Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD)

• Tourette’s Syndrome

• Self-Injurious Behavior (Cutting, Cigarette Burns, Trichotillomania, etc.)

Every year School Districts are faced with more and more children with special needs, including some that, as educators, we don’t even have names for yet. Our NHA Team is dedicated to helping your Special Education Team to defy the odds and turn each child into a success story, no matter what the diagnosis.