Recovery High School Opens In Monmouth County

Written and provided to Patch.com by RightYourLife.org

Our nation has been deeply affected by a serious health crisis. Substance Use Disorders and the corrosive effects of the deadly Opioid Epidemic are crippling our youth and families across the country, taking the lives of tens of thousands.

New Jersey is no different. According to the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office (2016) Monmouth County has been identified as one of the top six counties in the State with the highest rates of substance abuse addiction. According to the prosecutor as many as 164 overdose deaths occurred.

Many schools are faced with students experimenting at early ages, increased relapse rates, larger academic gaps, coupled with mental health issues making it that much more difficult for students to attain academic success, graduate and live physical and emotional healthy lifestyles.

When Right Your Life approached the Matawan Aberdeen Regional School District with the idea that a Recovery High School was one way to reach those youth, Matawan Aberdeen's Superintendent Dr. Joseph Majka and Board of Education were in agreement. With great enthusiasm Dr. Majka stated "the board approve the program unanimously to fully support this initiative ".

While in her role as a Substance Awareness Coordinator (SAC) in Monmouth County Mrs. Jennise Nieves long ago began to seek community programs and resources for relapse prevention programs to better support her students. Mrs. Nieves along with many other educators identified students facing many challenges and struggles upon their return to school after completing inpatient treatment. Her research led her to identifying the Recovery High School model established by the Association of Recovery Schools (ARS).

This dialogue resulted in the collaboration and formation of the Recovery High School Partnership between Matawan Aberdeen Regional School District and Right Your Life – now a passionate group of community members coming together to fight this epidemic. Having a vision of creating opportunities for young adults to sustain a path recovery the group approached Brookdale Community College in search of a home that would provide a rich, safe, learning environment where students could see the world of opportunities that await them. Partnering with Brookdale was an important part of reaching our school goals. The college provides a peaceful campus environment, the idea that higher education is attainable, and a variety of other opportunities. According to Kathleen Loures, Right Your Life, “We wanted to send a clear message- “you can have a future that’s different from your past.”

The Interim President David Stout and his team helped Matawan to navigate the path. Without hesitation the Board of Trustees agreed to host the newly formed K.E.Y.S. Academy at their Lincroft Campus, scheduled to open this fall. According to Interim President David Stout “The disease of addiction has touched us all and deeply affected our community. Since supporting our community is the very core of what we do at Brookdale and who we are as an institution, the connection between Brookdale and the K.E.Y.S. Recovery High School was obvious and we immediately wanted to help. We strongly believe that our beautiful campus will provide the perfect environment to help these students complete their education and continue along their path of recovery to which they are so committed.”

K.E.Y.S. Academy is the second school of its kind in the state. K.E.Y.S. mission is to provide a rigorous, innovative, and supportive learning environment to students diagnosed with a substance use or dependency disorder seeking a sober lifestyle. The Academy will focus on a blended learning model while integrating behavioral health services, multiple pathways to recovery models including the 12 step recovery model, and wellness programs thereby encouraging students to take ownership of their learning while building a recovery support team.

Providing a multi-faceted education where the focus is recovery support will help students create a path forward for a lifetime. Early access to ongoing recovery support will give youth a better chance for successful recovery and the demonstration of academic capability will only strengthen a student’s plan for a future that encourages higher education. We have to remember that students returning to the same school environment where the peer pressure can be so powerful may not be the best option for continued recovery,” according to Kathleen Loures, President, Right Your Life. Empowering our youth to be focused on the importance of good choices for a healthy lifestyle will help to support sustained recovery.

According to Mrs. Jennise Nieves, Student Assistance Counselor for Matawan High School. “having family involvement and creating recovery support team for our students is paramount in creating the recovery support plan for each student Both the student and family will be part of the intake process, participate in meetings, counseling sessions, certified peer recovery support and wellness programs offered through the Academy".

Nelyda Perez, Assistant Superintendent of Matawan Aberdeen Regional School District stated "K.E.Y.S. Academy looks forward to working with sending District teams to better support our youth toward achieving academic goals, social-emotional growth, and an overall a healthy lifestyle. K.E.Y.S Academy will be accepting student applications beginning November 30, 2017.

The Recovery High School Partnership is celebrating the opening of the school at a dinner and fundraising event on November 1, 2017 at Palumbo's Restaurant, Lounge & Banquets on Asbury Avenue in Tinton Falls. The event is open to the public and all are welcome.

More information about tickets and sponsorship opportunities for K.E.Y.S Academy can be obtained by visiting www.RightYourLife.org or by contacting Kathleen Loures at 732-232-4134 or via email at Kathleen@RightYourLife.org.

For media inquiries and information specific to the recovery high school contact Nelyda Perez at NPerez@marsd.org or by phone at 732-705-4000

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