Trailhead Community Farm School, a new therapeutic day school, plans to open for students with autism and ADHD in fall 2023.
After seeing a need for a new, specialized-education program in the Greenville and Travelers Rest areas, TCFS founder and Executive Director Courtney Eidson decided to open a new program for neurodivergent middle school students.
“It’s not just for the student, but (for) the family as a whole,” Eidson said. “So many students fall through the cracks just because academically they may be flourishing — emotionally, it takes everything for them to make it through the school day.”
The school’s four main components include:
- Academic approach
- Therapeutic services
- Farm and outdoor adventures
- Community service
Learning opportunities incorporating hands-on activities will take place both inside and outside the classroom.
Students will spend time outside learning about the environment by growing crops and interacting with farm animals. Eidson said they also plan to donate the food students grow to local food banks to give back to the community.
Each week, students will be on campus for four days and go on a one-day, outdoor field trip to participate in different activities such as hiking, rock climbing and kayaking. These activities help to increase the self-awareness of students with ADHD and autism, Eidson explained.
Increased happiness and well-being, balanced emotions and energy, and improved communication have all been shown to be a result of outdoor learning for students with autism, according to a study by the city of London.
The TCFS clinical team will provide both individual and family counseling. Students will also participate in group therapy at the end of the school day.
“The therapy piece will be covered by insurance, Blue Cross Blue Shield and Cigna, and if (a) family’s insurance is with a different company, then I would just go through the process with that insurance company,” Eidson said.
TCFS will accept only 10 middle school students with ADHD or levels one and two on the autism spectrum. Eidson said she doesn’t think the program would be able to support students with level three autism.
“The reason we’re starting with 10 (students) is to kind of work through all the kinks,” Eidson said. “One of the main reasons (for) starting small is we want to do what we say we’re gonna do.”
In the future, Eidson hopes to accept 20 students and later admit high school students once the school receives its credentials.
Applications for students will be on the website in the upcoming weeks.
Work in progress
There will be two academic instructors for the 10 students along with a therapist team to offer services. Eidson says they are still working to hire the academic team and another therapist.
“Our goal is that everybody — the students and the staff — feel comfortable, feel safe,” Eidson said.
The school is currently awaiting final approval for its 501(c)3 organization application. As a nonprofit organization, TCFS will be funded by student tuition, grants, funds and donations.
Eidson said they are also in the process of finalizing the property purchase for the school in the northern Greenville area.
Three community meetings have been held to introduce the program and justify its need. Even though a lot of work still needs to be done before the TCFS can open its doors in the fall, the response and interest the school has received from local parents have been positive.
“Trailhead (will help) both the family and the students as a whole to have the services, the support and the new adventures to really help them build their self-esteem, build their confidence, their ability to make and maintain relationships — and just for the parents to not feel alone,” Eidson said.
For more information on the program, visit https://www.trailheadcfs.org.
