Agape Boarding School

Location: Missouri (students come from all states)
Students:
Ages: 12-17
Gender: all male
Website: AgapeBoardingSchool.org
Phone: (417) 276-7215

If your boy, age 12-17, is out of control, angry, defiant, failing in school, hanging around the wrong crowd, or has been experimenting with life-threatening activities or substances, Agapé will turn around that behavior. We help adolescent boys who are defiant or have gotten off track in life, or have been diagnosed with ADD, ADHD, RAD or other behavioral issues.

Most parents choose Agapé because their boy is being rebellious against authority, has been expelled from a public or private school, or is being negatively influenced by peers.

Agape Boarding School helps troubled teenage boys learn Christian values and grow in their faith. They are specifically designed in structure and care to be a positive influence to turn struggling teen boys around to become mature, thoughtful and respectful young men, with a renewed purpose and outlook on life. Your teen will also have the opportunity to get back on track academically with accredited high school courses. If your son is out of control, failing school, rebellious, defiant, experimenting with alcohol or marijuana, or if you feel you are losing your son, Agape Boarding School will help get him back! Agape is a cost-effective solution.

If your teen is angry, defiant, unmotivated in school, hanging around the wrong crowd, or has been experimenting with illegal or life-threatening substances, our Christian boarding school can help. Agape is designed to work specifically with teens that have gotten off track in life, or who have been diagnosed with ADHD, ODD, ADD, RAD, or who are lacking motivation in their education and their own future.

With the sincere desire to help the lives of troubled and rebellious boys, Agape Boarding School was born. It was founded in April, 1990, by James and Kathy Clemensen. The Clemensen’s had the goal of building an effective and affordable program for teens in crisis.

Today, Agape’s facilities have grown to include an office complex, dining hall and kitchen, dormitory, full size gym, outdoor ball courts, swimming pool, recreation center, theater room, two outdoor riding arenas, baseball field, football and soccer fields, lake, amphitheater, several horse barns, outdoor rodeo arena and rodeo grounds, and more.

Agapé is the Greek word defined as God’s unconditional love for mankind. That is what Agape Boarding School is all about – a non-profit Christian boarding school designed to help teen boys who are struggling with behavior, academics, or both. Agape gives teens the opportunity to turn their life around by offering a fresh start, a quality education with fully accredited academics and college preparatory studies, as well as sports and vocational training. The Agape campus is an amazing place, the approach is loving, and the belief is that a changed heart comes from a personal relationship with God. Even if your teen is failing in his faith or is not a Christian, Agape can still help him.

Agape’s program and facilities are much more advanced than most teen programs and the tuition is a fraction of therapeutic boarding schools. Agape is the perfect atmosphere where teen boys that struggle with authority or who have been swayed into bad behavior by their peers can get their lives back on the right track. For over twenty-three years, Agape Christian Boarding School has operated as effectively as a therapeutic boarding school, helping transform thousands of boys into respectful young men with a renewed relationships, a new purpose in life and a closer walk with Christ.

Keeping Parents Involved in Student Progress through Regular Communication

Agape keeps family involved throughout a student’s stay at Agape. Regular communication takes place between parents and the student, between the student and staff, and between staff and parents. We all work together through phone calls, letters and visits. We send quarterly academic and behavior progress reports, on top of regular communication with parents. Parents are encouraged to call or email staff for updates as often as they wish.

Restoring Proper Family Relationships

Agape’s goal is to help reestablish the student’s relationship with their family. As boys learn to interact appropriately with their parents, they also work toward mending broken relationships. Family counseling sessions are held over the phone as needed, such as when topics come up in a student’s individual counseling. Parents also conference with the student’s counselor when they come for visits. After the program, Agape provides six months of follow-up to help with the transition home.

Visits and Extra Events

Visits take place every four months. The first visit is scheduled by Agape and is mandatory. Only parents and guardians may come for the first visit. This visit includes a half day of parent workshops, in which they try to teach the proper relationship between the parent and the child. The parents should be good examples, should pray for their children, and should raise them under the guidance of the Bible.

Additional, optional events take place on campus throughout the year. We hold a Father/Son golf tournament each spring, a Fourth of July celebration following our annual fundraiser, and on-campus Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations.

Activities

Agape Boarding School understands that it is important for young men to stay active. Athletic opportunities are a great way to accomplish this. We offer sports for two reasons. One, athletics gives the students some enjoyable activities to help Agape be a more normal high school experience. We also use sports as a teaching tool for such qualities as perseverance, teamwork, proper attitude, and more. Boys gain basic athletic skills and many character traits through participation.

Agape Boarding School offers many different activities and sports including basketball, wrestling, boxing, baseball, swimming, volleyball, soccer, football, fishing, canoeing, a golf tournament, and an equestrian program which includes our summer rodeo events. Most of these activities will be held on campus; however, travel may be required with basketball, wrestling, and boxing teams.

Some sports are mandatory, while participation in others is entirely voluntary. For some sports, such as basketball, there are tryouts for a team and Agape competes with other schools and in tournaments. It is important that each student stay active and healthy and learn to participate in activities and an athletics program. Skill level is important but there are intermural sports as well. All students have Physical Education (P.E.) classes three times a week during school hours. On weekends, they may select activities for themselves.

The athletic director is also the P.E. teacher and basketball coach. There are many sports camps annually, for which we hire coaches for the week. All students participate in wrestling, basketball, and soccer camps. Voluntary annual camps for boxing, softball, and football are available too. There is an exciting outdoor challenge week, featuring events such as canoeing, archery, fishing, or air-soft rifles. The summer rodeo is the highlight of their equestrian program.

The athletic program is one of the many strengths of Agape Boarding School. Boys benefit greatly from the skills they learn through athletics, and they reap those benefits both on and off the field.

Agape Boarding School