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Not every teen is a fit for a traditional school environment, and that’s not a failure. It just means they need something different, something more supportive, and something that fits who they are, not who they’re expected to be.
At New Summit Academy Costa Rica, we work with families and professionals to determine if our program is the right match. Our students are capable, bright, and creative, but many arrive here feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or disconnected.
So, who is a good fit for New Summit Academy?
Let’s take a closer look at the students who tend to thrive in our unique, integrated environment.
At New Summit Academy Costa Rica, we work with families and professionals to determine if our program is the right match. Our students are capable, bright, and creative, but many arrive here feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or disconnected.
So, who is a good fit for New Summit Academy?
Let’s take a closer look at the students who tend to thrive in our unique, integrated environment.
1. Bright Students Who Struggle with Traditional School Systems
New Summit Academy students are often:
But they may also struggle with:
They need a space where they can reconnect with learning without fear, shame, or overload, and where they can experience success again, on their own terms.
New Summit Academy students are often:
- Intelligent and thoughtful
- Curious and creative
- Capable of high achievement
But they may also struggle with:
- Executive functioning: procrastination, disorganization, task initiation
- Perfectionism or fear of failure
- School refusal or avoidance
- Burnout from academic or social pressure
They need a space where they can reconnect with learning without fear, shame, or overload, and where they can experience success again, on their own terms.
2. Teens Who Are Emotionally Aware but Overwhelmed
Our students often aren’t “behavioral” - in other words, they aren’t acting out. In fact, they’re usually quite self-reflective and aware of their struggles.
They may deal with:
At New Summit Academy, we normalize emotional growth. Personal development is not a side track; it’s fully integrated into the student experience.
3. Adolescents Ready for a Change, But Not a Lockdown
New Summit Academy is not a residential treatment center. We’re also not a rigid or punitive environment.
We serve students who:
Our model is called Supportive Immersion. Students are immersed in meaningful experiences (academics, travel, cultural exchange, service, outdoor adventures) with caring adults guiding them every step of the way.
Our students often aren’t “behavioral” - in other words, they aren’t acting out. In fact, they’re usually quite self-reflective and aware of their struggles.
They may deal with:
- Anxiety or social anxiety
- Depression or low self-worth
- Emotional sensitivity
- Chronic stress or burnout
At New Summit Academy, we normalize emotional growth. Personal development is not a side track; it’s fully integrated into the student experience.
3. Adolescents Ready for a Change, But Not a Lockdown
New Summit Academy is not a residential treatment center. We’re also not a rigid or punitive environment.
We serve students who:
- Need more structure and support than a traditional school
- Don’t need containment or intensive clinical intervention
- Are ready to take ownership of their growth with support
Our model is called Supportive Immersion. Students are immersed in meaningful experiences (academics, travel, cultural exchange, service, outdoor adventures) with caring adults guiding them every step of the way.
4. Students Who Benefit From Smaller, Relationship-Based Communities
Our ideal student has:
We are a small boarding school by design. With just 20–30 students on campus at a time, we are a place where students are never anonymous and always supported.
This structure is especially powerful for students who feel isolated, excluded, or lost in larger schools.
5. Families Who Want a Collaborative, Purposeful Experience
We work best with families who:
Parents participate in:
This isn’t just a placement. It’s a partnership.
Our ideal student has:
- A desire to be seen and known
- The capacity to form positive relationships
- A willingness to engage in community
We are a small boarding school by design. With just 20–30 students on campus at a time, we are a place where students are never anonymous and always supported.
This structure is especially powerful for students who feel isolated, excluded, or lost in larger schools.
5. Families Who Want a Collaborative, Purposeful Experience
We work best with families who:
- Want to be involved in the process
- Are looking for a values-based experience
- Are open to therapeutic support that focuses on growth, not pathology
Parents participate in:
- Regular family calls and coaching
- Family workshops and on-campus visits
- Collaborative work with our team to set and review goals and plans
This isn’t just a placement. It’s a partnership.
Who We’re Not Right For
New Summit Academy is not the right setting for students who:
We’re a supportive boarding school, not a treatment center, and we aim to maintain a safe, supportive, and emotionally attuned community for all students.
Is Your Teen a Fit for New Summit Academy?
If your child is:
…then New Summit Academy Costa Rica might be exactly what you’ve been searching for. We’d love to connect and explore what’s possible.
New Summit Academy is not the right setting for students who:
- Need 24/7 clinical monitoring or containment
- Struggle with active addiction or aggression
- Are unwilling to engage in community norms or structured routines
- Require intensive psychiatric care
We’re a supportive boarding school, not a treatment center, and we aim to maintain a safe, supportive, and emotionally attuned community for all students.
Is Your Teen a Fit for New Summit Academy?
If your child is:
- Bright, but underachieving or burned out
- Emotionally aware, but struggling with stress, anxiety, or executive functioning
- Needing more support than a traditional school can offer
- Ready to explore the world, grow personally, and re-engage in learning...
…then New Summit Academy Costa Rica might be exactly what you’ve been searching for. We’d love to connect and explore what’s possible.
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New Summit Academy's one-of-a-kind Aventura program engages students in true experiential education in the rainforests, on the beaches, and even floating in the coastal waters of Costa Rica.
Newer student cohorts spend a week with experiential education mentors, therapists, and teachers kayaking around the pristine waters of the Golfo Dulce in the south of Costa Rica. Students learn about coastal ecosystems including mangroves, coral reefs, and watersheds in classes surrounded by what they are studying. Learning is solidified as our community explores estuaries, snorkels among reefs, and encounters sea turtles, dolphins, manta rays, and more as they paddle.
Our cohort of students on their second Aventura spend a week learning about forest succession and symbiotic relationships as they hike through living examples in Corcovado National Park, one of the most biologically diverse ecosystems on the planet. Their living classroom is joined by tapir, monkeys, and scarlet macaws - learning experiences that students will never forget.
New Summit Academy’s Aventura program allows students to earn academic credit while working on their personal growth, learning valuable life skills, building executive functioning, and creating lifelong memories.
Keep an eye out for our next round of engaging, integrated Aventura experiences in the rich culture of Panama!
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We are thrilled that New Summit Academy Costa Rica is featured in the Winter 2025 edition of International School Magazine. The feature story highlights our unique Supportive Immersion approach to learning and growth at our small boarding school.
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From the article:
"Nearly 2.4 million international tourists flock to the small tropical country each year in search of wellness and a bit of adventure. In the same way, New Summit Academy harnesses the therapeutic qualities of Costa Rica to empower students to adopt healthier lifestyles and to stretch their minds through experiences that rekindle motivation in school and in life."
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As we embark on our twentieth year of offering transformational Supportive Immersion experiences in Costa Rica, we are so grateful to receive messages like this one from alumni students and families:
“My son found the right place on Planet Earth to reset and rediscover his joyous, rewarding, and purposeful life.”
- Alumni Parent, 2024
Here is a look back at some of those moments of joy and purpose over the past year at our supportive boarding school's beautiful campus in Atenas:
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Our Executive Director, Heather Tracy, EdD and Danny Recio, Ph.D, Program Director of The Bridge Costa Rica were thrilled to join the latest episode of the Fear | Less podcast with Zack Schafer to discuss how Supportive Immersion sparks youth resilience.
Check out the episode now on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
Check out the episode now on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
Tune in to the episode to learn about:
🌴 The origin story and 20-year history of New Summit Academy Costa Rica and The Bridge Costa Rica
🌐 How Supportive Immersion empowers students to develop resilience, purpose, and agency
🌊 The role of Costa Rica’s warm, welcoming culture as a catalyst for transformative growth
💫 And much, much more!
From the episode description:
"Rather than pushing young people to meet unrealistic expectations of independence, New Summit Academy and The Bridge highlight interdependence, community, and meaningful contribution. This inclusive, values-driven approach encourages learners to step outside their comfort zones, embrace missteps as teachable moments, and ultimately reframe anxiety as a natural part of growth. Whether in the classroom, on an internship, or in daily life, Supportive Immersion showcases how authentic connection, gentle exposure to uncertainty, and steady mentoring fuel both personal and collective well-being."
🌴 The origin story and 20-year history of New Summit Academy Costa Rica and The Bridge Costa Rica
🌐 How Supportive Immersion empowers students to develop resilience, purpose, and agency
🌊 The role of Costa Rica’s warm, welcoming culture as a catalyst for transformative growth
💫 And much, much more!
From the episode description:
"Rather than pushing young people to meet unrealistic expectations of independence, New Summit Academy and The Bridge highlight interdependence, community, and meaningful contribution. This inclusive, values-driven approach encourages learners to step outside their comfort zones, embrace missteps as teachable moments, and ultimately reframe anxiety as a natural part of growth. Whether in the classroom, on an internship, or in daily life, Supportive Immersion showcases how authentic connection, gentle exposure to uncertainty, and steady mentoring fuel both personal and collective well-being."
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- 611 enrollments
- 78 graduation ceremonies
- 10,317,600 minutes on call
- 75 Aventuras (not including surf weekends, SCUBA certs, the pre-graduation summits of Mt. Chirripo, and many international trips to Belize, Panama, Peru, Cuba, Nicaragua and South Africa).
To say we’re honored and humbled by 20 years of so many families and professionals trusting us is an understatement.
I remember January 2005 like it was yesterday. A group of professional 20-somethings were entrusted with 11 young men eager to graduate high school and get started with their futures.
We all worked together to convert a farmhouse into staff offices and classrooms, to brighten cabin bedrooms with a fresh coat of paint, to build study desks, to write the handbook with Mario and Danny, and to design our activity curriculum with Andy. They played soccer, learned Spanish at homestay and cooked rice and beans with Roy. They hooked up their laptops to our frustratingly slow internet and read Shakespeare in English class with Heather and learned math formulas with James.
They loved the agency and ownership they shared in creating what New Summit Academy continues to be today - a relationship-focused, empowering, co-created supportive immersion experience in beautiful Costa Rica.
We honestly didn’t know if we’d continue beyond that first group of 11 who needed a semester to graduate high school. But thanks to countless people who believed in Costa Rica’s ability to heal and inspire growth and our ability to create powerful supportive immersion experiences, here we are - 20 years later.
We all worked together to convert a farmhouse into staff offices and classrooms, to brighten cabin bedrooms with a fresh coat of paint, to build study desks, to write the handbook with Mario and Danny, and to design our activity curriculum with Andy. They played soccer, learned Spanish at homestay and cooked rice and beans with Roy. They hooked up their laptops to our frustratingly slow internet and read Shakespeare in English class with Heather and learned math formulas with James.
They loved the agency and ownership they shared in creating what New Summit Academy continues to be today - a relationship-focused, empowering, co-created supportive immersion experience in beautiful Costa Rica.
We honestly didn’t know if we’d continue beyond that first group of 11 who needed a semester to graduate high school. But thanks to countless people who believed in Costa Rica’s ability to heal and inspire growth and our ability to create powerful supportive immersion experiences, here we are - 20 years later.
We just want to say THANKS.
And - calling all alumni for reunions March 2 and August 9 this year. Let’s get together and share, reconnect, create new support networks and opportunities for mentoring.
Let's do this!
Email us at admissions@newsummitacademy.com or connect with us on Facebook, LinkedIn or Instagram to let us know if you can come to Costa Rica to attend!
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When a student begins to struggle with anxiety, school avoidance, or emotional overwhelm, many families start exploring boarding school options. But not all boarding schools are created equal, and understanding the difference between traditional and therapeutic boarding schools is key to finding the right fit for your child.
At New Summit Academy Costa Rica, we often help families navigate this decision. Here’s a clear breakdown of how traditional and therapeutic boarding schools differ, and where a supportive, integrated model like ours fits in.
At New Summit Academy Costa Rica, we often help families navigate this decision. Here’s a clear breakdown of how traditional and therapeutic boarding schools differ, and where a supportive, integrated model like ours fits in.
1. Academic Focus vs. Whole-Student Focus
At New Summit Academy, we believe students thrive when academic development and emotional wellness go hand-in-hand.
2. Reactive Discipline vs. Supportive Structure
New Summit Academy’s approach is rooted in relationship-based mentoring, not punishment.
- Traditional Boarding Schools typically emphasize academics, athletics, and college preparation. While many offer rigorous education, they may not have the resources to support students facing emotional or mental health challenges.
- Therapeutic Boarding Schools are designed to support students who need more than academics. Therapy, emotional regulation, and personal growth are woven into daily life.
At New Summit Academy, we believe students thrive when academic development and emotional wellness go hand-in-hand.
2. Reactive Discipline vs. Supportive Structure
- In traditional schools, behavioral concerns are often met with discipline or consequences.
- Therapeutic schools provide proactive support, helping students understand the why behind their behaviors, and guiding them to healthier coping strategies.
New Summit Academy’s approach is rooted in relationship-based mentoring, not punishment.
3. Scheduled Therapy vs. Integrated Growth
At New Summit Academy, licensed therapists, advisors, and teachers collaborate to provide real-time coaching and feedback throughout the day.
4. Academic Rigor vs. Academic Reconnection
New Summit Academy helps students rebuild executive functioning, self-advocacy, and academic confidence, so they don’t just get by, they are preparing to excel.
- In traditional schools, therapy (if offered at all) may be optional or outsourced.
- In therapeutic schools, personal growth is built into the fabric of daily life from morning classes to afternoon adventures.
At New Summit Academy, licensed therapists, advisors, and teachers collaborate to provide real-time coaching and feedback throughout the day.
4. Academic Rigor vs. Academic Reconnection
- Traditional boarding schools often assume a student is ready to perform at their best.
- Therapeutic boarding schools understand that emotional challenges impact learning.
New Summit Academy helps students rebuild executive functioning, self-advocacy, and academic confidence, so they don’t just get by, they are preparing to excel.
5. One-Size-Fits-All vs. Individualized Growth Plans
So Where Does New Summit Academy Fit?
New Summit Academy is more than a traditional school, and yet is not a clinical treatment center. We offer a supportive, immersive study abroad experience for boys who need to press pause, reset, and gain the tools to thrive - emotionally, socially, and academically.
It’s not about fixing students. It’s about helping them rediscover who they are, build skills for life, and return to school with a renewed sense of purpose and confidence.
- Most traditional schools offer structured programs for the average student.
- New Summit Academy creates personalized goals and growth plans for each student that address not just academic performance, but emotional health, relationships, identity development, and purpose.
So Where Does New Summit Academy Fit?
New Summit Academy is more than a traditional school, and yet is not a clinical treatment center. We offer a supportive, immersive study abroad experience for boys who need to press pause, reset, and gain the tools to thrive - emotionally, socially, and academically.
It’s not about fixing students. It’s about helping them rediscover who they are, build skills for life, and return to school with a renewed sense of purpose and confidence.
Considering the next step for your son? Learn how New Summit Academy blends therapeutic support with college-prep education in the healing environment of Costa Rica.
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Each year, many New Summit Academy students complete their supportive study abroad experience in Costa Rica and choose to enroll in a more traditional boarding school in the United States to finish high school.
When we check in with our graduates, their families and their new schools, we hear the same thing:
When we check in with our graduates, their families and their new schools, we hear the same thing:
“They are thriving!”
Recently, a boarding school in New Hampshire told us that one New Summit Academy graduate is serving on their prestigious Restorative Justice Council, a position he was elected to due to the maturity and emotional intelligence he has exhibited since joining their community.
Another recent graduate is leading new and prospective student tours at his boarding school in Tennessee because of his ability to connect with people from a wide range of backgrounds and perspectives.
After graduating high school at New Summit Academy, another young alumnus decided to complete a post-graduate year at a boarding school in Connecticut, where he was able to join the varsity soccer team and graduate his PG year with high honors.
Another recent graduate is leading new and prospective student tours at his boarding school in Tennessee because of his ability to connect with people from a wide range of backgrounds and perspectives.
After graduating high school at New Summit Academy, another young alumnus decided to complete a post-graduate year at a boarding school in Connecticut, where he was able to join the varsity soccer team and graduate his PG year with high honors.
Why do our alumni who continue their education at a boarding school tend to thrive?
Consider these words from a 2023 graduate, who is now applying to an incredible list of colleges from his rigorous boarding school:
Consider these words from a 2023 graduate, who is now applying to an incredible list of colleges from his rigorous boarding school:
“New Summit Academy prepared me socially; I learned how to authentically connect with people and be myself. It built self confidence in me where I didn't need as much external validation to function. It taught me executive functioning and the importance of having a routine which let me handle my academics better and get a 95 average last year. It taught me tools to cope with my anxiety which let me stay grounded so I don't act out or seek reassurance anymore to cope with that.”
This really says it all. Students at New Summit work closely with our faculty, advisors, and their peers to develop a holistic set of skills that allows them to succeed in the classroom and, more importantly, in life beyond academics.
Students solidify executive functioning skills at New Summit Academy by engaging with their teachers in collaborative, student-driven classes that develop critical thinking abilities that transcend those needed for traditional academics.
Students set goals for and apply these skills - which include planning and time management, task initiation, and flexibility and problem-solving - as they learn to contribute to the campus community, navigate their roles serving on Student Council, work with their teams to personalize a balanced weekly schedule, immerse in a new culture and language, and rebuild their family relationships.
The traditional academic skills developed at New Summit Academy are crucial for next-step educational success, including at rigorous boarding schools and through college and beyond.
However, the combination of academic hard skills with the social-emotional growth, healthy coping skill development, relationship building, and ownership of process truly develops students ready to take on any challenge after they leave our supportive boarding school.
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Do you want to learn the essentials about New Summit Academy Costa Rica? We've got you covered!
Ready to learn more? Email us: admissions@newsummitacademy.com
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We can all picture that student. You know the one.
The student who flourishes in his creative pursuits, but who is just getting by academically and socially with the amount of support available at his school.
The student who is brilliant, but whose anxiety is so high that he misses class, gets stuck trying to write that first paragraph, and can't seem to turn in his homework.
The student who is a natural leader with a good heart, but who always seems to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
We can all picture that student, and we can all agree on one thing: we don’t want this student to simply survive until the end of the term (or worse, be asked to withdraw).
We see his potential, and we want him to thrive. So how do we get him there?
The student who flourishes in his creative pursuits, but who is just getting by academically and socially with the amount of support available at his school.
The student who is brilliant, but whose anxiety is so high that he misses class, gets stuck trying to write that first paragraph, and can't seem to turn in his homework.
The student who is a natural leader with a good heart, but who always seems to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
We can all picture that student, and we can all agree on one thing: we don’t want this student to simply survive until the end of the term (or worse, be asked to withdraw).
We see his potential, and we want him to thrive. So how do we get him there?
Taking A Time Out
As professionals, we often need to step away from our institutions - to travel, attend conferences, or join leadership retreats - in order to find inspiration and bring back new skills and ideas. This reset can be particularly helpful when we are feeling overwhelmed by a challenge or stuck professionally.
Adolescents can share similar benefits from an intentional reset, and they can move from surviving to thriving before a crisis ensues.
A supportive study abroad experience is one proven way teens can shake things up, reaping the rewards of a gap semester and a therapeutic intervention to build the mental fitness needed to return to their schools and find academic and social-emotional success.
Adolescents can share similar benefits from an intentional reset, and they can move from surviving to thriving before a crisis ensues.
A supportive study abroad experience is one proven way teens can shake things up, reaping the rewards of a gap semester and a therapeutic intervention to build the mental fitness needed to return to their schools and find academic and social-emotional success.
Collaborative Empowerment
At New Summit Academy Costa Rica, we know the power of collaboration.
An adolescent gains so much more when the support systems in his life integrate to work together rather than seek out isolated, short-term “fixes” to the teen’s struggles.
That’s why we join forces with schools, consultants, therapists, coaches, and families to ensure the supportive study abroad terms we offer guide each student in their unique path to a thriving future.
An adolescent gains so much more when the support systems in his life integrate to work together rather than seek out isolated, short-term “fixes” to the teen’s struggles.
That’s why we join forces with schools, consultants, therapists, coaches, and families to ensure the supportive study abroad terms we offer guide each student in their unique path to a thriving future.
Separating Myth from Reality
Embracing a different path can be scary, and there are a lot of myths out there:
Myth: The student will be “off track” academically when he returns to a more traditional school.
Truth: New Summit Academy is accredited by Cognia, and our highly qualified teachers guide students through US college-prep classes - along with a diverse set of experiences that result in an impressive resume - which allow for a smooth transition back to a more traditional school.
Myth: The student will be “missing out” on his high school experience.
Truth: This student is not being who he wants to be anyway, which leaves him at risk to fall into unhealthy coping mechanisms like screens, substances, or isolation. Studying abroad creates a fast track to more positive identity development.
Myth: Costa Rica is too far away.
Truth: Direct flights from major US airports in New York, Atlanta, Miami, Houston, and Los Angeles will have you here in a few hours. Once on the ground, our campus is just 30 minutes away from SJO, our academic calendar allows for home visits every two months, and it's easy to stay connected to home.
Myth: Working with a contracted therapist a few times each week is just as good.
Truth: What we know about adolescent brain development is that immersive, supported learning experiences - allowing for space and time to practice, collect data, reflect on the process, and revise strategies - maximizes growth and helps internalize skills for lasting change.
Myth: The student will be “off track” academically when he returns to a more traditional school.
Truth: New Summit Academy is accredited by Cognia, and our highly qualified teachers guide students through US college-prep classes - along with a diverse set of experiences that result in an impressive resume - which allow for a smooth transition back to a more traditional school.
Myth: The student will be “missing out” on his high school experience.
Truth: This student is not being who he wants to be anyway, which leaves him at risk to fall into unhealthy coping mechanisms like screens, substances, or isolation. Studying abroad creates a fast track to more positive identity development.
Myth: Costa Rica is too far away.
Truth: Direct flights from major US airports in New York, Atlanta, Miami, Houston, and Los Angeles will have you here in a few hours. Once on the ground, our campus is just 30 minutes away from SJO, our academic calendar allows for home visits every two months, and it's easy to stay connected to home.
Myth: Working with a contracted therapist a few times each week is just as good.
Truth: What we know about adolescent brain development is that immersive, supported learning experiences - allowing for space and time to practice, collect data, reflect on the process, and revise strategies - maximizes growth and helps internalize skills for lasting change.
It's Time to Take Action
If you know a high school student who would benefit from a supportive study abroad experience at New Summit Academy, please reach out to admissions@newsummitacademy.com.
Still need to learn more? Here are 12 Things To Know About New Summit Academy.
Still need to learn more? Here are 12 Things To Know About New Summit Academy.
