Recovery High Schools: A Descriptive Study of School Programs and Students

Area of Science:

• Adolescent Health
• Addiction Medicine
• Educational Psychology

Background:

• Recovery high schools serve as continuing care models for students with substance use disorders.
• These schools, established since 1987, are often embedded within public school systems for feasibility.
• Student populations present complex co-occurring mental health issues and trauma histories.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide the first systematic description of recovery high school programs and their student demographics.
• To analyze the effectiveness of recovery high schools in supporting adolescent recovery.
• To understand the challenges and successes of these specialized educational environments.

Main Methods:

• A descriptive study of 17 recovery high schools.
• Analysis of student demographics, including socioeconomic status and co-occurring conditions.
• Retrospective pretest-post-test analysis of substance use and mental health symptoms.

Main Results:

• Recovery high schools predominantly serve white students from higher socioeconomic backgrounds, often referred by treatment providers.
• Students exhibited significant reductions in substance use and mental health symptoms post-attendance.
• Students reported high satisfaction with therapeutic benefits but lower enthusiasm for educational components.

Conclusions:

• Recovery high schools effectively function as continuing care, reinforcing therapeutic gains from prior treatment.
• The complex needs of students necessitate specialized programs that balance therapeutic and educational support.
• Public school affiliation is crucial for the organizational and financial sustainability of recovery high schools.