Building Bridges continues their 25-year relationship with the local high school. The goal of the program is to bring real life to treatment, by having the young men attend the public school which is less than five miles away from the Building Bridges home. The small population of the school is conducive to creating a comfortable environment for the boys to reintegrate into a public school. Generally, a day doesn’t go by that the Building Bridges Academic Coordinator isn’t having a conversation with a faculty from the school.

All students start school at Bridges Academy on campus, which has the same schedule as the public school, to help prepare them to enter the HS when approved by the Building Bridges team. Much more than academics goes into this decision, as BB wants the young men to be ready socially, emotionally, academically and to be ready to take on the extra responsibilities of the public school. Even entering a school with less that 200 students from 9th through 12th grade, can be overwhelming so the newest Building Bridges high schoolers are taken under the wing of an experienced BB student who has had at least semester or more under their belt. The local students are very welcoming and have known previous students from the program over the years, so in a short amount of time the newer student is making friends of their own.

Though a smaller school, Thompson Falls High School offers several of the activities and protocols of a more populated school. One of the things that is important to their curriculum is their Bullying Prevention Program that all the faculty and students must follow. There are many activities to choose from including the drama club and BB students have participated in the productions that have been produced. Athletic teams include Football, Soccer, Cross Country, Volleyball, Basketball, Wrestling, Trach & Field and Golf. The boys also get to participate in Homecoming, Prom and other various activities sponsored by the school. It is a requirement that boys participate in an extracurricular activity and TFHS provides an impressive selection for the boys to choose something they are interested in.

Building Bridges is a Therapeutic Boarding School in Thompson Falls, MT for boys 14-18 with substance and behavioral issues. The passion is creating a structure that mirrors real life with the goal to have the boys attend public school. Building Bridges seeks to bring real life to treatment through redirection and empowerment. They strive to teach the young men to see how substance has created behaviors that have gotten in their way of pursing their passions. By teaching them how to have self-confidence and create a more positive manner they are able to see their growth through using what they learn in a normalized safe environment that will transfer to wherever their next step is.