Mission Statement

To provide a secure, enriching environment in which to learn and from which to fly.  A learning environment that nurtures individual learning styles and offers a full range of options and support for kids whose needs are not being met.  Kids thrive in a setting that is smaller, more personal and innovative, and that nurtures their creativity and individual learning styles.  FOCUS is designed to foster each kid's ability to live a happy and well-socialized life.  FOCUS Alternative Learning Center is a private, nonprofit, needs based, therapeutic learning center specializing in learning and coping strategies, promoting study skills, self-motivation and self-esteem.  We address the obstacles that impede school success whether they are social, emotional, or academic.   

Our Center

• We are a small, specialized, needs-based clinical program in Canton, Connecticut, which is in the Greater Hartford area.
• We are open Monday through Friday from 12pm to 6pm. 
• We are not a school, but we work with school systems to help kids whose social and emotional needs are interfering with their ability to function in a traditional classroom setting. 
• Some kids come to FOCUS full-time and others come a variety of part-time hours, depending upon the individual needs of the child. 
• Some school systems will send their students to FOCUS and then we work with the school system to provide instruction in these subjects, using the school's curriculum. 
• For students who come full-time without school system support, a home school approach is used and we create academic programs for these students. 
• FOCUS is designed to meet individual needs, incorporating personal learning styles while at the same time teaching critical life skills and coping strategies, promoting study skills, self-motivation and self-esteem. 
• We address the obstacles that impact on every day life and we design our programs to foster each kid's ability to live a happy and well-socialized life. 
• We use a treatment modality called "Milieu Therapy" to accomplish this mission.
• Helping kids to be comfortable with "who" they are is very important to us. One of our primary goals is to teach kids "how" to adapt socially and emotionally in their world without changing "who" they are.
• They learn new skills that help them to better understand themselves and their relationships.
• Through workshops and internships, we are spreading the concept of Milieu Therapy and demonstrating the invaluable emotional nurturing and growth that it provides for kids and their families.
• While FOCUS is currently a private program, we intend one day to offer scholarships to qualifying clients so that more children have the opportunity to experience the benefits of Milieu Therapy.