Now that our son has been home from Monarch School for almost two weeks I have been doing much reflection about his time there -- trying to make sense of the experience and what it all meant. Monarch School gave our son and our family many gifts. That is clear to me in numerous ways. But perhaps the most significant gift the school gave to him was the space to be himself. Monarch School gave to our son the room he needed to figure out who he wanted to be (at least at this point in his life). Unfortunately for our son there was no room for that in our community or in our family at the time he left for your school. But at Monarch School, our son could achieve satisfaction from his strengths without being held captive by his weaknesses. And he could have time to grow and develop without the pressure of expectations which existed for him in abundance at home. As for our family, Monarch School gave us the time and the courage to realize that who our son wanted to be was much more important than who we wanted him to be. For that we are thankful. During our son's tenure at Monarch School he experienced a range of relationships -- there were students and staff he liked who became the cornerstones of his tenure there. There were students and staff he liked who moved on to other chapters in their lives while our son was still at school. And there were students and staff he was never particularly fond of. Through it all, the overall positive experience of Monarch School never faltered. It remained a tireless force of growth in our son's life. Without hesitation I attribute that to the two of you. Early on it was clear to me that Monarch School is bigger than the sum of its parts. It is an environment that stands for something -- the pursuit of bringing out the best of the children who go to school there. Both of you are the heartbeat of Monarch School, and your emotional investment and love are the guiding forces that drive the positive and productive atmosphere. For that I am grateful to each of you. I hope you take much pride in having created something that is bigger than yourselves. In every student who leaves Monarch School there is a piece of your work. It is quite a legacy and one of which you both have much reason to be proud. To that end, it would be my pleasure to give back to the Monarch School community as it has given so much to my son and to our family. If I can be of any help to the school it would be my pleasure to do so. I am happy to speak to perspective parents, serve as a parent mentor or provide any other form of assistance to a family who is in the middle of a difficult journey. I would gladly spread the word to those who will listen that there is nothing to fear about their child going to Monarch School, and that most likely they will see the experience the way that I do- as the gift we never knew we wanted! With gratefulness and appreciation, (Mom of a Monarch School graduate) read more

Things are going very nicely for our family. We have for the most part peace and harmony at home as all four of us are taking care of ourselves while standing by to support each other if/when asked. Our son, as far as my wife and I can see is meeting his goal of a balanced life style. He's getting his school work done in an engaged way and "seemingly" with little effort. I say seemingly because he does put plenty of effort in but because he balances his academics with work (at a bagel store on the weekends and coaching little kids one or two days during the week), friends, family and plain old down time, he makes it look easy. I don't know how intentional he is about the balance he has achieved but frankly I don't really care because he's doing great and I'm proud of him. I wanted to share a thought I had whilst at dinner last night with my wife. We were talking about our son's high school which is known to be really great (I'm not a very big fan). And specifically we were chatting about his teachers which I am not especially impressed with. And I said to my wife - "man I miss those Monarch School teachers". And I really do. His teachers now are fine. Monarch School teachers are light years ahead of fine! They are truly special. While I wish our son could continue to be taught by teachers of Monarch School caliber, I am very grateful that he had them for the time he did (I bet he is too). They made such a positive difference for him in many, many ways. I must thank Monarch again for assembling and leading such a talented team of educators! read more

I feel so blessed to have our son in Monarch's care, that I felt compelled to write this review. What a special place they have created for the lives of young people and their family. We too saw worrisome reviews on websites that made us question all the other great reviews and information we saw and heard about the quality of Monarch's program. Thank God we trusted our educational consultant and chose Monarch ... because we couldn't be happier. This school is the REAL deal, and from what I've learned now that our family has been with Monarch for 4 months, Monarch is actually world class, meaning it's one of the best boarding schools in the WORLD! That's certainly how we feel. The level of love, care and expertise can't possibly be higher and more genuine than it is at Monarch. And every person they have hand-selected for their team embodies this world-class care every day. You don't just see it; you can FEEL it as I have consistently when I'm there in person or on the phone. But the proof is in the pudding ... because in a word, we have our son back. Under Monarch's caring, highly-trained guidance, our son is a miracle in how completely he has transformed his life. I simply cannot recommend Monarch School enough. There aren't enough stars to give it ... a 5-star review doesn't do Monarch justice. It deserves all the stars in the universe because Monarch has certainly changed our family's world! Thank you read more

Thank you so very much for your warm welcome, having the girls join us, the 'tour' and your empathetic heart) There was definitely sweet sorrow in the air; thank you also for allowing us the space to move through that; and to my relief, the support in attending to all those little details in lessening the awkwardness and uncomfortableness of 'the first day. It was an absolutely beautiful drive back along the Clark Fork, I was happy to pull in my drive at the close of the day. Miles to process and contemplate....I came away confident that this absolutely was the right next step. I never knew one could have so many wrestling matches with oneself considering the weight of the decision. I am ever so grateful for Monarch! read more

Three years ago this week our family transitioned from the woods of Georgia to the mountains of Montana so afraid and hopeful. The journey was amazing. We think of Monarch often ~ we learned so much. We wanted to share an update on our son. We enjoy a strong, honest, deeply loving relationship with him as he grows into an independent young adult. He is now a sophomore in College and has been carrying 6 classes/18 credit hours each semester! We just received a letter from his College, informing us that he earned a place on the Dean's list with a 3.8 GPA! Immediately, we thought of the wonderful team at Monarch and wanted to share this accomplishment. So, thank you. With pride and gratitude. read more