From Venture Academy’s experience in working with troubled teens in Canada since 2001, it is our belief that the starting point for a successful educational experience begins with a thorough and comprehensive Psycho-Educational Assessment. The assessment is the keystone: the foundation upon which our approach with each struggling student is built.

How can any educational program move ahead and implement an educational curriculum that is in the best interest of the student if those teachers don’t know what the child is struggling with?

In all fairness, the public school system is not funded nor is not set up to conduct a psycho-educational assessment for every student that needs it or every parent who wants it. The school assessment may or may not be exhaustive and parents who have gone through the process know it can be a tremendous challenge and can literally take years to get their child in to see a school psychologist.

Venture Academy’s assessment process is typically completed within 30 days. It is a combination of numerous individual assessments, is designed to show why your child is struggling, and can typically tell us:

  • How your child learns
  • How your child processes information
  • What areas your child is strong and weak in and why
  • How your child organizes his or her thoughts
  • Verbal comprehension
  • Perceptual reasoning
  • Working memory
  • Processing speed
  • Attention deficits and strengths
  • Impulse control
  • Emotional control
  • Ability to self-regulate
  • Problem-solving capacity
  • Planning and organizational skills
  • Ability to inhibit problem behaviours
  • Ability to inhibit or block out distractions etc.

Questions for Parents:

  1. Do your child’s current teachers know the above-listed information about your child?
  2. Is this information considered when they are teaching your child?

Not all students require a thorough psycho-educational assessment. Struggling students benefit from one. Venture Academy provides educational support for troubled teens struggling in a traditional school or boarding school setting.

a young teen boy talks to a counsellor while she does her assessment and planning

Assessment & Planning

a girl smiles wide because of her daily success

Daily Success

a teacher writes on a chalkboard

For Teachers

three teens study together outside in the spring semester

Spring Semester

four preteens study together in the summer semester

Summer Semester