Advent Home Learning Center
From Canada to Tennessee, Advent Home families came to enjoy the first Family Forum of 2013.
Activities were extremely beneficial. The student/staff chorale sang 3 acapella spirituals. Ben S. presented his life story. Adopted after birth, diagnosed with ADHD at 8, and experiencing the death of his (adoptive) father at 11, his defiance escalated until his mother, Karen, brought him to AH.
After 22 months, he feels AH has helped his negative behavior: “Emotionally, I control my anger better and I have a better relationship with my family,” he said.
Steve Dickman, guest speaker and President of Harbert Hills Academy in TN, discussed true education and how it helps restore us to God’s image. He noted, “The four key factors to achieve this are useful work, studying God’s Word, studying Nature and Experiences of Life.” He believes these are present at AH.
Families, students and staff took a refreshing nature walk Sabbath, after which one father commented, “We were able to really converse with our son.”
Sunday’s presentations emphasized parents and staff working together by communicating and upholding the AH Program.
Advent Home Learning Center is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation that operates under Christian principles. It is accredited by the State of TN Department of Education through its agent E.A. Sutherland Education Association (EASEA), Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF); and a member of the Better Business Bureau (BBB) of Chattanooga, TN.
What we are: We are an alternative boarding school for ADHD & ADD students with learning differences and behavior difficulties.
Who we serve: Advent Home serves 12-17 year old, at-risk boys with ADHD, ADD, academic and behavior difficulties.
In addition, we serve 18-23 year old males who need to:
§ Pass GED or High School
§ Get into entry level career
§ Referral to Vocational Training: Job Corp
§ Learn to focus for college
§ Communication and relationships
Services: Boarding school, counseling support, tutoring, advanced and accelerated classes, individualized academic experience, social skills training, outdoor education, parent education, character development, community service, placement, follow-up all in a minimum distraction environment on 225 acres of riverfront property where nature is our classroom.
We also provide…
§ MT® Program
§ High School Diploma
§ Elementary, Middle & High School Classes
§ K-6 to K-12 Education
§ GED Test Preparation
§ Youth Leadership
§ Placement and Follow-up
Mark Mendizabel, former drug dealer turned SDA Chaplain, confronted Advent Home students head-on during Week of Prayer, January 21-25. Warning against Satan’s distractions, he testified that money pulled him into drugs. Accepting Christ freed Mark, but his brother is still in prison.
During Mark’s Friday evening appeal, nine students came forward to give their lives to Christ. One student commented that he was grateful for the opportunity. “I was tired of waiting for tomorrow when tomorrow is never promised,” he said.
We realize God is working and ask that you remember our students and ministry in your prayers.
One afternoon in October 1983, I was preparing to leave the office when the phone rang. "Dr. Senior," a lady' s voice choked on her words. As I waited for her to recover, her husband broke in. "Last night, Bill, our 14-year-old son, was arrested. He's in juvenile detention and we need your help."
That evening at family worship, I shared with my wife and three daughters, ages 14, 13, and 11, the experience I had with the grieving parents. I felt sad to see hurting Christian families who could not get help for their children.
My oldest daughter, Tamara, quietly said, "Daddy, you've developed group homes for the government, why not develop a group home for Christian families whose teenagers are getting into trouble." That night the idea of the Advent Home was born.
In April 1985, we rented a four-bedroom home in St. Petersburg, Florida and provided residential care, counseling and schooling for teenage boys with attitude and behavioral problems, learning differences, ADHD, substance abuse, school failure, and violent reactions. Calls started to stream in from all over North America .
In the beginning we had many problems because of our limited resources. Being in the city and having the boys attending public school, caused us many problems. The boys were sneaking out at night to buy cigarettes, see their girlfriends, and run away.
After two years, I became discouraged with the mounting bills and the difficulty of operating the program in the inner city. I decided it was time to close down the program, telling myself it was impossible to find funding. I called the parents one by one and told them to pick up their sons. One mother who felt her son was not ready to come home, asked me, "What can I do to help you keep the program going?" "Bring me $10,000 for three months and find me a house on five acres in the country," I reluctantly replied.
"I'm only a secretary, but I am going to talk with my friends," she said. In a few days she found a house on 42 acres in the country. In two weeks she brought me $10,000 and another $5,000 a week later. Shortly afterwards, we moved the program to Zellwood, Florida.
My wife, Gloria, and I became more and more impressed with the great need to minister to hurting families and their teens with ADHD. In September 1988, I resigned from my management-consulting job at Honeywell to work full time raising money for Advent Home. I planned to purchase land in order to establish a permanent program in the country.
In August 1988, Advent Home was selected for a grant by Adventist-Laymen's Services & Industries (ASI). The money enabled Advent Home to purchase property and, in May 1989, relocate to its present site on 225 acres in Calhoun, TN By this time we were receiving over 300 calls a year from throughout the U.S. from families who needed our help.
During 2007, Advent Home Youth Services, Inc. changed its name to Advent Home Learning Center, Inc. We are now focusing on remedial schooling, vocational training, lifestyle changes and total wellness for ADHD students.
