Gaitway High School
Fieldstone Farm's Gaitway School is a public high school for students in the Geauga County School Systems with emotional disabilities and a history of poor attendance and academic performance. Since 2006, the partnership between Fieldstone Farm and Geauga Educational Service Center (Geauga ESC) has combined a learning opportunity with hands-on interaction with horses. The program has been extremely successful as these students have managed to find success, personally and academically, through the magic of the horses. They are attending school (which they did not do before), earning better grades and subsequently, moving on to post-secondary education or career opportunities. It has been life-changing! A building addition to house Gaitway High School was completed in 2008 and up to 24 students can be served in this alternative classroom.
Plain Dealer article on Gaitway High School
The horses do much of the teaching at Gaitway High School.
Sure, humans instruct the math and English classes, but once those morning lessons are complete, students head for the barn to groom, feed and interact with the 35 horses housed there....read more
Mission Statement
Gaitway School Mission:
Gaitway School exists for high school students who thrive best in a non-traditional environment with support from caring, experienced professionals. Gaitway School offers connection to the natural environment, the opportunity to experience a relationship with horses and the setting to allow experiential application of classroom theory. Gaitway School is devoted to each student's personal success.
Gaitway School Vision:
Find and develop strength in every child.
Gaitway School Tenets:
We believe that every child is worthy of an education.
We believe that every child benefits from positive relationships with adults.
We believe that every child deserves community support.
We believe that a connection to nature nurtures growth.
We believe that all children are 'good' children.
Successes
The Gaitway School has proven to be an asset to the community based on the following:
- 100% of eligible students have graduated
- 100% have been promoted to the next grade level on time
- 100% have improved grades and test scores
- Students have decreased the number of absent days by 94%
- Students have decreased the number of out of school suspension days by 74%