Middle & High School Education

St. Joseph Orphanage: Altercrest Campus

Grades 7 – 12

St. Joe’s Altercrest Campus is located in Hamilton County in Anderson Township overlooking the Ohio River. We provide students grades 7 – 12 a therapeutic learning environment complete with mental health and individualized educational support.

Education Wheel – Extended Credit Opportunities

The Altercrest School location (grades 7 -12) now provides Jr./High-school credit in Fine Arts, PE, and Life Skills to all students in our Education and Partial Hospitalization programs. Developed as a wheel of credit opportunity, all 3 classes will be offered on a rotating basis to all students. The campus Guidance Counselor will determine each student’s current credit needs and develop a course schedule to best meet grade-level or recovery requirements.

Physical Education – NYPUM

Mark Davie has been running Recreation Therapy groups for over 22 years at SJO. In 1998, he took the lead on an impressive program addition called NYPUM – National Youth Project Using Minibikes. A nationally renowned program, NYPUM offers students an alternative to traditional sports activities. Integral to NYPUMs design is an essential mentoring component that guides and supports youth to make good decisions and become more self-regulated while working with a team… combined with the excitement and challenge of riding a dirt bike!
Interested in partnering with our NYPUM program? Contact: NYPUM@sjokids.org

Life Skills

We are very excited to announce the opening of our new Lifeskills Lab. Bernadette Payne has been teaching and creating learning opportunities for students at St. Joe’s for over 20 years. She has now created a fully functioning ‘learning lab’ for hands-on skill development in a mock living environment. Along with a classroom area for individual and group lessons, the lab has a fully operational kitchen, laundry area, bedroom, livingroom, and more. This spring, the addition of a backyard garden will give students even more opportunities to explore new interests and skills. Practice Makes Perfect!

Fine Art

Dottie Bayless developed our Art Therapy program on the Altercrest campus over 15 years ago. Often running more than 3 groups a day, Dottie has given thousands of children an opportunity to explore their emotions and feelings through their art… along with teaching some fantastic fine art skills along the way! Dottie will continue running Art Therapy groups daily, but will extend her reach by offering ALL Altercrest students the opportunity to earn the Fine Art credits necessary for many students to graduate high-school.