​ScenicView Academy’s ultimate purpose is to help our students become empowered to live a life of independence. We meet this purpose through the teaching of our Empowerment Statements, development of basic core competencies, and teaching vocational, educational, residential, and enrichment skills necessary to live on their own.

The Empowerment Statements help a student shape how they feel about themselves, their choices, their future, those around them, and their overall journey through life.  They guide students to view the mountains of their challenges not as barriers to success but as opportunities to help them reach the “scenic views” life has to offer.

I am worthy of respect and connection
INHERENT VALUE

Out of all the empowerment statements, this one is most important. This is because if we believe we are not worthy of respect or deserve to connect with others, we will have a difficult time incorporating the rest of the empowerment statements. Empowered people know who they are and allow that knowledge to guide every aspect of their lives. This first statement reminds each of us that our personal worth and value isn’t based on what we can or can’t do, or things we have or haven’t accomplished. Inherent value means you were born as a person who has something to offer the world and therefore you deserve respect and to be loved by others. This empowerment statement serves as the starting point for all other statements.

I always have a choice
AUTONOMY

Empowered people know they are not victims of their circumstances. They know that while they cannot control what happens to them, they can always choose how they will respond. In his book Man’s Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl wrote these powerful words after spending years imprisoned by Nazis: “We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms -- to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”

I know how my strengths & weaknesses affect my life
SELF-AWARENESS

Empowered people are confident in their strengths and use them to step up to challenges. But they also are not afraid of their weaknesses and recognize in them the opportunity to learn and improve. They are able introspectively look at and measure themselves in a healthy, balanced way seeking help and support when necessary, but also confidently taking on the tasks they are equal to.

I am in charge of my future
GOALS & RESPONSIBILITY

Recognizing their autonomy, and being aware of their strengths and weaknesses, the empowered person sets goals to ensure they are becoming the person they want to be. They recognize that without goals, they are leaving their future to chance--a prospect they are not okay with. They see that ultimately it is they alone are responsible for who they become and what they achieve in life. Parents, teachers, or others can influence them, but at the end of the day, they are the ones who set the sails and chart the course for where they want to end up.

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I have the flexibility to solve life's challenges 
PROBLEM SOLVING

While the empowered person is in charge of their future, they also recognize that often life doesn’t go as planned. Regardless of planning and preparation, sometimes life throws us a curve ball. But instead of throwing goals away, or quitting altogether, the empowered person adopts a growth mindset and sees the challenge as an opportunity to improve. They problem solve by looking at the situation, identifying the options they have available to them, recognizing advantages and disadvantages to each option, and then choosing a solution.

I can do hard things
RESILIENCE

Even though empowered people are flexible, some days are just plain difficult and some tasks feel too impossible to accomplish. Attempts to identify an easier solution haven’t gone the way they want, or they feel overwhelmed by real or perceived weaknesses. But buoyed up by their inherent value, empowered people are remarkably resilient choosing to not remain defeated by seemingly overwhelming challenges. One small step at a time, they dust their clothes off, bandage scraped knees and hands, and keep moving forward. It’s not that they don’t fail; they just don’t let their failing define them. Instead, they keep trying until the impossible tasks become possible. They keep going until weaknesses are turned into strengths.

We all need each other
INTERDEPENDENCE

Empowered people recognize the role others play in helping to reach personal goals and overall success. Their level of self-awareness helps them to see the need for reaching out to others who have strengths where they themselves are weak. They also recognize the importance of using their strengths to lift others. They understand that while at times it may seem easier to just ‘go it alone,’ in the end, it’s through our connections we are able to accomplish much more.

I find joy in the journey
​PERSPECTIVE

The empowered person recognizes that while not everything may go the way they want it to, they can choose how they respond to any situation or circumstance. They, therefore, choose to look at the ups and downs of the journey with joy. They recognize that happiness isn’t something they should push off until everything in life is ‘just perfect,’ but that it is a day-to-day decision.