Co-ed Boarding School in California, USA

Nawa Academy:
Often referred to as the best kept secret in private education, Nawa Academy is a coed, independent boarding school located on the West Coast in French Gulch, 20 miles northwest of Redding, CA. As a leader in experiential education, Nawa Academy serves students in both middle school and high school, utilizing a hands-on learning approach. Fully accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, Nawa Academy offers courses for students in the college preparatory tract and follows the California State curriculum.

Email: Contact us here    ( or request a callback )

Nawa Academy strives to ensure quality educational experiences for its students.
That is why we have high expectations and stringent guidelines for our faculty and staff. From a highly comprehensive application process and background check, to on-going rigorous trainings, our faculty and staff are competent, safe, professional, and well rounded. Trainings are packed with information about curriculum development, new findings on working with students with learning disabilities, program development, team building and group dynamics, medical procedures, risk management, and outdoor skills. Our average yearly faculty and staff retention is over 90%, with 96% of our faculty and staff returning from this past academic year.

Most Academic Instructors are credentialed and stay current with learning techniques and research. Understanding that each student retains and processes information differently, our Academic Instructors are patient, creative and flexible. They can challenge a student who has solid academic skills and show an unmotivated student that learning can be fun and rewarding.

Many of our Instructors either have a Wilderness First Responder or EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) certificate and formal experience in Vertical and Swift Water Rescue. They also have many years of outdoor experience and have led many groups on wilderness challenges.

Skills and certifications are monitored by the Safety Committee. It is through this committee that new SOP'S (Standard Operational Procedures) are continuously added to the Safety Manual. At Nawa Academy, we understand that it is the staff who make all the difference.

The following is an introduction and brief description of some of the Nawa Academy faculty. Please note the following abbreviations:

EMT (Emergency Medical Technician)
WFR (Wilderness First Responder)
VR (Vertical Rescuer)
SWR (Swift Water Rescuer)

Middle school and high school. In addition to the core academic subjects, Nawa Academy offers many unique elective courses in areas like fire science, metal fabrication, forestry management, tribal customs, computer science, music, etc. Adventure and academic based summer school programs also available.

Our main (on-campus) program, the California Academy, is located in Northern California. The California Academy offers a low student-to-teacher ratio in academic classes as well as a wide variety of electives from fire science to autoshop. Additionally, an on-site learning lab provides exercises to increase reading comprehension and language fluency skills.

After school and on weekends: mountain biking, basketball, baseball, fishing, climbing wall, teambuilding and leadership training and many outdoor activities in areas such as backpacking, rockclimbing, river rafting, caving, etc.

Our main (on-campus) program, the California Academy, is located in Northern California. The California Academy offers a low student-to-teacher ratio in academic classes as well as a wide variety of electives from fire science to autoshop. Additionally, an on-site learning lab provides exercises to increase reading comprehension and language fluency skills.

Nawa Academy is a non-traditional boarding school that prepares students with diverse learning needs to meet the challenges and complexities of the future. Nawa Academy openly embraces the qualities of individuality, responsibility, diversity, human dignity and respect for others. International students accepted. Learn more about our traveling boarding school program (South Africa, China, Canada, Guatemala, Peru, India, and more.

Examples of children who benefit from experiential learning include nontraditional learners, those with time management, motivational and organizational issues, as well as students with learning disabilities. This includes students with auditory processing, comprehension, visual processing, fluency and decoding, and attention deficit / hyperactivity disorder (ADD / ADHD). Students searching for a dynamic educational experience who are excelling academically may also benefit from one of our traveling or snowboarding programs.