Health & Wellness

RamParents

At West Nottingham, each student is assigned a “RamParent” (formerly called “advisor”), who is the student’s ‘parent’ on campus and the student’s primary point of contact, the advisor, and the “go to” person for any personal, academic, or emotional issues that arise. Most faculty and administrators serve as RamParents. RamParents are responsible for up to 6 students only and receive training throughout the year. Students are encouraged to meet 1:1 with their RamParent for any issues they are facing. The RamParent works closely with the student, their family, and the West Nottingham team. The same RamParent continues with the student throughout their multi-year stay at West Nottingham.

RamParents encourage open and honest dialog and provide effective and engaging structure, guidance, and support. Advising encompasses everything from creating a strong academic plan to helping navigate the challenges of everyday teenage life. All our RamParents are generally available on site and most reside on campus.

Dorm Parents

Every dormitory has four dorm parents assigned to it for the purpose of providing care and supervision, building community, establishing healthy living, and building relationships with the students. Dorm parents are trained to provide a high-quality residential life experience.

When the level of need exceeds the expertise of the RamParent and Dorm Parent, West Nottingham offers a range of counseling services.

Personal Counselor from Home

The Director of Health Services is the on-campus liaison with a student’s therapist or counselor from home to provide continuity. Our “Zoom Room” is a private location in Magraw Hall where students can have virtual sessions with their counselor from home.

Chesapeake Learning Center

The Chesapeake Learning Center (CLC) is our groundbreaking personalized education program which offers a custom learning plan for students who require additional structure and support. The Director of the CLC, Caitlin Chuey, MAT, is Special Education certified with over ten years of experience working with students. Her philosophy in working with students centers on fostering a stimulating and inclusive learning environment where every student feels valued, supported and encouraged to reach their full potential. Her counseling expertise related to behavioral issues encountered by the students is available to all students at the Academy. She resides on campus.

Counselors and Therapists

In addition to the above, West Nottingham has available to our students a team of counselors – on-campus, off-campus, and virtual – who provide a wide range of counseling services. Counseling sessions are available for a fee by appointment as well as on an emergency basis. Counselors are trained in addressing issues of depression, stress, eating disorders, addiction, relationship problems, anxiety, grief, trauma and more.

Aileen “Mrs. Ai” Richardson, MA, MHC-LP, is a graduate of New York University (NYU) in Mental Health and Wellness Counseling. She specializes in pediatrics and family counseling and her work with youth has been focused on ADHD, Autism, ODD, eating disorders and disordered eating, anxiety, depression, grief, code switching and cultural dissonance, and family dysfunction. Mrs. Ai provides virtual counseling and accepts insurance from families from New York.

Jenny Miller, MLPC, provides virtual, on and off-campus appointments to West Nottingham students. Ms. Miller has her master’s degree in counseling with emphasis on Trauma and Crisis counseling and has been practicing since 2017.

Don Webb, psychotherapist, provides on and off-campus appointments to West Nottingham students. Mr. Webb is a therapist with over 40 years of counseling experience with young people and resides close to the campus.

Thus, every student at West Nottingham is supported and embraced by a circle of care to include their RamParent, dorm parent, teachers, coach, CLC Director, Director of Health Services, counselors, and parents.