At Cherokee Creek Boys School our mission is to “challenge boys and their families to discover what is real and true about themselves and the world around them.”  When we became familiar with the work that best-selling author, family counselor and researcher Michael Gurian is doing through the Gurian Institute, we realized that our two organizations shared many of the same core values.

Michael Gurian

Cherokee Creek agrees with Gurian that:

Boys learn differently than girls.

There are over 200 physical, chemical and hormonal differences in the brains of male and females…resulting in different behaviors in the classroom and in life!  Boys have more cortical area devoted to spatial-mechanical functioning, and half as much to verbal-emotive functioning than girls.  Boys need to move their arms and things through the air!

Boys can thrive educationally with a “boy-friendly learning environment”.

Gurian highly recommends an active learning atmosphere for boys that includes “small classes, relevant content, and the spirit of competition.”

Boys have an innate need to connect with nature.

Gurian has commented: “Going outdoors is really big… people don’t realize when boys are sitting in their seats all day that a part of their souls isn’t developing.  Any boy who is at risk of having behavioral problems can find a lot of healing in nature.”

Boys benefit from having families equipped to understand their needs.

Parent education that involves an understanding of how boys learn and develop differently has become a regular part of what we do each year. Healing must involve the whole family.

The designation of Cherokee Creek Boys School as a Gurian Model School illustrates our commitment to using brain science and nature-based research to create an optimal learning environment for boys. Our teachers have received training in brain-based gender differences, and with the support of the Institute, we continue to keep up with the most recent research and share new information with faculty for application in the classroom.

CCBS Founder Beth Black states “By focusing on boys’ needs and providing the single gender education classroom to meet those needs, we have become the first therapeutic-setting school to earn the Gurian Model School designation. It validates what we do here and why it works.”

That’s why we like to say unapologetically, “Cherokee Creek is a place where boys CAN be boys!”