Morehouse school to reopen as residential care facility

MOREHOUSE, Mo. -- Two years after Morehouse Elementary closed, the former school building will once again open its doors to serve local children.

This time, instead of a public elementary school, the building will serve as a children's residential care facility.

Proverb Academy, on Carroll Street in Morehouse, will provide residential treatment for boys and girls ages 6 to 17.

The faith-based program is focused on recognizing and encouraging positive behavior and provides individual, group and family therapies, said Russell Gadberry, assistant administrator of Proverb Academy.

"It not only teaches how to cope with their feelings but also how to express those feelings in a positive way without cursing or getting mad and, more than anything, to communicate and say how they're feeling," Gadberry said.

It's the same with their families, he said, adding the purpose of the treatment program is for family reunification.

"The kids may be here because their parents are in crisis," Gadberry said. "Now we're giving parents the chance to manage that crisis and in the meantime the kids' life doesn't have to be put on hold."

He said Proverb Academy is in the completion stages and is working on all necessary paperwork and construction required to open the facility.

The facility's 15 employees already have received proper training and background checks, Gadberry said.

Gadberry estimated the business would be officially open by the end of this month.

"It's not something where typically a child will be in at age 6 and leave at 18, and it's not a detention center," Gadberry said.

One of the goals is to provide a safe, structured setting in which children can learn and practice positive behaviors.

"It's really all driven by the circumstances around the child," Gadberry said.

He said the idea for the facility was driven by the need for additional residential resources for children.

"We found there are kids from this area -- southern part of Missouri -- who get sent to Kansas City, Springfield, Columbia or St. Louis and they're hours way from the family," Gadberry said.

Gadberry's wife, Jennifer Gadberry, a licensed professional counselor, said it's unfortunate there are so many children in crisis.

"At Proverb Academy, we will provide quality therapy and a safe environment," she said.

Renovation

About a year ago, Gadberry and Dale Worley of Dexter, Mo., who is the administrator of the facility, began plans to transform the 12 classrooms at the former school building into a treatment residence with a 48-bed capacity.

"The building's design now is that we will convert four of those classrooms into bedroom sections where there will be six beds and a bathroom," Gadberry said.

Two of the classrooms will serve as a multipurpose room.

A town-hall meeting held this winter to discuss the facility with Morehouse residents generated a lot of positive feedback and questions from the community, Gadberry said.

"Everyone who showed up had a lot of good questions," Gadberry said. "It was, overall, a positive meeting. Since then, we've had several questions. ... I think people are just a little uncertain and want to know what exactly the focus of the facility will be."

Residents' safety has been a topic of concern.

"We have taken the steps to keep everyone safe. Children at Proverb Academy need to feel safe, too, and we have included design features to ensure their safety and that of the residents in the community" Gadberry said.

Another common question has been about what kind of children will be housed at the facility, Gadberry said.

"The kids on our side of the fence are almost the same as the kids on the other side of the fence," he said. "The kids who come here will be from around here. There's no reason to separate or not socialize -- that's part of the process. We want to teach them how to integrate into the school setting and into society."

Gadberry also noted that the children at Proverb Academy will be supervised with a staff-student ratio of 1:6.

Pertinent address:

Morehouse, Mo.