The Charlton School in Burnt Hills may be the most significant school in our area that you haven’t heard of.

They don’t have sports teams, and you don’t hear about the great accomplishments of its students, but it’s not an overstatement to say the school saves lives.

The people there often come from very dark places. Young girls who are battling depression, anxiety, self-harm or other trauma.

Often there’s nowhere to turn. Heartbroken families are at their wit’s end. The girls are dropping out of school, or worse, thinking about dropping out of life.

It’s there, at was once a home for wayward boys, that girls find their way.

The classes are all Regents-based, but there’s also equine therapy, arts therapy and a career development program where students get to work in different areas of the school or community, getting a feel for being in the workforce. 

They’ve had a 100% graduation rate over the past five years.

Now this school that tries to transform lives is transforming itself. They’re in the middle of a major project to make the school more welcoming. Four new dorm buildings to replace those built in 1955.

Meet a student who says the school has changed her life in a big way, by watching the video of Mark Mulholland’s story.