Two men founded Elan School in 1970. Each brought to Elan School a set of unique skills and a healthy awareness of the inadequacies of his respective profession:

Dr. Gerald Davidson was a psychiatrist in private practice. He saw the disappointing results and financial impracticality of conventional treatment of adolescent maladaptive behavior, and recognized the limitations of psychotherapy in the treatment of inadequately socialized adolescents. Dr. Davidson retired from Elan School in 1990.

Joseph Ricci, Elan's Executive Director until his death in 2001, was himself a graduate of a self-help community that was a crude precursor of Elan. He saw the need for strong adult direction and professional standards in that treatment. Before founding Elan School, he had already established and directed one of the first self-help facilities in the State of Connecticut, and was instrumental in establishing the first such facility there that also had an educational component. Mr. Ricci's extensive background included counseling of rape victims, Vietnam veterans and individuals with suicidal ideation. His techniques earned him national recognition.

Mr. Ricci and Dr. Davidson agreed upon the need for a facility to teach the mainstream values of American society and provide support and specialized care for adolescents. They recognized an obligation to transmit positive values to the students in their care.

Today, Elan is a co-educational residential school for adolescents who come from all parts of the United States as well as from foreign countries. It has self-contained living units (houses). The facility is located in the rural community of Poland Spring, Maine; 25 miles north of Portland, Maine, and 140 miles north of Boston, Massachusetts. Elan is licensed by the Maine Department of Education as a special-purpose junior and senior high school, entitled to grant diplomas to those students who meet high school graduation requirements.

Sharon Terry is Elan's current Executive Director, having assumed this position in January of 2001. Ms. Terry, who has been with Elan since the mid 1970's, most recently served as its Assistant Executive Director, working closely with Mr. Ricci until his passing. Since undertaking her role, Ms. Terry continues the work begun by Mr. Ricci and Dr. Davidson. She assures that the spirit, philosophy and goals of the school are upheld.

Students are admitted at any time year-round and stay an average of twenty-four to thirty months. The 32-acre campus is in a rural community, 20 minutes from the city of Lewiston and 40 minutes from Portland, Maine's largest city.