Carlbrook

[Anonymous]

Colleges do not believe the diplomas are worthless.  You may not agree with the therapy there...so put that aside.  The academics are good, better than the school we had our son in before which was a good Independent (NAIS) school.  Also, you wouldn't believe the artwork that my kid has done there.  There is a committed academic staff that has absolutely nothing to do with the therapeutic portion of the program.  I don't care if the diploma is accredited.  My son got into 10 very decent colleges and Universities with awarded merit scholarships.  Some of the accedited schools in our state are worthless.  Accreditation is filled with loads of red tape crap.  Maybe Carlbrook would rather focus on the academics and pay those teachers instead of hiring a paper pusher.

[Anonymous]

By the way, NAIS (National Association of Independent Schools)require re-accreditation every 5 years.  It takes almost that long to get the necessary paperwork in order.  Schools sometimes can't get accredited for something as simple as not enough PE classes or improper placement of a play structure.  Accreditation is a major problem for ALL small independent schools.

[Anonymous]

If they're going to call themselves a school and not an RTC, BM or some other euphemism then they damn well SHOULD be accredited!!  If their main focus is on academics and not therapy it would only make sense.

[Anonymous]

You obviously know nothing about accreditation.

[Troll Control]

On 2006-04-07 10:34:00, Anonymous wrote:

"If they're going to call themselves a school and not an RTC, BM or some other euphemism then they damn well SHOULD be accredited!!  If their main focus is on academics and not therapy it would only make sense."

I agree.  Others seem to like to speculate as to why they aren't accredited.  There's no good reason.

One of these parents stated that HLA "made them cringe" when they visited, but even HLA is accredited.

There really is no excuse for not being accredited nor is there any excuse for making excuses about it.

[Anonymous]

Ok, so then I'm going to open up a school and charge parents an arm and a leg for their kids to attend but I will not under any circumstances bend to the accreditation standards.   The curriculum will be drawn up and set by myself.  I can call it a school and advertise it as a school and charge tuition for the school and that would be appropriate?

[Anonymous]

DJ, what a smoke screen!  The requirements for accreditation is Georgia are totally different than in Virginia.  Plus HLA has been around long enough to take the necessary steps to become accredited the first time.  They have a model in place and an easier State Dept. of Education to work with.  

Nobody seems to care if Carlbrook has jumped through the proper bureaucratic hoops to get their accreditation...not the parents, the students or the colleges they go to later.

I don't know much about the treatment of mental health.  I believe you know more than me about that.  But, I assure you, I know about accreditation and what a big pain in the ass it is.  It kind of stinks like FEMA.

[Anonymous]

On 2006-04-07 10:44:00, Anonymous wrote:

 But, I assure you, I know about accreditation and what a big pain in the ass it is.  

Yeah, I bet those pesky FDA standards for meat packing plants is a big pain in the ass too.  I bet the regulations that govern true therapeutic centers are a big pain in the ass.  And those wonderful colleges that your kid got into, it sure must be difficult to deal with the accreditation process.

 :roll:  :roll:  :roll:

Again, I think the point is that if you're going to advertise yourself as a "school", ya might want to think about actually becoming one.

[Anonymous]

This poster is correct. Accreditation can be held up because the library isn't enough square feet, or there isn't a locker room for the athletic fields. It means NOTHING except to people like DJ who have nothing else to say.
Check out the admissions to colleges listed on the website AND the incredible merit awards.  
I know a kid who got kicked out of a top prep school the week before graduation. He did not get a diploma but he DID graduate since he fulfilled the requirements. The school wouldn't give him his diploma until he completed a year of college. He went off to college- the absence of the diploma didn't matter at all.

[Anonymous]

If Carlbook is "in the process", they obviously believe it to be important.  Why FOUR YEARS?

[Troll Control]

On 2006-04-07 10:41:00, Anonymous wrote:

"Ok, so then I'm going to open up a school and charge parents an arm and a leg for their kids to attend but I will not under any circumstances bend to the accreditation standards.   The curriculum will be drawn up and set by myself.  I can call it a school and advertise it as a school and charge tuition for the school and that would be appropriate?"

It's legal, and that's the only line they won't (publicly) cross.

Want me to make your diplomas for you?  I have some crayons and construction paper that my nephew left at my house.  I'll even put some glitter on it!

Yes, HLA has been around a long time and their accreditation is a sham, too.  SACS-CASI is in Len's pocket and the four men who do the HLA visits are his personal friends.  So, despite the fact that they are not primarily a school, they are accredited as "academics only" which is a huge and obvious bald-faced lie.

And I'm not putting up smoke screens.  I don't intend to take the focus off the fact that Carlbrook issues worthless diplomas.

[Anonymous]

On 2006-04-07 10:53:00, Dysfunction Junction wrote:


Want me to make your diplomas for you?  I have some crayons and construction paper that my nephew left at my house.  I'll even put some glitter on it!

You're on!   :silly:

[Anonymous]

Question for The Who (I think, you are the one w/ the kid who went to Carlbrook, right?).

Is it true that Carlbrook advertises itself as an academics only school?

[Troll Control]

On 2006-04-07 10:48:00, Anonymous wrote:

"If Carlbook is "in the process", they obviously believe it to be important.  Why FOUR YEARS?"

All of these schools do the same thing.  They APPLY, but never meet the requirements for accreditation.  It's a marketing tool.  Their only goal is to appear on the list at the accrediting agency's website so parents can see the name there.  Most parents mistakenly believe that because they have applied and are listed on the site, that they are already accredited.

After a certain amount of years (when they're about to be dropped from the list), they reapply.  

The accrediting agency allows this because even schools in the "application phase" still have to pay the regular member fees and some extra ones as well.  For the accrediting agency it's free money.

[Anonymous]

Sometimes it takes that long to hire the amount of faculty it takes to have each and every class the State of Virginia has deemed a requirement.  I don't know what their requirements are but in the three or four states that I have worked in, as an administrator, there were more class requiremnts than pupils to fill the classes in any given term.  In a rural area, at a small school, it is hard to get that accomplished. It's not a blemish on their academics.  The colleges, Universities...and especially the parents that are paying, don't care.

If you want to bash them you might stick to bashing the "program" instead of the fact that they are not academically accredited. It's like cutting off the hand because of a hangnail.