I was a student at the Anchor Academy in 2001 and 2002. I just missed Dave
L., but I heard stories about him when I came in. I was at Anchor while Eric
M. was there. I was one of the guys that watched him and I probably watched
him the most. I remember red shirt very well. I remember the details. One of
the scariest things of my whole stay at the Anchor happened at this time.
Eric M. stabbed Chris L. with a school compass. When this happened, Eric was
immediately restrained. After he was restrained, the staff searched his
locker and his bed and found a 12 inch knife that he had stolen from the
kitchen. This is when I really felt scared. I guess they did invade his
privacy by looking for this, but I sure felt relieved by this situation.
Eric was then made to sleep away from the rest of us to ensure our safety.
On red shirt Eric M. was told to do basic calisthenics and running, which he
refused to do. One day I remember watching him for the afternoon, and all
that he did was lie down and sleep for 9 hours while not a single hand was
laid on him else wise.
I have read through this whole forum, and I know information that could help
some of you with your concerns. I can only give you information about the
Anchor Academy because that is the only home my parents have placed me in.
Some of the things said in this forum are not 100% accurate, and I would
like to discuss them.
#1 CBIDWK posted on 2005-09-29-9:40:00
****About the tuition of the Academy being $1000****
The tuition was $850 during my stay at the Anchor, and at the end of my stay
it was raised to $1000, but only for those who could afford to pay. There
were a lot of cases where parents would drop off some of the guys and not
pay a single dime for tuition. We could tell who these kids were because
they never got letters or packages from home and were always getting
presents from the staff at Anchor.
#2 OVERLORDD posted on 2005-10-03-8:36:00
****That he hates people who break up families****
Most of us (including myself) didn't ever give a crap about our families. I
didn't like my mom or dad. Bro Dennis really encouraged us to have a
relationship with them and help bring our families back together.
#3 ANON posted on 2005-10-03-9:43:00
****Our phone calls and mailed were monitored and censored****
Once every two weeks my parents would call, and I was allowed to freely
speak to them with nobody listening in or telling my what I could and could
not say. Bro Dennis aloud me to say whatever I wanted about him or the
program with no consequences for doing so. I was not, however, to back talk
or disrespect my parents. If I was doing that and a staff walked by, the
call was ended. All my letters to my parents are at their home and have not
been edited at all.
#4 OVERLORDD posted on 2005-10-03-15:06:00
****In this post OVERLORDD gave his definition of abuse****
During my stay in the Academy, I never experienced any type of abuse nor did
I see anyone else experience any type of abuse. One thing that OVERLORDD did
mention as abuse was restraint. There were incidents where the staff used
passive restraint to control one of us, myself included.
#5 OVERLORDD posted on 2005-10-09-9:40:00
****stated that only the good ones go on trips****
This is as far fetched as a statement there could be. In October of 2001, we
ALL went on a month long tour in California, and again in April we ALL went
to Tennessee. There were other shorter trips, that only a few selected kids
went on, but these are two while I was in the program that we went on as a
group.
#6 HELENA HANDBASKET posted on 2005-1-13-14:11:00
****we were forced to believe their religious teachings****
The Anchor did teach us the Bible, but there were always kids that didn't
except it. We were never beaten for not believing or told that we were crap
if we didn't believe. They never proselytized us nor forced us to believe
what they taught.
#7 ANON posted 2005-10-14-13:23:00
****the Academy was in Missouri****
The Academy was in Corpus Christi, TX and moved from there to Lewistown, MT
and then to Havre, MT, where I believe it is still in operation. Bro Dennis
always told us that the reason they moved from Texas to Montana was because
of the issue of State Licensing. When the State would license a home such as
the Anchor, Bro Dennis said it would violate the principle of separating the
church from the state. Never did I hear of any abuse claims or accusations
in Texas nor were there ever stories among the guys of such abuses. If you
want to find out more about this, you would have to look up the changing
laws in Texas at the time of the move, and also look for claims of child
abuse against the Anchor in Texas.
#8 ANON posted 2005-10-21-14:23:00
****asked whether or not there are certified teachers, credits are
transferable, and if they attend actual classes****
There are two certified teachers in the school. The credits are
transferable. I am actually a senior at college, going to college with the
diploma I got from Anchor. Many of the guys went home and graduated from
public high schools with the credits from Anchor. As to the questions of
whether or not we attended classes, the answer is YES! But only for elective
classes. The other classes were taught to us on a individual basis through
the ACE curriculum.
After living at the Academy under the supervision of Bro. Dennis McElwrath,
it is hard for me to even imagine the picture that has been painted of him.
Bro. Dennis has my utmost respect and support for his love and concern for
youth in America and his willingness to give of himself for my sake and
others that have attended the Anchor Academy.
