Dahlonega Nugget Letter to the Editor from Clarke Poole

[Anonymous]

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I am not a disgruntled HLA ex-employee


To the editor:

Let me correct factual errors contained in the documentation filed last month in the class action lawsuit against Hidden Lake Academy, as well as dispel rumors that have spread in the wake of that suit.

First of all, I was never the Admissions Director of Hidden Lake Academy and, therefore, never involved in management or planning decisions. I was the senior Admissions Coordinator, working directly with families and their children seeking admission to Hidden Lake.

Second, I am not a party to the suit, nor is it my intention to cast dispersions on the therapeutic school industry, the associations and/or the professionals who work within the industry. I do not even know the identities of those who are parties to the suit. In fact, I was not aware a suit was being prepared until weeks after I resigned from Hidden Lake.

Third, I am not a ?disgruntled ex-employee.? To the contrary, I was a disgruntled active employee. For almost two years, I voiced my concerns to my supervisors and the owner of Hidden Lake Academy concerning what I considered to be unsafe and unethical practices regarding the admission of certain students. But my concerns were dismissed and I was routinely admonished for raising them. In February 2006, when I was denied a meeting with school management to address issues of grave concern related to the safety of students, it was ethically incumbent upon me to resign.

I believed it to be my professional responsibility to be forthcoming about my concerns to the educational consultants across the country with whom I had dealt. They deserved to know the truth, and I believed then, as I do now, that the most objective manner in which I could relate it was to send copies of email correspondence to specific consultants which showed both sides of the dialogue regarding these matters, as opposed to re-phrasing and presenting just my opinions. Apparently, some of the consultants with whom I corresponded felt a similar ethical commitment to their colleagues. Soon, copies of the emails became widely distributed among educational consultants.  
 

Let me be clear: I entered this industry over eight years ago because I cared about families in crisis and wanted to make a difference, and I am proud to be surrounded by competent and caring professionals who share this commitment to the health and restoration of families. I have seen first hand the lifesaving changes that can result from early intervention and sound therapeutic help provided to a young person. NATSAP accredited schools and educational consultants do an excellent job in serving their clients, and I firmly believe and enthusiastically endorse them in their efforts to help families in crisis.

To that end, I believe the members of IECA, NATSAP, and others within this industry adhere to unyielding professional ethics and the bedrock principles of ?do no harm?, and as such, I submit that silence in the face of unethical or unsafe practice is not an option. It is our professional duty to each other and to the families we serve to share information which, if withheld, could jeopardize the safety of those young people who are placed in our care.

Sincerely,

Clarke Poole

Hendersonville, N.C.

[Troll Control]

We all know Clarke handled things appropriately by going up the chain of command and voicing his concerns.  Unfortunately for him, as it was for me a decade earlier, HLA's management simply does not want to hear the opinions or concerns of any staff that may end up with an admission of wrongdoing or a hit to the revenue stream.

HLA is and was fully aware of Clarke's concerns and the absolute validity thereof and chose to throw Clarke under the bus rather than address the safety issues surrounding their attendees.  This is going to come back to bite them - very hard, and very soon.

It is precisely this wonton neglect of "at risk" kids at HLA that shows, in crystal clear terms, that HLA and Dr. B care about nothing more than money - not even the health and well-being of those whom they claim to "serve."  This is the sad reality of this dangerous institution.

[Anonymous]

although i really disliked clarke pool for telling my parents and me that there was horseback riding and swimming when i went to hla 3 years ago, and "forgetting" to mention restrictions and strip searches to them, I think i love you now clarke pool.

[Deborah]

From the Nugget.
Is this child ODD? What was he in trouble with the law for? What was the "comment" that resulted in him being sent to a D-home and boot camp then 5.5 months probation?
Why was this same testimonial posted anonymously at HLAs ezBoard forum?
One thing for certain, this mom knew she wasn't sending her son to a traditional boarding school.

HLA did what I could not do
To the editor:

My son, Cody, has been at Hidden Lake Academy for 18 months. We tried many different things before sending him there. He was diagnosed with ADHD when he was 6 years old. He was always a handful for his teachers even though he was very smart. He was always a handful for his parents too.

We did fine in middle school, but in high school it all fell apart. Cody got in with the wrong crowd. Cody started doing drugs and thinking it was making him popular he began selling them too.

We took him to rehab and left him there for observation and they said it wasn't ?bad enough yet? and wouldn't pay. So he came home and within a couple of months he had been picked up by the police twice and taken to the detention center.

Each time I said, ?Please help me,? because I didn't know what to do. I never tried to get him off because I knew he needed help. They sent him to a mental health facility for two weeks trying to get his meds right. The day after he got home he was in a very bad wreck. By this time, since he had already been in trouble with the law they would admit him to the rehab facility.

Because of a comment he made there he was locked up at the D-home for five weeks and was sent to a state-run boot camp for 92 days. I had hopes this would help. When he came back he was placed on probation for 5-1/2 months.  

Soon as he got off he was back in trouble.

I knew we had to do something drastic. Going to a therapeutic boarding school was a difficult decision for me. For one, it is very expensive and I knew he would be gone for a long time. But one of his friends had already died from a drug overdose. Several more had been sent to rehab and many more were on probation.

Thankfully we had family that offered to help pay or we could not have done this.

Well, in five weeks Cody will graduate high school and will start college in January.

It has not been easy and there have been times when I didn't know if we would make it.

Knowing what I know now, would I send him to HLA again? You bet I would!

My only regret is he should have been there two years before he got there.

HLA has done what I could not do for my child. They have hopefully given Cody the tools to make better choices in life. Now, it's up to him.

Sincerely,
Beth Wright
http://www.thedahloneganugget.com/artic ... wright.txt

[Anonymous]

This is the same kid whole stole things all the time. Take a look through his closet right now.

Ask "Batman" about Cody....  and the threats he made all the time to other students. (Those involved know what the deal is....)

You think that kid's made progress?  :rofl:

[FLCLcowdude]

This is the same kid whole stole things all the time. Take a look through his closet right now.

Ask "Batman" about Cody....  and the threats he made all the time to other students. (Those involved know what the deal is....)

You think that kid's made progress?  :rofl:

Damn Skippy. Ask batman also what happened on his birthday, he should be able to tell you the story...

[Troll Control]

Please, enlighten us.  I'd like to hear the story.

[Anonymous]

Maybe someone from Child Protective Services should speak to "Batman" about what happened.

[Troll Control]

Maybe so.  Let's hear the story first, though.

[Anonymous]

The kid had the shit beat out of him. Is that good enough?

[Troll Control]

Not really.  I'd like to hear the who's, what's, when's, where's, why's and how's.  I'll call CPS myself to report it, that's not the issue.  The issue is the public's right to know what goes on in a facility that is in part supported by our federal tax dollars.  It's also important to educate consumers of HLA's product.

Let it rip.  Tell the story.

[Anonymous]

It was his birthday, early january, and 4 kids came in his room and "jumped" him. He got 4 stiches in his lip and many bruises. One of the kids that did it graduated in August 2006 and two others on left the school 5 months later. They were not all dismissed. Nothing was done for him by staff and it was not mentioned in "Reals" or group therapy, until BATMAN brought it up himself to the group, 2 months later. that is what happened
209

[RobertBruce]

What happened to the fourth kid?

[Anonymous]

It was his birthday, early january, and 4 kids came in his room and "jumped" him. He got 4 stiches in his lip and many bruises. One of the kids that did it graduated in August 2006 and two others on left the school 5 months later. They were not all dismissed. Nothing was done for him by staff and it was not mentioned in "Reals" or group therapy, until BATMAN brought it up himself to the group, 2 months later. that is what happened

I may be thinking of a different incident, but weren't all of the kids involved sent to Ridge Creek right away?  Also, "batman" talked about this incident with staff away from the group.  They didn't want him to bring it up in group until he was ready to talk about it.  

Again, I may be thinking of a different incident.

[RobertBruce]

So it happens that often then?