You asked why people don't give their names. I can't speak for others, of course, but in my own case it's because we don't trust Hyde. My spouse and I harbor deep resentment toward several Hyde staff who, in our opinion, were abusive, mean spirited, and horribly destructive toward one member of our family and (at least) several other students and parents. We have not yet decided what formal action we may take against Hyde. So, while we're interested in telling our stories and exposing Hyde far and wide, we're not ready to disclose our names in this forum. I know that may be frustrating, but at this point it's what we feel we need to do. I hope you understand. In the meantime, I applaud your contributions to this web site and your balanced, reasoned, fair critique of Hyde. I regret that Hyde administrators mistreated you so badly.
Hyde taught us many lessons, mainly with respect to how one should NOT run a school for struggling teens. Now that we've decided to leave Hyde we're discovering that there are a number of very impressive alternatives that are far more enlightened and constructive. We're so sad we didn't know about these alternatives when we decided to enroll our child at Hyde. At the time we didn't know much about the "industry." Now we do and are horrified that Hyde is able to intrude in people's lives so negatively (not that everyone has a negative experience, but there sure is a large number). It's interesting to me that Hyde is able to survive with so many good schools out there that are so much more effective than Hyde (in my view). Of course, with the advent of web sites like this and that Isac Corp that someone mentioned, Hyde may have a tougher time surviving in this competitive market.
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Unfortunately, everything you say resonates with my own experience. I've always liked a good fight, but for some reason I can't work up any anger towards this institution. I suppose that's because I did see a number of under qualified but highly motivated people trying to do good there, and was touched by their commitment to our son.
But you're right; any institution that tolerates the level of emotional abuse that goes on at Hyde deserves to be called on the carpet.
If you'd ever like to communicate off the record, please don't hesitate to contact me via e-mail.