Academy at Sisters

[MorganMDC]

He wants to be the friend, not the dad.

Then give your "friend" a call (or an email, whatever) and tell him that your mother is about to send you away to be quite literally tortured and that he has less than three days to man the fuck up.

Funny you should mention.
He's sitting behind me looking up the place on google maps, all smiley about it.

[Pile of Dead Kids]

Then focus his attention onto another computer in the room. (Oh God, dad looking the place up on google while daughter is ON FORNITS... oh fucking god the irony)

Look, Daniel? You are making a BIG FUCKING MISTAKE. Everything the program is trying to tell you is pure bullshit. Everything they have in store for your daughter is vicious, evil, and a horrible psychological experience. YOU ARE SETTING THE STAGE FOR LIFELONG TRAUMA. Get your own account here and you can have a lot of people with a lot of direct experience tell you this.

Forget about what his reaction might be, Morgan! It can't be any worse than "passively letting his daughter get sent to a shithole" can it?

[MorganMDC]

Then focus his attention onto another computer in the room. (Oh God, dad looking the place up on google while daughter is ON FORNITS... oh fucking god the irony)

Look, Daniel? You are making a BIG FUCKING MISTAKE. Everything the program is trying to tell you is pure bullshit. Everything they have in store for your daughter is vicious, evil, and a horrible psychological experience. YOU ARE SETTING THE STAGE FOR LIFELONG TRAUMA. Get your own account here and you can have a lot of people with a lot of direct experience tell you this.

Forget about what his reaction might be, Morgan! It can't be any worse than "passively letting his daughter get sent to a shithole" can it?

Haha, The irony is incredible.
That's not any of my worries. I know him, and he won't trust this forum is anything more than a bunch of teenagers sitting around bashing. He needs proof on the specific situation, or it's all just relative  :bs:

[Pile of Dead Kids]

If he heard our voices I'm fairly sure he'd know we're not teenagers.

We have people trying to find the info on this particular place, but the reality is that they change names, etc *all the time*. The warning signs are all there: A bullshit testimonials page, "equine therapy", the PDF saying that he has to "stick with" the program. But for him to know *why* these are warning signs he'd have to come here himself and do some reading. (Protip: All the ones closed for abuse said the *exact same things*)

Perhaps he should be informed that the place almost certainly employs people from Sagewalk and Mount Bachelor Academy, two places shut down by the state of Oregon for abuse in that area.

[MorganMDC]

If he heard our voices I'm fairly sure he'd know we're not teenagers.

We have people trying to find the info on this particular place, but the reality is that they change names, etc *all the time*. The warning signs are all there: A bullshit testimonials page, "equine therapy", the PDF saying that he has to "stick with" the program. But for him to know *why* these are warning signs he'd have to come here himself and do some reading. (Protip: All the ones closed for abuse said the *exact same things*)

Perhaps he should be informed that the place almost certainly employs people from Sagewalk and Mount Bachelor Academy, two places shut down by the state of Oregon for abuse in that area.

It's virtually impossible to find any articles on anything about this place.
Page 9 of Google has one thing on them hiring a clinical psychologist, and that's all the general public can easily find.

[Pile of Dead Kids]

It's virtually impossible to find any articles on anything about this place.

That, itself, is a warning sign.

Morgan, would you *prefer* it if he never came here and just stood by until Monday, when if you're smart, you *won't* go there (even to the point of refusing to wear clothes, I'm serious. Whatever you think they're going to do to you for continually doing everything in your power not to go, MAKE THEM DO IT.)

Morgan. Seriously. Not fucking around. Forget what you think he will or won't believe. He needs to have access to the truth, and he needs it now.

Daniel, if you don't believe *me*, start talking to Dysfunction Junction, Joel, Anne Bonney, and Ursus.

But I can tell you right now that I will have absolutely no problem adding your daughter's name to the end of this list if the program kills her.

[MorganMDC]

It's virtually impossible to find any articles on anything about this place.

That, itself, is a warning sign.

Morgan, would you *prefer* it if he never came here and just stood by until Monday, when if you're smart, you *won't* go there (even to the point of refusing to wear clothes, I'm serious. Whatever you think they're going to do to you for continually doing everything in your power not to go, MAKE THEM DO IT.)

Morgan. Seriously. Not fucking around. Forget what you think he will or won't believe. He needs to have access to the truth, and he needs it now.

Daniel, if you don't believe *me*, start talking to Dysfunction Junction, Joel, Anne Bonney, and Ursus.

But I can tell you right now that I will have absolutely no problem adding your daughter's name to the end of this list if the program kills her.

Yeah, No kidding.
The only other thing I managed to get was the e-mail from the actual academy with all the academy info and enrollment documents.
Fuck it, I'll send him this link, it's worth a shot.

[Pile of Dead Kids]

The only other thing I managed to get was the e-mail from the actual academy with all the academy info and enrollment documents.

POST IT. All of it. Redact names if you want.

[Ursus]

Well, I'm not sure this is where this post goes, but at this moment, I don't give a shit.
I'm at risk of being sent to the Academy at Sisters - http://www.academyatsisters.org/ for all of you who aren't aware, - and from my perspective, it looks like hell.
There is no real review anywhere online of this place, and thus, I'm hoping someone here can give me a little insight towards what the program is like, etc.
It appears that they will strip me of my communication with friends, music, and band clothing.
This sounds horrible to me.
Anyone with experience or knowledge of this academy?
Anything is greatly appreciated...
-Morgan

Still searching... It looks like it's a very small program, so the fact that there isn't info out there yet, doesn't necessarily mean that it's more benign.

It's a member of NATSAP, and got a Woodbury Reports "Excellence in Education Award" for 2008/2009 (they even provide a jpg link where you can view the vellum in all its glory). So... Academy at Sisters obviously buys into the rhetoric of the inner clique there.

However, there's a huge red flag for me in that it belongs to the Friends of Families with Children in Crisis Foundation. This was originally a CEDU parent oriented affair; it has since branched out a bit in later years. The other schools currently benefiting from this foundation are still mostly CEDU offspring with a sprinkling of Aspen Ed programs, plus The Oakley School. Here's an announcement made re. Monarch School, another of the participating programs; Academy at Sisters is mentioned in the lineup towards the end. I'd say this is pretty coercive company to keep:

-------------- • -------------- • --------------

Breaking News
Posted: Sep 10, 2008 06:30

Friends of Families Foundation
Lake Arrowhead, CA

Friends of Families Foundation Creates Monarch Fund

Contact:
Dr. Jim Powell
951-317-3151
http://www.friendsoffamilies.org

The Friends of Families with Children in Crisis Foundation is proud to announce the establishment of a Monarch Alumni Association Fund under the umbrella of The Foundation, the 1st such fund designed for one of its participating schools.

Supported by a generous donation from the Monarch Alumni Association and matching funds by the Foundation, this special purpose fund allows friends of the Monarch School (located in Heron, MT) to donate to the Foundation and earmark those monies for students attending Monarch School. While the donor may not name a particular benefitting student or family, targeted giving allows the Monarch School to benefit from the fund to provide financial support for future families in need.

"We are very excited to receive such generous support from the Monarch Alumni Association. Like our trustees, they are dedicated alumni parents working together to support families in need. We are looking forward to a long future of helping Monarch School students", stated Brandi Elliott, Foundation representative.

"Working together was a natural occurrence for us. We share similar experiences and visions both as parents and as charitable organizations. We encourage all of our participating schools, their related associations and parent/corporate organizations to contact us to discuss targeted giving opportunities unique to their school/program," said Joel Horowitz, Foundation trustee and co-founder. "Working side by side with the Foundation, allows us to leverage our resources to help more Monarch families", said Bruce Janklow, Co-President, Monarch Alumni Association.

The Friends of Families with Children in Crisis Foundation, originally founded in 1998 as The Friends of CEDU Foundation, is a non-profit corporation recognized as a Section 501(c) (3) charitable organization by the Internal Revenue Service. According to Elliott, since its inception, The Foundation has helped dozens of families. "In 2007, thanks to our generous donors, we were able to support 6 families. This new association helps keep our momentum going and will hopefully motivate others to participate and contribute."

Current Friends of Families Foundation participating schools include: Academy at Sisters (OR), Oakley School (UT), Boulder Creek Academy (ID), King George School (VT), New Leaf Academy of North Carolina (NC), New Leaf Academy of Oregon (OR), Copper Canyon Academy (AZ) Bromley Brook School (VT) and now Monarch School (MT). Other therapeutic boarding schools should review the Foundation's website to determine if they meet the criteria of a participating school.

All donations and fundraising ideas are encouraged and appreciated and should be directed to The Foundation's representatives, Brandi Elliott 951-315-8320 or Dr. Jim Powell 951-317-3151 or b.elliott@friendsoffamilies.org.


Copyright ©2010, Woodbury Reports, Inc.

[MorganMDC]

The only other thing I managed to get was the e-mail from the actual academy with all the academy info and enrollment documents.

POST IT. All of it. Redact names if you want.

Hopefully these thinks actually work.
https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid= ... UtXQ&pli=1

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid= ... I_qOG3mJEA

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid= ... 0zjPjer6iw

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid= ... wOxYTXNM4g

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid= ... Loattuojng

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid= ... RwL-EMIbRA

[Pile of Dead Kids]

Not working. Try http://www.pastebin.ca or other text dump site. Alternatively you can download the .pdfs and upload them to Fornits itself.

[MorganMDC]

Hoping that works better.

[Ursus]

Parent organization of Academy at Sisters is J Bar J Youth Services. They run four programs; the more coercive ones are first and last:

• Academy at Sisters
  
  provides a personalized emotional growth treatment program for troubled female adolescents.

• Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Oregon
  
  empowering youth through one-to-one mentorships.

• Cascade Youth & Family Center
  
  offering outpatient crisis intervention and support services for troubled youth and their families.

• J Bar J Boys Ranch
  
  serving adjudicated adolescent males in a structured residential program.

[Pile of Dead Kids]

(Damn, Microsoft Word. Time to download the latest viewer.)

--

The Academy at Sisters Treatment Team consists of Case Managers, Clinical Director/Licensed Clinical Psychologist, Teacher(s), Academic Director, Operations Director and Executive Director.  To take advantage of the unified team talent and to ensure consistency throughout the process, the Treatment Team meets weekly to discuss the individual needs of each girl and the overall group dynamics, as well as make important treatment decisions as a Team.

Upon admission, each student is assigned a personal Case Manager. The Case Manager’s responsibility is to make sure that all components of treatment (therapeutic, academic, familial, community, safety, and self) are being utilized effectively. They provide weekly one-to-one sessions for each student on their caseload, participate in various on and off-campus activities, carry out weekly family conferences, facilitate weekly groups, and continually evaluate all facets of the girls’ individual treatment plans with the oversight of Dr. Julie Schneider, Licensed Clinical Psychologist. This ensures that the individual’s program is addressing her most immediate needs and reinforcing positive changes.

The Academy has built a strong Clinical Support Team within the community utilizing the services of a local Board Certified Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist for medication management; a Behavioral Consultant; and Licensed Therapists for additional support as needed. Which means that they don't actually have any of those people on staff.

--

[Joel]

Edited: Wednesday, October 06, 2010