Whitmore Academy in Utah?

[Anonymous]

Momto3:  You referred to checking to see if the Sudweeks had a license back then---that is the problem with Mark and Cheryl, having the proper license means nothing to them. Right now they only have a license for a Bed and Breakfast at the Whitmore, and they still have about 40 kids at the Whitmore.  They could care less about having the proper license. Now they are applying for "accreditation " for a private school, and most of the parents who have their kids there THINK that place has full accreditation, when they only are in the "candidacy state of accreditation."  They just play games with words and licenses.  Anybody ever see a REAL teacher at that place?  The Sudweeks had kids teaching themselve, and kids teaching kids.  They get to pocket all the money, and don't have to pay anyone.  Bet we parents could really get riled up if we compared what each of us paid for that program....I guarantee you that each of us paid exactly what the Sudweeks knew they could suck out of us....that there was no set fees.  The more we had----the more we paid!!!!!!  The more they knew we were willing to borrow, the more we paid.  That's the way it worked.

[mom2three]

There wasnt a set fee schedule? Wow, that does leave it wide open and by the time you invest the first amounts I imagine you just keep following through on it. What were they using for their school program? Was there a curiculum guide of any sort? Was it online?

To the previous poster regarding my work with the sudweeks, it was just general labor. I was never there with any of the kids in programs so I will not be of help to you in that way. I am just telling you so you can maybe understand that your kids may well be telling you the truth.

As to their final betrayal, it was just one more mind game that was so well played it left no doubt as to what they were really like at heart. Just one on the list of many, each like the one before but some of them more devastating than others. THis last one nearly destroyed me. They are very good at what they do.

It was also a long, long time ago. Each event just compounded the next and it wasnt what they did it was the fact they did it. It could be something as simple as not having enough of the right kind of cookies in a cookie jar that would set them off and suddenly you were the scum of the earth. Literally, it could be something that small and insignificant to trigger a major episode.

I just want to calrify however, I was never really concerned about physical harm or sexual abuse, it was just one big old mind game.I think it has had just as much effect and there are times I wish they had just beaten me and I would have KNOWN for sure that I was being abused and gotten the hell out of there faster.

[schacherer]

I was in the whitmore last year as to the school schedule, there wasnt any. when the kids first get there they are set up with an e-mail address and classes online. you have to wait for a password from the school site, but for some kids that would take up to 5 months. we had a time to school, usually about 2 hours a day. we were able to sit around the mansion and do school, some kids did and others didnt. nobody ever checked to see if you were actually doing school. personally, i never did one single assignment. i would just tell cheryl that i was. She pretty much just gave me my credits. I was sort of like chris. like i wrote stuff for cheryl to make to program look good. i talked to parents, told them i loved it and it was a great place to send their kids, all sorts of stuff. if you get on her good side she has you do those sorts of things. but i never once believed anything i was made to tell others, i did it because i was afraid of getting in trouble by her. i hope this helps.

[schacherer]

while i was in the whitmore the state would come eevry couple of months or so to check it out and to see if the program was run the way it was supposed to be. well we were allowed to have razors, shampoo, ect, all of the bathroom and cleaning supplies you would have in a home. well when mark and cheryl knew the state was coming they would make all of us kids take everything out of our rooms, such as razors, shampoo, windex, comet, all of the knives would be taken out of the kitchen, the laundry would be locked up, the detergeant, ect, also cheryl would lock her room and also the fruit room (thats where they would keep extra food and cleaning supplies. anyway, after they would search the mansion and also the boys house we were able to get everything back. also she made us thuroughly clean the whole entire mansion. when they left we had access to everything. in cheryl and marks room cheryl had a whole closet full of pills she would ask me all of the time to go into her room and get pills for her. if i wanted to i could have taken whatever i wanted out of there. also one time cheryl had a few of the girls clean her room for her, two of the girls stole pills and took them, cheryl knew about it and the girls were punished.

[Anonymous]

Mom2three,
You mentioned it would have been easier if they would have just beaten you... you would have gotten the HELL out of there!

Ironically, I had this same discussion with my son today.  Mental abuse is so much harder to see, understand and prove.  Internal scars don't show.  It is really a worse kind of abuse because it can go years unnoticed or untreated.  It is the second guessing, constantly wondering if you are causeing the abuse by something you said or did.

After awhile it becomes normal or an acceptable way of life.  He kept saying today, "Mom, Cheryl never hit me, but it was the constant daily mental mind games.  She would drive you crazy and make you second guess yourself."  "I knew I hadn't done something she accused me of, but after awhile she would almost convince me I did." "I started to wonder if I had blackouts and just didn't remember doing it!"

I saw just a fraction of the mind games during a couple of my visits.  I even experinced her mind games personally.  She is very good, and almost convinced me I had said something I hadn't.  It freaked me out how she twisted things around and messed with my mind.  I am an adult, and it nearly worked on me!  Imagine how well she could twist fragile, troubled minds.

Alum Mom

[mom2three]

I was sort of like chris. like i wrote stuff for cheryl to make to program look good. i talked to parents, told them i loved it and it was a great place to send their kids, all sorts of stuff. if you get on her good side she has you do those sorts of things. but i never once believed anything i was made to tell others, i did it because i was afraid of getting in trouble by her. i hope this helps."

When I read "I never once believed anything I was made to tell othere" I wanted to stand up and cheer! That is so great you could come out of it with a sense of self and your own truth! That says a whole lot about your charactor and I think you are going to go far in life. Well done!

Kids are a whole lot smarter than adults like to give them credit for, so I want you to know, I give you a whole lot of credit!

Thanks for explaining the schooling. Now that you are "out" have you been tested as to your education level? Have you missed much? I dont imagine it will take you too long to catch up but still, I hope you arnt too far behind because of your "accredited education".

[Anonymous]

Have any parents talked to Tim Lowe the therapist since he left Whitmore? He checked a lot of our kids into Whitmore. Wonder why he REALLY left.  Wonder if he go paid for his role as "Admissions Director" for the Sudweeks?

[Anonymous]

If you look at the site "Who AM I DISCOVERY" they still have him listed as Dr. Tim, Therapist, but I sure wouldn't send him an email, you know who would be reading that email, Cheryl of course. Just like she read all the emails we sent to our kids.

[schacherer]

Another thing about the e-mail, Cheryl doesn't necessarily check the e-mail that got back and forth form you and your kids. When I was there she had me go through all of her e-mails. Kids talk and many of the e-mails are personal, would you want the whole "whitmore program" reading what you had to say to your kids or even to Cheryl about your kids?

[Anonymous]

to go on what leah said i think the only reason they made you send your emails through was so that... later on.. if anything came up they had a record of the email. that type of thing.
oh and hi leah! do you have aim?

[Anonymous]

New subject... food, what was/is the food like there?

[Antigen]

On 2005-02-01 16:41:00, schacherer wrote:

"Another thing about the e-mail, Cheryl doesn't necessarily check the e-mail that got back and forth form you and your kids. When I was there she had me go through all of her e-mails. Kids talk and many of the e-mails are personal, would you want the whole "whitmore program" reading what you had to say to your kids or even to Cheryl about your kids?"

What were you looking for in the emails? Whether you were ever expressly told what to look for or not, what sort of content would make you feel obliged to let Cheryl know?

I hold it to be the inalienable right of anybody to go to hell in his own way.
--Robert Frost, American poet

[Anonymous]

Is this one of the programs that pays finders fee for kids?

 ::

[Anonymous]

Yes, I believe it does.

[Anonymous]

In my opinion as a mother, not adequate.  My son had lost nearly 20 pounds by the end of his stay.  This is an 18 year old boy who had nearly 0% bodyfat when he arrived and was still growing.

During my visits I witnessed several occasions where the kids had not been feed breakfast or lunch by late afternoon.  On one occasion I took 4 other teens to "breakfast" with us at 2pm.  They acted like they hadn't eaten in days.  The thinest kid cleaned 2 other plates!

The second occassion was during a trip to the Provo mall.  We arrived to the mall late afternoon around 4 or so.  The kids who rode with me had not eaten anything prior to that time that day.  All 4 boys were very hungry.  

We were to meet the rest of the group for buffet around 6 or so.  I bought the boys cheeseburgers to hold them over.  When we got to the buffet I made a joking comment to one of the boys about his big plate of food after his cheeseburger.  When Cheryl heard he had "eaten before the buffet" she got very angry.  She made the boy stop eating. He was made to sit and watch the others eat and wasn't allowed to finish his.  I was mortified and felt to blame for spilling the beans.

My son has food issues since he has been home.  One of his favorite activities is grocery shopping!  He likes to go to make sure our cabinets are full. In the early days of his return he couldn't get full.  He ate constantly.

One day I was going to make a chicken dish in the crockpot.  He nearly went bonkers!  "If I smell chicken in a crockpot I will puke!"  He then proceeded to inform me they had whole chickens in crock pots with water and seasoning.  It was the main staple at the Whitmore.  Usually the chicken was past the expiration date too.  It was much cheaper nearly spoiled.

On his ride to the airport to come home he announced he couldn't wait to have a good home-cooked meal and a huge salad.  He was craving vegetables!  Something he rarely ate before the Whitmore.  That tells me all I need to know!  Hope this helps....