On 2006-05-05 07:51:00, wild thing wrote:
"In response, I am NOT the parent of this student. I am a special education teacher who worked with this student for a month before the parents sent him to Cross Creek. they did not want a California School because "The laws are too strict." They were intent on looking for a bootcamp, not dissimilar to the way they treated their adopted son. I am AGAINST this type of incarceration. Particularly in light ofreading Help At Any Cost.[ This Message was edited by: wild thing on 2006-05-05 07:56 ]"
I have no experience with the school you're talking about, but I am pretty certain it is not incarceration; it is an educational setting. It's structured, but there really isn't much of a military approach going on there.
I am a teacher also, and I commend you for looking out for this young man. But please think in terms of a solution. If he has gone to that school and (in spite of what you may have read) is actually creating some success, starting a huge legal battle won't be helpful at all.
If, on the other hand, it's a bad situation, you should be able to ascertain that through more reliable means than this forum or Maia Szalavitz's book---which is rife with inaccuracies and sensationalized, but false, reports.
I have had experience with parents who are simply asking too much of a kid, whose expectations are unrealistic or even oppressive. A good program can help him develop the confidence to respectfully but firmly stand up to them.
I would suggest--again--that you do everything possible to get a tour of the school, visit with the staff, and read everything you can find. Place little or no value on anything you find online--pro or con. Talk with the accrediting agency, and discuss it with health and human services professionals in your area.
Ask his parents if you can write him. Send him your love and encouragement. That will support him if things are going well, and give him hope if they are not. It sounds as though he's lucky to have formed a relationship with you.