I'm going to post some snippets of my parent's correspondance (yes they gave me all the letters Jayne. Don't tempt me or i'll post em all.) with Benchmark Young Adult School in an effort to help explain to those who "just don't get it" what exactly happens behind the scenes:
some background information: I was at Benchmark to finish High school. That was my "issue". Ann Weiss, Ed-con from the department of State and personal friend of Jayne S. Longnecker referred the place as a "theraputic boarding school". The school age ranged from 17 - 24 at the time. There is another thread i stated
here with more specific information. I post this here because it pertains to parent manipulation.
When Michael's blowup came, we directed him to
move off property, go to school, with the intent in mind to complete high
school asap.
That was a lie. When they sent me into motel they sent me 20 miles outside redlands into a motel in Calamesa (desert in every direction). They did this becuase i was attempting to orchestrate a student protest and had found a contract law book which i was using to inform students that they could not have signed away their rights. I had to
threaten them with legal action to get them to allow me to be able to go to school after they sent me to motel. I told Jayne i had contacted an education lawyer willing to work on this pro-bono(bluffed). She bought it since i had been busy studying California education law in motel and was saavy enough to explain to her exactly what she had done illegally.
He has not been attending daily
She told my parents had not been attending Redlands Adult School daily. First off. I was bussed there from the motel, and never missed a single day of school except for a few occasions when they
forgot to pick me up. School attendance records can show this.
why would she lie about something like this?:(He can finish anytime
Not true. I was only allowed to work at Redlands Adult School when Flo (the education lady) was there which was approx 2 hrs / day.
but must finish before graduation on June 6 if he wants to walk.) He is apparently trying to do this. My question is, if Michael does finish HS by graduation, will he still have funding to continue his program at Benchmark at least until September? ... He will improve if we have the time to turn him around. I am not sure
how much improvement we can get done in a year, but we will do our best. I believe he could use at least 18 months, but you'll have to let me know what you are willing to do in order to accomplish this.
At this point my parents
had already stated this was not a possablity. The US Dept of State was not willing to pay for more than a year of "high school" (i was a junior, why would they). She continues:
Can Michael do all of this before
September? It's possible. Will he need more time? He could use the time, and you'll need to tell us what is in your thinking
more time more money. Maybe the previous letter from my dad (in which er letter was a response to) had something to do with it:
It was my understanding from both Carl and Flo that Michael was going to graduate in June. Flo told us she was ordering him his cap and gown. Now I understand things can change, but his graduation date is crucial for us as to whether the U.S. State Department will pay for Benchmark. With only a month to go until graduation, is he on track for graduation, or not?
Now that i think about it. It's about that time the "school bus" started being a little less punctual.
This was the relavant part of the letter my father was responding to:
As to school, Michael could be finished very quickly if he so chose. He seems to realize that he needs more time, but I'm not sure he thinks its for the same needs as the rest of us. Academically, he is pretty sound. but emotionally, he is still very dependent. He could use more time than September
She does not seem to get NO MORE TIME. conidering my parents made the situation clear when i
enrolled.
this regarding the three cup o noodle soup / day diet:
we could put him on the same old boring menu... anything that will underscore his need to comply.
Here is my father's subsequent response to her requests for more time:
-- If he graduates in June, the State Dept. will pay, and has already paid, for Benchmark until September 30.
...
-- Assuming that he graduates in June or sometime between June and
September, the State Dept. will not, I repeat not pay after September 30.
...
-- We are not in a financial situation that we would be able to pay after
September 30.
...
the U.S. is crucial to whether the State Dept. will fund Benchmark passed September (assuming that Michael does not finish high school by September and State is willing to pay) that would be crucial as well since if we are in the States, the U.S. State Dept. will not pay for Benchmark... we must be overseas for State to pay.
...
I have some concerns about any discussion about going beyond September because I don't see how that would be funded? My last conversation with Carl seemed to indicate that Michael was told that he has until September 30 to Sink or Swim. At least, that was my understanding and that is why we are considering being reassigned to the States. If he were to fail at being independent and he reached out to us, we wanted to be more available
I was very lucky my parents were so kind. If it were not for their compassion they would never have discovered the truth about what was really going on.
You guessed it folks. In her response she urges my parents to go overseas:
Whatever you do, should not
include Michael's returning to home, wherever that may be, to live. He
needs to tell us what he is willing, and able to do to take care of himself.
However, the emotional issues that still plague him are still there, and he
needs help to deal with them in order to be at his best, and hopefully by
now, he is willing.
Interesting isn't it. Translation: "NO NO NO.. don't come back... just stay thousands of miles away... and we'll
take care of him."
oh. but don't worry we'll offer him a scholarship but DON'T TELL HIM ABOUT IT!!!:
"I may or may not wish to have Benchmark continue with Michael beyond September, but I have scholarshipped some kids who I believe in and who will absolutely take advantage of this in a healthy way. This is a fact that I do not wish anyone to discuss with Michael. I share it only because he could make significant gains by then and would benefit by staying awhile longer.
Not quite. She shared it because she wanted to further convince my parents to go overseas, and that i would be fine without them. Why not tell me? Because "scholarships" aren't quite what they sound like. She gives "scholarships" to kids when she needs a remodeling job done. It's free labor, just give them a $60 / week motel and a cup o noodles diet. It's cheaper than mexican. When the job is done they get dropped on the streets. She'll tell your parents whatever she feels like: EG: "He ruined his last chance ..."
This happend to a friend of mine, he was raped while on the streets. His parents would not take him back. He was sent to Benchmark for ADHD.When you did that Jayne. You made youself a lifelong enemy.
Now. to get back to more general things. What happens when a parent asks about the specifics of "therapy?"
I am not
eager for parents to get involved in the questions surrounding therapy
anymore than I am eager to explain the in's and out's of our emotional
growth program, and frankly, Dr. Nelson is so busy, that I can't guaranteethat he will have the time to answer all the questions you may have. We don't generally involve parents in this way, with the professionals that we have dealt with for years, and whose work we have seen and trust.
Well i wonder why. But parents. Trust them. They know what they're doing. They have GED degrees.
Oh. And Nelson is their only psychologist they refer to, and is not employed by the school. Yes. they're had a long healthy relationship over the years. Hypothesis (not allegation, since it would be very hard to prove): Nelson says all the kids are fucked up, nelson gets more business, Jayne is happy, parents think kids crazy, Nelson is happy, he keeps getting more "clients".
The contract signed on intake states a kid will only see doctors / shrinks the school approves and recommends. Hmm...
At some point i am going to post all these letters online. Soon. Jayne, Soon. ::jawdrop::
PS to Fornits Webmaster: the cookies ARE broke. Maybe i clear my cache and try it again. you did switch hosting companies so maybe it has a cookie stored but will not be used because of differing IP addresss.