Thayer Responds to Possible Justice Department Investigation

[hanzomon4]

Thayer Academy Responds to Possible Justice Department Investigation

An important member of Congress has called for a Justice Department investigation into the death of a 15-year old boy at the Thayer Learning Center, a boot camp school in northwest Missouri. The founder of the school, in her first media interview, has told the Missourinet the investigation will show no wrongdoing.

Thayer founder Willa Bundy and husband John proudly show photographs of some of the 750 teenagers who have gone through the program in the last seven years as they agree to their first media interview The student who died in 2004 is the only fatality in school history.

Congressman George Miller, the House Education chairman, says a Government Accountability Office

report raises questions about abuse and lack of proper medical care. The GAO report says the boy had 30 scrapes and bruises on his body when he died. He says the committee "might very well be on solid ground asking for oversight from the Justice Department" on the death of student Roberto Reyes. The boy died about a week after going to Thayer. An autopsy said a spider bit might have been a contributing factor to the boy's death. The GAO report suggests the boy was mistreated by school staff who did not realize he was ill and thought he was lazy and rebellious. The report says the boy had 30 cuts and bruises on his body by the time he died.

Bundy says she's not an expert and cannot comment on the boy's appearance after his death. She says the GAO relied on statements from websites that are the equivalent of a supermarket sensational tabloid. She says she is shocked by the lack of fact-finding in the GAO report and the investigator's reliance on some statements that are completely inaccurate.

No criminal charges were filed after the boy's death. The school and the boy's parents settled a lawsuit the parents filed, reportedly for one million dollars

Bundy says Thayer has never been found to have abused any child including the boy' who died. The school does not come under state regulation although Bundy says she would not object to regulation as long as it does not interfere with parental rights.

[The entire interview with Willa Bundy (belowoo) is her first response to the GAO report, which was given to the House Education Committee on October 9, and to the committee chairman's comnment that the Justice Department should investigate].

[Note, they have a 60min audio interview at the end of the article on the page the article is pulled from(follow the link to get there)]

[Deborah]

Below is the GAO report on Thayer. Which statements is Bundy refering to when she said, "the GAO relied on statements from websites  that are the equivalent of a supermarket sensational tabloid." ISAC was revealed in the interview, which she said was equivalent to the National Enquirer. Where's the sensationalism in what is reported at ISAC?
http://www.isaccorp.org/thayerlearningc ... bertoreyes

I see links to official docs that support the GAO report. Let's hope anyone who hears that interview does their own research. On what does she base her claim that GAO collected their data from a "sensational" website?
Is she implying that the investigation reports are sensational? Inaccurate?
Where are the staff logs for 10/24, 10/28, 11/2, 11/3? Why are staff Vaughn's comments missing? http://www.isaccorp.org/thayer/thayerle ... letter.pdf

Here's some sensationalism for ya, from the OHI Report:

The general consensus of the staff interviewed during this investigation was that Roberto's symptoms were more symptomatic of Roberto's unwillingness to participate in the Thayer Learning Center program than of a youth who was ill and needing medical treatment. These symptoms when considered one at a time are not alarming. When considered cumulatively, there is much reason for concern.

Not one, not two, but the majority of the staff were/are too incompetent to distinguish the difference between illness and "faking". And too sadistic to err on the side of caution. I mean, someone can't stand up and is shitting themselves and it doesn't register on anyone's radar? Is shitting one's self common at Thayer, so common that they've come to ignore it?
Isn't it common sense that you'd take the kid to the doctor to rule out illness and then apply discipline if he were faking?

GAO report:
10 Male, 15, California resident
Missouri boot camp and boarding school
Nov. 2004 Complications of rhabdomyolysis due to a probable spider bite
• Displayed signs of distress for several days
• Program’s medical officer told staff victim was “faking itâ€

[BuzzKill]

In horses, that condition is called (in the laymen's terms) Tying up.

In horses, it results from a combination of over work and dehydration.

My young quarter horse tied up once. To begin his problems, the owners of the boarding farm wouldn't keep enough water for a horse available to him. We were fighting about this; and I was going over twice a day to make sure there was water in his bucket. But still, it wasn't enough water for a horse in the summer heat.  

Then, one day he had been scared out of his whits by two mules from next door, who got into his field and tried to make friends. He was terrified of them and ran from them - possibly for much of the morning - until I got to the farm and saw what was happening and came to his rescue.

The next day he was found trembling in the pasture unwilling to move. The vet explained it was caused by the insufficient water and the hard work out he had the day before. He told me it was extremely painful - explained about the mussels breaking down - and "tying up" the kidneys - it could kill a horse if not treated.  Had I taken the barn owner's advice, not called the vet, and forced him to run, to "loosen him up" it would have killed him.

Shortly after this, I got my own barn finished, and moved him, so this never happened again - but the point I mean to make is - this condition can be caused by things other than spider bites.

Working mussels much harder than they are used to - combined with dehydration can cause it in horses - so I imagine it can also be a cause for it in humans.

Did they ever find any sign of a spider bite on that boy? The tell tail double puncture marks of a spider?

He was bruised and scrapped - even had a broken collar bone - Was forced to carry around a 20 pound bag of sand. . . I have my doubts a spider had anything to do with it.

But it in no way minimizes the horror of Roberto's death if it was a spider. What ever it was - They let that poor kid suffer for days, and then die right in front of their cold, heartless eyes.

[Deborah]

Bundy claims in the interview that she supports regulation. That not being licensed opened them up to investigations by multiple entities. "Disgruntled employees or anyone" can make claims and Thayer is investigated.

Is she idiot enough to believe that claims against Thayer wouldn't be investigated if Thayer was licensed and regulated?

She divulges in the interview that she's christian and her dad was military. His discipline- made her get up at 4am and run.
When designing Thayer, she claims to have gone back to her childhood training.
I wonder if he would've forced her to run with poop streaming down her legs? Or do one-arm push ups when the other arm had a spider bite with pus oozing out of it?

When asked how staff differentiate between lazy from unable.
She said they rely on the parents characterization of the child and health history. Claims to take kids to dr  :rofl: when they request it.

She claims the program is based on Choice and Accountability.
Very basic- No means NO. If they break rules- they are made to exercise. They participate in the program, or they sit and do nothing (actually listen to motivational tapes).

The obvious question- why wasn't Reyes allowed to "sit and do nothing"? Why was he drug around the track? Why did staff carry him to the shower to clean the feces off him?

Why wasn't he allowed One-on-One? Sitting in a cubicle with a staff member for days on end, according to her kids have sat in 1on1 for up to a week.

Says kids shouldn't participate in religion at program, yet Thayer is christian based. Pray before meals. "Spiritual" reading every night.
If parent doesn't have a religion, Thayer sends them a bible.

The interviewer asked, "He didn't have contusions/abraisions?"
She said she wasn't going to speak to that. Eluded to some of it being caused by CPR, even though staff logs note bruising before his death.

Criticizing Miller she says "All of us can look at history to find where gov't has taken on the role of parenting."
WHAT ARE YOU DOING AT THAYER?

Sick woman on a mission to fix other people's kids.

[Anonymous]

Eeew, I just saw a pic of Willa Bundy.  

Gag me!  The woman talked about her husband, John Bundy's referral business.

Not a conflict of interest there?

Love the part where she talks about Utah.  She worked or owned a program for pregnant teens?

Great news the GAO zoomed in on this particular program.

[Deborah]

And this, from the Child Fatality Review Panel-

The panel feels appropriate legislation dealing with access to the facility by Juvenile Authorities, Social Services, and Law Enforcement should be enacted to help remedy the "lack of cooperation".

[hanzomon4]

Bump

[Anonymous]

Bundy claims in the interview that she supports regulation. That not being licensed opened them up to investigations by multiple entities. "Disgruntled employees or anyone" can make claims and Thayer is investigated.

Is she idiot enough to believe that claims against Thayer wouldn't be investigated if Thayer was licensed and regulated?

She divulges in the interview that she's christian and her dad was military. His discipline- made her get up at 4am and run.
When designing Thayer, she claims to have gone back to her childhood training.
I wonder if he would've forced her to run with poop streaming down her legs? Or do one-arm push ups when the other arm had a spider bite with pus oozing out of it?

When asked how staff differentiate between lazy from unable.
She said they rely on the parents characterization of the child and health history. Claims to take kids to dr  :rofl: when they request it.

She claims the program is based on Choice and Accountability.
Very basic- No means NO. If they break rules- they are made to exercise. They participate in the program, or they sit and do nothing (actually listen to motivational tapes).

The obvious question- why wasn't Reyes allowed to "sit and do nothing"? Why was he drug around the track? Why did staff carry him to the shower to clean the feces off him?

Why wasn't he allowed One-on-One? Sitting in a cubicle with a staff member for days on end, according to her kids have sat in 1on1 for up to a week.

Says kids shouldn't participate in religion at program, yet Thayer is christian based. Pray before meals. "Spiritual" reading every night.
If parent doesn't have a religion, Thayer sends them a bible.

The interviewer asked, "He didn't have contusions/abraisions?"
She said she wasn't going to speak to that. Eluded to some of it being caused by CPR, even though staff logs note bruising before his death.

Criticizing Miller she says "All of us can look at history to find where gov't has taken on the role of parenting."
WHAT ARE YOU DOING AT THAYER?

Sick woman on a mission to fix other people's kids.

I don't think she's on a mission. I think some of them (Steve Laid, Tim Brace) are bonafides crazy. But, women like this are manipulative sadists who don't live a cult lifestyle, just try to make cash from forcing something similar on other kids

[Anonymous]

This lady scares the bejesus outta me.

Any parent who thinks this program is safe should read ISAC's special report to educate themselves about the other side of the story.

http://www.closethayerlearningcenter.com