shortridge academy

[Anonymous]

Warm Regards.

A teenager I care about is currently enrolled at Shortridge Academy. His parents had him abducted in the middle of the night and "transported" to some teen wilderness camp. After about 10 weeks, he was "transported" to therapeutic boarding schools.

From what  have read, it is very creepy.

Can someone tell me what goes on there? Are there any alums?

Thanks

[Anonymous]

On our Shortridge Academy wiki page we have listet a myspace group of former detainees you can contact: Myspace group link

What is to say about this place? The programming they use on the teenagers come from CEDU, which originated from a church community where people did undergo surgery so they couldn't have children.

He will properly suffer from some kind of PTSD and have difficulties to adjust to the normal world when he leaves the place unless you can get him out before time.

[Anonymous]

What exactly is the program there? It seems like they don't allow much contact with the outside world. Are there therapists on staff?  Do they allow physical violence?

How can I help this kid get out if he is under age and his parents have signed him up?

Would anyone be willing to write an email to his parents warning them of what goes on there?

[Anonymous]

What exactly is the program there? It seems like they don't allow much contact with the outside world. Are there therapists on staff?  Do they allow physical violence?

How can I help this kid get out if he is under age and his parents have signed him up?

Would anyone be willing to write an email to his parents warning them of what goes on there?

Sigh.  Nothing ever really changes, does it?

 :cry:

[Anonymous]

From what I read, it seems like there are many classes, some wacky sort of group therapy.

It is hard for me to believe that this has any positive long term impact.

Alumni, PLEASE inform me of what goes on at this school.

[psy]

Would anyone be willing to write an email to his parents warning them of what goes on there?

If you can't find anybody willing on the myspace group, i'll do it...  I'll do the research and contact them. PM/email me.

[psy]

Alumni, PLEASE inform me of what goes on at this school.

Seems like a pretty small place.  Not sure there are any alumni here.  Try the myspace group, and if that fails, as i've said above, i'll do some research, contact those kids, interview em, and email the parents my findings.

[Che Gookin]

Got an inside line that Bruce Wilson, RMA Fame, helped set up Shortridge. The personal recollection coming from my source says that Bruce was a nice enough guy.

Looking over the website their workshops take on that familiar RMA-esque feel though.

http://http://www.shortridgeacademy.com/home.asp?Page=Workshops

Hard to say either way, but given RMA's legacy I'd be concerned.

[dishdutyfugitive]

Yes, Bruce did help start shortridge. I personally don't have any fond memories of him. He was generally quiet mannered and was the local 'ranch hand'. He was known to consistently explode like a volcano in raps. I also don't think he believed in the shit that he was yelling at kids. Therefore, his angry indictments served to do nothing more than intimidate kids.  I always thought it was incestuous that he married Dan Earle's daughter. I've never understood people dipping their pen in company ink. Sure, Bonners Ferry was in the middle of nowhere and there weren't any decent looking broads in Boundary County. But, hey, you chose to live and work there. That's the price you pay. You'll never convince me that living in the woods justifies banging your bosses daughter.

Looks like Bruce is no longer mentioned on the shortridge website. Did they part ways amicably ? Did he got bored of taking orders from a former student? Who knows. I think I recall reading here that he moved to another CEDU clogram back in ID.

It looks like they modified the propheet program. They claim most of them are 2 day events. Who knows if they are truly are 2 days? If they are the good old fashion 24 hour marathon (8pm to 7Pm ) then not much has changed.  

CEDU was therapeutic Alchemy.Their twisted marathons relied on sleep deprivation to melt us down and convert us to stockholmy stepfordian zombies. Remember how, even after a brief, 2 minute conversation of no importance, with a friend we couldn't part ways without looking someone deeply in the eyes and saying " I love you man, with all my heart. You really support my inner child. No seriously, I really, really, love you."

[Ursus]

Rocky Mountain Academy (CEDU) does indeed appear to be the founding incentive of Shortridge (short shrift?) Academy. Here is their short bio of founder/director Adam Rainer:

ADAM RAINER, Founder & Director
B.A., Psychology & Philosophy, University of Denver
MBA, Southern Methodist University

Adam relates, first-hand, with the students and parents who struggle with the issues that can come with being a teenager or a parent of one. Shortly after graduating from Rocky Mountain Academy, a therapeutic boarding school in Idaho, Adam realized that his personal life mission was to help other teenagers struggling to find success in life. For over ten years, he has been preparing for, and realizing his vision of, opening his own emotional growth boarding school that is now Shortridge Academy. While planning this endeavor, he sharpened his business sense and managing style by working in business, commercial real estate, and financial markets for seven years. Today, he maintains very strong relationships with his parents and family, largely due to his experience at boarding school. Adam is a sport and outdoor enthusiast. He and his wife Katie are the proud parents of twins.

Some more snippets and other influences of note include:

SARAH WAGNER, Academic Director: "...she is dedicated to challenging students to excel intellectually and emotionally in the school environment. She has also participated in team-building and leadership education as a program administrator, teacher, and trip-leader. Sarah has been with Shortridge Academy since its inception in July of 2002 (before there were even kids)!"
That M. Ed. in Educational Leadership would be from Union Institute and University.

DAVID HASKELL, LMHC, Director of Student Life: "Within his roles as a behavioral specialist, substance abuse counselor, and mental health counselor, David has worked with children, teens, individuals, and families. He also specialized in the reunification of children with their families. David is an experienced Crisis Consultant and Emergency Room clinician. Before coming to Shortridge, David was employed as the Clinical Director of a residential program and therapeutic day school."
Not sure why his name sounds familiar to me, perhaps mention thereof might trigger someone else's memory...

AMY FULLER, Counselor: "...Amy then became a Counselor and Assistant Team Leader at Northwest Academy, where she co-facilitated counseling groups and emotional growth workshops."
BTW, that B.A. in Psychology from California State University is still in progress. But I guess ya don't need one for this job...

SHELLY ISPAN-LAING, Student Life Coordinator: "...worked as a Wilderness Counselor and a Peer Group Leader for the Academy at Swift River. Most recently Shelly was a Team Leader at AIM House, a transitional living facility for young adults in Boulder, Colorado."

MIKE STRADER, Counselor: "As a graduate of Rocky Mountain Academy himself, Mike pursued a career in mentoring and counseling youth. He brings nine years of experience in therapeutic education, beginning with his counseling experience as a Wilderness Counselor at Hidden Lake Academy in Georgia. Mike enhanced his career by becoming a Program Mentor and advancing to the level of Assistant Phase Leader for the lower school phase at Mount Bachelor Academy (MBA) in Oregon. In his last three years at MBA, he served in a role equivalent to Dean of Students as he led special projects, supported all phases and counselors, and facilitated emotional growth workshops..."

[Anonymous]

Why do people send their children to these sort of places? It seems it would make a kid worse that better. Does this experience alienate children from their parents?

[TheWho]

Why do people send their children to these sort of places? It seems it would make a kid worse that better. Does this experience alienate children from their parents?

Unless you were ever in the parent’s situation it is almost impossible to understand.
Imagine a loved one slowly dying in front of you and you have tried everything you could to get them better and then you had an opportunity to get them better but it meant them leaving the home for a year or longer.  Wouldn’t you sacrifice a little of yourself to try to get his person the help they needed even though it meant being away from them?  Or would you be selfish and keep the person home and hope for the best?
Think about it!



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[Anonymous]

1/10
 :guesswho:  :sue:

[Anonymous]

Children are largely a product of their environment. If they are totally out of control, their parents share in the responsibility for the child's poor behavior.

There are programs for children for drug and alcohol addiction. Of course there is counseling, too. But to wash your hand of your child by sending him away to prison isn't an act of selflessness, it is the opposite.

"Therapeutic boarding school" sounds like a total hoax. It permits parents to rid themselves of their problem child without accepting responsibility for their own negligent parenting.

I cannot imagine a child with any reasonable level of intelligence seeing their parents' decision as anything other than an act of selfishness. But I would love to hear feedback from the children who have been sent to such places.

[TheWho]

Children are largely a product of their environment. If they are totally out of control, their parents share in the responsibility for the child's poor behavior.

There are programs for children for drug and alcohol addiction. Of course there is counseling, too. But to wash your hand of your child by sending him away to prison isn't an act of selflessness, it is the opposite.

"Therapeutic boarding school" sounds like a total hoax. It permits parents to rid themselves of their problem child without accepting responsibility for their own negligent parenting.

I cannot imagine a child with any reasonable level of intelligence seeing their parents' decision as anything other than an act of selfishness. But I would love to hear feedback from the children who have been sent to such places.

It is a very difficult decision, I agree with you.  There was a study done a decade or so ago where they talked to families who needed to place their children in the children’s ward at Children’s hospital in Boston (I’ll probably get hammered here because I don’t have a link).  The children were there for a variety of reasons from cancer to liver failure to thyroid disease,  but the one thing they had in common is they didn’t want to be there.  Did the families feel guilty?  Yes, Responsible?  Of course.  There were people who asked the parents how they slept at night having their children in the hospital and questioning whether it was the right decision.  Others questioned why they decided to have kids knowing they had a history of cancer in their family and subjecting their own kids to suffering and death.

The bottom line is unless you have been thru a family crisis it is hard to understand the decisions that need to be made.  Many people decide against the odds to have children knowing the risk that the child may die at birth, have Down syndrome, Muscular dystrophy, emotional problems etc.  But they shouldn’t be judged too harshly.  Were they selfish to have kids in the first place?  Maybe, maybe not.  You seem to be fortunate that you have never been placed in a position to have a family member be treated outside the home.  Try to be a little more open minded towards others, they have been there, you haven’t.




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