Public School and Program Abuse

[Gonzotherapy]

..and people who went to straight saw more than you did.  There was a recent poster who spent 4 years in Aspen Programs and didnt see any abuse.  So it is tough to get a level of the water based on a few posters here on fornits.

I am looking at the overwhelming number of reports coming out of our public school system compared to not any coming out of these programs on a daily weekly or monthly bases.  When was the last report we saw about a child having sex with their teacher in a program?  We dont have the ratios so we dont have exact numbers but the sheer volume is overwhelming.

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Once again, programs cut off all communication with the outside world. How are kids supposed to report abuse? As far as the poster who spent 4 years in the program, give him a few more years to shake off the brain washing. I didn't say anything bad about programs for almost 8 years.

As far as allegations of sexual abuse, here is a pro-program document admitting to just that.

THE CRISIS BEFORE US

What Happened In Samoa?

By: Thomas J. Croke,
Publisher

Because of the sensitivity of the information in front of us, we are not reporting everything we know or believe to be true regarding the account below. We are certainly not reporting everything we have been told. We will update on the web site as we can confirm or refute some of the issues that remain unresolved.

Several years ago, the owners and founders of Cross Creek Manor established a boys' version of their program in Samoa ? Paradise Cove. A few years later, another group, also from Utah, known as A Better Way, llc., started the program known variously as Robert Louis Stevenson Youth Academy, A Better Way Youth Academy, and Mole Ole Ava. One of the principals in this group was Sterling Deveraux, a man I had known, respected and trusted since his days as a therapist at Heritage Center when I marketed there, and again at the Western Youth Network (now part of YSI). Based upon that knowledge and trust, I was the referral person behind the enrollment of their very first student, a young lady who has done extraordinarily well, and swears by the program. Very recently, another program, New Hope, was organized, then disintegrated. According to published reports and multiple sources in communication with us, some of New Hope's students were literally abandoned in the village when that program closed.

The Samoa Story begins with the group of people who have banded together, mostly on the Internet, to attempt to shut down either the Teen Help affiliated programs or the entire industry. (See ?The Crisis Before Us?, page 3.) Perhaps it starts before that, but that is when, where and how Bridge to Understanding became aware of it. A semi-organized group of people was collaborating on the Internet, some to attempt to shut down the entire industry; some to shut down the Teen Help programs in particular.

Another group, which we believe was unconnected with those described in the above paragraph, made up primarily (probably exclusively) of the parents of the young people at New Hope in Samoa, kept in touch with each other via Internet. As a result, as soon as alleged abuses were known, the word spread quickly, to the other parents. Defections followed rapidly. We assume that the drop in enrollment this caused may have dissipated the assets of the New Hope organization, leading to its demise. Published reports and direct statements to us from multiple sources say that some students were simply abandoned. According to similar reports, at the request of U.S. Chargé d'affaires William Warren, both A Better Way and Paradise Cove absorbed some of these, and others were sent home with the assistance of Mr. Warren and Tom Mockett.

The impact of the new students at A Better Way either caused or contributed to a decline in morale at A Better Way. On that, everyone, including the management of A Better Way agrees. Several other events at A Better Way also led to problems. Seemingly with agreement all around, the classroom program carried out in cooperation with the correspondence curriculum from Brigham Young University was not working as efficiently as might have been hoped, and there were some protests from parent regarding that just at the time these events were developing. A fire damaged the building facilities on the older of the two campuses. A Better Way management acknowledges some communication problems. A very charismatic Samoan staff member who was greatly beloved by the students at A Better Way and seen as a father figure by many was let go. We are not at liberty to disclose as many details as we have in our possession, but we are satisfied that this action was not undertaken frivolously. We also believe that this staff member reacted in anger to undermine the program. We have been advised by A Better Way management that the dispute has now been resolved, and others tell us this man is now back on staff.

Another event at the same time was the loss of therapist Jeff Scott, and program director Adrian Faust, just about the time Sterling Deveraux relocated to live in Samoa and take over direction of the program. The issues with Jeff and Adrian seem to be primarily that both parents and students were on overload with change. Both Jeff and Adrian had their followings, but change itself seems more an issue than the particulars of their personalities.

Over this time, and beginning prior to the introduction of the students from New Hope, some of our own parent clients were beginning to complain loudly and energetically about the manner in which they and their offspring were being handled by the program. We could not conclusively establish what went on, but we were alarmed by two A Better Way parents, in very close sequence with each other, coming into sufficient conflict to pull their young people out of the program, following what was in each case their second visit to the island. Both reported deterioration in the functioning of the program between visits, and reported very angry confrontations with program owner / managers.

By February we had our fourth report, confirmed by A Better Way management of possible inappropriate sexual contact between staff and students we had referred (when I use ?confirmed? and ?possible? in the same sentence, I mean that the management was taking the reports seriously, but in at least one case and perhaps three of the four, had some doubt about the allegation).

The first two reports had involved the night staff and we believed had been addressed properly, with respect to the victims, their parents, us as referral source and the alleged perpetrator. Of particular significance, I understood that a procedural change had been put into place to prevent similar incidents. I came back from my April, 1997 visit to Samoa understanding that female students would always sleep behind locked doors when only the all male security staff was on duty. Samoan custom does not permit Samoan women to work overnight without taking on a moral stigma, and A Better Way was limited in the number of Americans they could bring in on work visas. This made it difficult to put female staff on duty overnight. I was uncomfortable with the young women being exposed to a minimally trained all male staff in this manner, but believed the problem to be solved. I later learned (see below) that ?policy? was not maintained.
The third report of staff crossing sexual boundaries was strongly substantiated, and fit no recognizable pattern, as it involved a female staff member. The fourth was recent, and again involved the Samoan security staff. All of these involved students I had referred.

Beginning about February, we began to pick up completely unattributed and unsubstantiated allegations of sexual impropriety at A Better Way on the Internet. Our contacts in the ?opposition? group were quick to let us know they were not responsible and to attribute the source to their opposition in the pro-Teen Help group. They also made a point of not confirming the accuracy of the story, although they repeated their opposition to all offshore programs. The storm really broke for us when we began to receive phone calls and email messages from one educational consultant and several parents who were NOT our clients expressing concern about what was happening at A Better Way in Samoa. We initially doubted these stories because the two parents who had pulled their kids under very angry conditions did not support the particular issues raised. I had several conversations with owner Rodney Rice who vehemently denied most of what was being added by the latest group of protestors. He also denied the reports of the two angry parents who were our clients, although he acknowledged the four sexual incidents referred to above as being at least worthy of serious attention even if not conclusively proven. For purposes of determining procedure, they were assuming them to be true. Nevertheless, in the course of these conversations, I learned that A Better Way had not maintained what I had understood to be its policy of allowing females to sleep behind locked doors and its management denied ever having told me that. They confirmed that students at the ?basement? level had been required to sleep in an open fale (Samoan word for house or hut, pronounced ?FAH lee?), and strongly defended the propriety of that, implying that the policy would continue. I do not suggest that the managers are lying. The assurances I was given on this occurred during my visit in April, 1997, after which there has been almost 100% turnover in staff. David Smyth, one of the owner managers was present for part of this discussion, but I do not know the degree to which he was paying attention. The therapist, at the time, clearly participated in the discussion, and it was primarily he who provided the assurances, but he left the program only a few months later.

As the intensity of the matter escalated, I began to contact other IECA member consultants to gain other perspectives. Except for the one who had initiated a call to me, all reported very positive impressions, including one of great excellence with therapeutic programs, who had just visited in December. However, there was at least one additional story of crossing sexual boundaries from a consultant who believed that was the only case that had ever occurred. If that consultant, who had strongly positive regard for the program, was talking about an actual confirmed case, the total was now five.

Since the downsizing, there has been a rash of allegations of sexual abuse beyond the ones noted above, but referring to a time period before the downsizing. The common element in those complaints is the Samoan night security staff. We can neither substantiate nor refute those allegations.

There have been reports of drugs on campus. Management acknowledges that has occurred. With respect to both drug use and inappropriate sex, management gives a very different description from what some former students are saying. We all know students in behavioral change programs frequently accuse the programs of all kinds of things in order to get out, and that allegations from those sources need to be examined closely. But allegations specifically of sexual abuse can never be ignored. Programs that expect the kids to allege untrue things are in a difficult spot when that happens unless there are witnesses. That is why all staff-student behaviors under these conditions should be witnessed. That is for the protection of both staff and students.

As of this point, A Better Way has downsized, removing many of its negative students. A Better Way has issued two strongly worded letters reassuring parents and referral sources that all is now under control. We have offered to put them up on the Internet, and would like to publish excerpts here, but they will not give us permission to do that at this time. They suggest they might do so later. We will definitely give them space on the Internet for that purpose. They are accepting no female intakes and will transition remaining females out. They have pledged to keep awake female night staff on duty while females remain.

Many parents and other educational consultants, with whom we speak, give rave reviews on this program. Even our parents, who pulled their offspring in anger, confirm that their son/daughter made gains they would not have made any other way. ?Parents Corner - LifeSaver? is another sample tribute by a mother of how a program helped bring her son back to her and their family.

Although we have been less positive in the past about Paradise Cove in particular and the Teen Help programs in general than we have been with respect to A Better Way, we can absolutely confirm that those programs, too, have been lifesavers for many parents.

As I get the opportunity really to understand the volumes of material before me on this topic which I have not yet fully absorbed, I will probably say more on the Internet, and later maybe in print. Maybe by that time concern will have died down. I understand a person of great credibility will be going to Samoa soon to review the program. I hope he is in a position to publish a strong affirmation. This program is too valuable to lose. But we can't afford a repeat of some of the recent past history.

Sounds fishy.  The Ed Con admits sexual abuse and kids forced to sleep outside, but then calls the program "a life saver."  Fishy.

Also it seems to be the typical "level" sysytem and behavior modification used by most abusive facilities.  They didn't name a single teacher or therapist on their website.  The above article describes a "100% turnover" of staff.

Lots of red flags here.  I'm going to keep looking.

[Whooter]

..and people who went to straight saw more than you did.  There was a recent poster who spent 4 years in Aspen Programs and didnt see any abuse.  So it is tough to get a level of the water based on a few posters here on fornits.

I am looking at the overwhelming number of reports coming out of our public school system compared to not any coming out of these programs on a daily weekly or monthly bases.  When was the last report we saw about a child having sex with their teacher in a program?  We dont have the ratios so we dont have exact numbers but the sheer volume is overwhelming.

...

Once again, programs cut off all communication with the outside world. How are kids supposed to report abuse? As far as the poster who spent 4 years in the program, give him a few more years to shake off the brain washing. I didn't say anything bad about programs for almost 8 years.

The older programs cut off communication to the outside world.  Now you can pretty much start to write home right away and phone your parents within a few weeks.
You are not familiar with Aspen or programs today, I am.  You cannot discredit the childs report because of brainwashing and toss it aside, Gonzotherapy, its real and credible.  There is no evidence of brainwashing occurring.
As far as your report I believe those events occurred decades ago in a program which has since closed.  Am I correct on this?  

No disrespect, Gonzo, but your information is very dated and is sourced form a program which was closed because of the abuse which was occurring.  It would not be accurate if I kept showing pictures of columbine Highschool and saying schools are dangerous and there is a good chance you will die.  Do you see what I mean?
Abuse just isnt occurring in programs like it is in our public school system.  This is mainly due to the reasons I described earlier.



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[Gonzotherapy]

The older programs cut off communication to the outside world.  Now you can pretty much start to write home right away...

And your mail is read and if you report abuse your parents will be lied to and manipulated, and you will be dropped if you have moved up in the program at all.

and phone your parents within a few weeks. ...

You will not make a phone call until they are sure you will keep quiet and support the program.

You are not familiar with Aspen or programs today, I am....

And how exactly are you familiar?  

You cannot discredit the childs report because of brainwashing and toss it aside, Gonzotherapy, its real and credible.  There is no evidence of brainwashing occurring.
As far as your report I believe those events occurred decades ago in a program which has since closed.  Am I correct on this? ...

NO, you are not.

No disrespect, Gonzo, but your information is very dated and is sourced form a program which was closed because of the abuse which was occurring....

Also incorrect.

Abuse just isnt occurring in programs like it is in our public school system.  This is mainly do to the reasons I described earlier.



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This program is currently open, is a member of NATSAP, and your arguments are flat out wrong.

[Whooter]

And your mail is read and if you report abuse your parents will be lied to and manipulated, and you will be dropped if you have moved up in the program at all.

You will not make a phone call until they are sure you will keep quiet and support the program.

Sorry, you are wrong here, Gonzo, and are speaking about another time and place.  Kids can write home right away without review of the mail.  The staff will require the students to open their packages in the presence of a staff person when they are received.  Phone calls home after a few weeks are un monitored.

If you look at the time lines of the posted items of concern from your previous post they run from 1990 thru 1997.
No disrespect, Gonzo,but the data supports public schools being much more abusive than programs.  Which if you think about it makes sense because kids in public schools have a ton of time which is not accounted for sometimes stretching for 24 hours in some house holds.  Programs have a high student/staff ratio and the kids time is so highly structured that there isn’t much available time for any shenanigans.



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[RobertBruce]

And your mail is read and if you report abuse your parents will be lied to and manipulated, and you will be dropped if you have moved up in the program at all.

You will not make a phone call until they are sure you will keep quiet and support the program.

Sorry, you are wrong here, Gonzo, and are speaking about another time and place.  Kids can write home right away without review of the mail.  The staff will require the students to open their packages in the presence of a staff person when they are received.  Phone calls home after a few weeks are un monitored.

If you look at the time lines of the posted items of concern from your previous post they run from 1990 thru 1997.
No disrespect, Gonzo,but the data supports public schools being much more abusive than programs.  Which if you think about it makes sense because kids in public schools have a ton of time which is not accounted for sometimes stretching for 24 hours in some house holds.  Programs have a high student/staff ratio and the kids time is so highly structured that there isn’t much available time for any shenanigans.



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No he's not wrong at all Whooter. Here you have yet another person saying the exact same thing about yet another program. These places are all the same, they all restrict communication, and they are all abusive. The fact that you cannot offer up a single program that has made changes in order to be as safe as public schools only further validates this point.

[Whooter]

November 6, 2010

A Bartlesville Mid-High School teacher is free on bond after being accused of having sex with a 16-year-old female student.

Jeffery Lee Wade, 47, faces a charge of forcible sodomy. During a hearing held Friday in Washington County District Court, the judge set his bond at $25,000 with a condition of no contact with the alleged victim or with an “unrelated minor females.”

Wade posted bond later that afternoon, according to Washington County Sheriff's Office officials.

Bartlesville Public Schools Community Relations Coordinator David Austin confirmed Wade indeed was a teacher at the Mid-High School. He has been at the district for seven years, four years of which he has been teaching at the Mid-High as a business teacher.

The district has no comment on the allegations currently but said it is working closely with the authorities about the matter and “will continue to do so in order to gain information and insight into the alleged incident.”

Austin said Wade will not be allowed on the school campus while the allegations are still under investigation.

According to the affidavit, at around 4:35 p.m. on Thursday, an investigator with the Washington County Sheriff's Office received a call from a deputy reporting he had seen Wade with a juvenile in the back seat of a pick-up truck just outside Bartlesvi1le city limits.

Reportedly the deputy was on patrol and saw an apparently unoccupied truck parked near the intersection of North 4000 Road and West 1900. On closer observation, he saw a man, identified as Wade, raise his head up from the rear passenger area and saw another individual as well “scooting up” in the rear seat.

Then approaching the vehicle, the deputy reportedly noticed Wade reaching down and pulling up his pants and saw his pants were unzipped. In the back, the deputy saw a 16-year-old female who later identified herself to officials as one of Wade's students at the Bartlesville Mid-High School.

The deputy asked Wade what he was doing to which he responded saying “Nothing, just talking.”

After both individuals had been transported to the Sheriff's Office, one deputy at the office overheard the 16-year-old tell her parents she had performed oral sex on Wade several times and was doing so when the deputy approached, said the report.

According to the affidavit, Wade told officials 16-year-old was a student in one of his classes. He said the two had talked “a lot” in the past and that day picked up the student at her house and drove “straight out there and parked and were talking, and that's it.”

Wade reportedly denied that the student had performed oral sex on him and later commented “that he knew how it looked and he should not have been there with his students.”

A search of the vehicle turned up a black and purple shirt, a pair of earrings and a condom, said the report.

Link

[RobertBruce]

Once again Whooter shows that public schools are safer than programs. Because of transperancy and accountability we find out about things like this in public schools. Programs just attempt to sweep them under the rug, or deny them altogether.

[Whooter]

November 6, 2010

AN OXFORDSHIRE primary school teacher yesterday admitted abusing seven pupils.

The victims’ parents wept as the man, in his 50s, admitted 23 charges of sexually assaulting girls aged between seven and 11.

Oxford Crown Court was told yesterday that the teacher was working at a school in the county when he committed the offences between September 2007 and May this year.

His name and the name of the school cannot be published for legal reasons.

He also admitted a charge of making 18 indecent images of a child between March 2006 and May this year.

The man was remanded in custody to be sentenced on December 10.

Det Ch Insp Paul Gration said: “I’m relieved that the victims in this case have not been put through the ordeal of a full trial.

“This investigation has been difficult enough for them and I would like to thank them for their courage and bravery in coming forward and helping us. I hope that with time and support, they are able to find some closure on this matter.”


Link



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[Shadyacres]

Once again Whooter shows that public schools are safer than programs. Because of transperancy and accountability we find out about things like this in public schools. Programs just attempt to sweep them under the rug, or deny them altogether.

 :tup:

[Whooter]

November 3 ,2010

OLIVEHURST —
A Marysville Joint Unified School District employee has been arrested for allegedly having a sexual relationship with an underage student.

Yuba County Sheriff's detectives arrested 34-year-old Elizabeth Colleen Wallis of Linda, after the woman's relatives notified the department about an innappropriate relationship she was having with a 17-year-old former student.

Wallis is a teacher's assistant at Yuba Gardens Intermediate School, where authorities say she met the victim several years ago.

Wallis was booked into the Yuba County Jail on charges of unlawful sex with a minor and oral copulation.

Link



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[RobertBruce]

It's amazing what oversight and transperancy will do. Whooter do you think programs will ever embrace it in an effort to become as safe as public schools?

[Whooter]

A little more oversight and Transparency for you.  lol

November 6 , 2010



THE number of school employees under investigation over claims of sexual impropriety, grooming students and illicit affairs has tripled this year.

Documents obtained exclusively by The Sunday Telegraph reveal 117 allegations of sexual misconduct have been reported to the Department of Education and Training between January 1 and October 31 this year - up from the 46 complaints the department dealt with in 2009.

Deputy NSW Ombudsman Steve Kinmond said the rise in sexual misconduct claims was partly a result of teachers using email and Facebook to contact students out of the classroom and after hours.

Mr Kinmond said such direct access, which could lead to flirting, grooming and indecent image swapping, was "disturbing".

"We are alive to the role of technology in relation to these offences and it's a worrying trend in terms of the nature and regularity of the offences," he said.

Start of sidebar. Skip to end of sidebar.
Related Coverage

    * 70 complaints against school Perth Now, 11 Sep 2010
    * Teacher a week investigated for assault NEWS.com.au, 11 Jul 2010
    * Degrees 'dumbed down' for foreigners NEWS.com.au, 9 Jun 2010
    * 'Predatory' lesbian teacher banned Herald Sun, 26 Mar 2010
    * Sex-accused teachers slip through Courier Mail, 26 Oct 2009

End of sidebar. Return to start of sidebar.
make your own news service on igoogle

He issued a warning to staff who used the internet to groom students: they would be caught.

"Inappropriate use of electronic devices is becoming a disturbing trend, but it also leaves an evidence trail," he said.

"It's a potential area for obtaining evidence in an investigative challenge."

The NSW Ombudsman and the police Sex Crimes Squad have begun monitoring teachers' online accounts where there has been reason to suspect employees of grooming students.

This year, school employees, including teachers, principals, support staff and volunteers have been dismissed over inappropriate sexual conduct claims.

In one allegation, a teacher's aide displayed several images on his Facebook page of himself with male students drinking alcohol and lying together in bed.

There were nine allegations of inappropriate affairs between a teacher and a student, including one serious allegation in February this year where a casual teacher engaged in a sexual relationship with two male students.

In June this year, a school learning support officer allegedly showed students indecent images of herself on her mobile phone.

In March, a head teacher was dismissed after being found in possession of child pornography.

Although the Ombudsman's report has exposed serious cases of sexual misconduct in NSW schools, there are cases where students deliberately target a teacher out of spite, making up a claim of sexual misconduct.

"We must remember that some of these claims will be made up in spite which is why it is important that our teachers are properly represented legally and not left alone and hanging," said a spokesman for the NSW Teachers Federation, Gary Zadkovich.

Mr Zadkovich acknowledged the increasing number of complaints against staff.

"We support the Department in conducting a thorough investigation of these claims," Mr Zadkovich said.


Link

[RobertBruce]

I know Whooter, the oversight and transperancy that public schools embrace only leads to safer environments for kids in public schools. Your posts prove that public schools are safer, and I appreciate you finally accepting that.

My question to you is why don't programs embrace the same oversight in an effort to become as safe as public schools?

[Whooter]

More oversight in our Public school system.

October 21,2010

A junior high teacher had a yearlong sexual affair with a 13-year-old student and tried seducing two other students, a city investigator said Thursday.

Wayne Bartley, 46, allegedly met up with the female student at a Bronx motel, where they had a sexual relationship for 14 months when she was 13 and 14 years old. He met the girl when he taught her at IS 229 in the Bronx.

Bartley also allegedly convinced a student he taught at IS 392 in Brooklyn to send him nude photos of herself. According to the probe by Special Schools Investigator Richard Condon, Bartley allegedly gave yet another former student, from Brookyn’s KIPP AMP Academy Charter School, gifts and massaged her feet after a pedicure.

He most recently worked at KIPP, but was fired after the administration learned of the investigation, the New York Post reported.

The Bronx and Brooklyn district attorney’s offices are investigating.

Link



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[RobertBruce]

The question remains Whooter, why aren't programs embracing this oversight?