Whitmore Academy in Utah?

[Anonymous]

Hello all,

Here is the answer to the multiple posts from the same IP address. There used to be a parents forum for the Whitmore. It was only up for a month or so. It was set up for parents of students at Whitmore to support each other and help with communications with the school. Several of us (yes - my daughter is a student there) began communicating and telling our stories and sharing some of our concerns and questions. One of the posts on this site was one that I had put on the parents site - but I did not put it here. I suspect someone decided to copy those posts from the parents forum and post them here to defend the school. For what it is worth, this is the answer to the multiple posts. Anyway, the site was closed down because of people that were not parents began entering the discussions and making things very unproductive - much like all the negative posts I have seen here from people that don't have any affiliation or experience with the Whitmore. I agree with Eric, in every statement he has made and know that my daughter is getting the help she needs from some very caring people.

-Christine

[Antigen]

Sure you believe that. Just so long as you allow the people who are caring for your daughter now to insulate you from any unfavorable opinions or facts of the matter.

The only difference between me and a madman is that I am not mad.
-- Salvador Dali

[Anonymous]

My son now attends the Whitmore and is experiencing a new way to live his life. The group travels alot which gives him experiences that we, his parents, were unable to offer. Before going there 3 months ago, he was not interested at all in spending time with family. Honestly, before he chose Whitmore, I was unsure of his where abouts most of the time and paced the floors praying he was safe. With Mark and Cheryl, I know he is safe. We speak to our son on the phone twice a week and he says he's happy, learning and growing emotionally.

For the person having problems at school and home, this school is very expensive, this isn't a prestigious boarding school. Parents sacrifice alot to get help for their teens. Some kids have to go away to appreciate the love of their parents. Hopefully you can realize this while living at home. Good luck.

Karen

[Anonymous]

How can you know he is safe? Have you talked to the Child protctive services that are currently investigating them?

[Anonymous]

How I know he is safe is the open communication we have. I've spoken with him almost daily this last week since the false accusations made by a disgruntled troubled teen. My son called to fill us in on the actions of this drunken teen who was unruley with the police. I'm glad this has been investigated and this student has been permenantly removed. It's disturbing the way the investigation was done however. Our children were traumatized by protective agencies methods. The kids were hauled away and detained, forced to answer leading questions. Out of the nearly 40 kids who were interviewed and given the option to go home to their parents, only two chose to leave. My son is a strong boy and handled all this pretty good. The owners are helping him realize that he is developing tools to deal with his feelings. My son wants to complete the year long program if allowed.

I beleive the truth always comes to light.  We have to remember how easy it is for a user who doesn't want to follow the program or rules to distort what is going on in order to escape having to face their own problems. I feel bad for these kid's parents who have nearly run out of options for helping their kids.

This Thanksgiving I am grateful for Mark and Cheryl's willingness to continue to minister even though they face false accusations.

[Anonymous]

Do you understand the dynamics of an abuse victim? They often defend and protect their abuser. It sometimes takes years before they can say it happened and even longer for them to truly believe they did not deserve it. If this were my child I would be investigating everything I could.

[Antigen]

When I was at Straight, Inc., if my own father had taken me aside privately and asked me if I wanted to leave the program, I would have thought it was a trick and told him no, that I loved it there and never wanted to leave except by graduation. I would have been convincing, too, as the stakes were pretty high.

The people's right to change what does not work is one of the greatest
principles in our system of government

--Richard M. Nixon

[chrisgentile]

Hi, I?d like to throw in my two cents. My name is Chris G, and I am currently enrolled at the Whitmore Academy. Previously, I was enrolled at Academy at Ivy Ridge. In 36 days I will turn eighteen years old. Before I get my message out I?d like to make sure that everyone knows that I?m writing this on my own personal laptop, on my own personal time. The past week has been absolutely horrible on Cheryl. Luckily, she has around 40 kids that care about her, and are there to support her through the hard times we?re all experiencing. Like I said earlier, I was enrolled at Academy at Ivy Ridge (WWASP) for 3 months. While at The Academy at Ivy Ridge I was often subjected to cruel treatment and physical abuse, as were many. As far as I am concerned, Mark and Cheryl saved my life when they took me from Ivy Ridge.  There were many instances where the program director Jason Finlinson himself would ?put me on my face,? or give me the ?finlinson flop.? I?ve also been ?restrained? by the director of Tranquility Bay this past summer when he was in Ogdensburg for the annual director?s meeting. This is besides the issue I?m trying to address, but I think it?s important to realize that you can not compare the two.
Simply put, I can not understand why we must go through what we?re going through. At Ivy Ridge we?d break in to the computers we used for school so we could send letters to our congressmen. As you all know there are hundreds of complaints on the internet from kids and parents alike in regards to WWASP. Meanwhile, the State of Utah is too busy to investigate them because their harassing the Sudweeks. I honestly believe that the only reason why this is happening is because our doors are open and THEIRS are closed. Mark would gladly welcome in anyone at any time with open arms. Maybe that?s the problem? I sometimes think that Mark and Cheryl?s kindness leaves them vulnerable.
This message is particularly to Anonymous and Antigen. Antigen ? This is not Straight, Inc.  I feel like I understand you because I?ve seen what can happen in a program, I?ve experienced it firsthand. I?ve experienced the bitterness, but the kindness and care I receive here has outweighed those feelings. I am no longer bitter to Jason Finlinson, and George Tulip, and Lucas Smith. I can live knowing that I will forget Ivy Ridge. I will never forget what Mark and Cheryl did for me. My life is now simple, and everything has fallen into place. I am now confident about my future, and secure about where I am going, in fact, I am enrolled to start college in Chicago this February. Most importantly, my relationship with my parents is getting better every day, and I no longer need drugs to feel high.
Chris G

P.S. I am open to any comments, I just ask that you be open-minded. Not all programs are carbon copies of Straight and WWASP. If you have any questions send me an email or even give me a call here at the mansion. Just ask for Chris.

[Anonymous]

On 2004-11-28 10:44:00, Antigen wrote:

"When I was at Straight, Inc., if my own father had taken me aside privately and asked me if I wanted to leave the program, I would have thought it was a trick and told him no, that I loved it there and never wanted to leave except by graduation. I would have been convincing, too, as the stakes were pretty high.

The people's right to change what does not work is one of the greatest
principles in our system of government

--Richard M. Nixon

"

Also, I wanted to address this. Like I said in my last post this is not Straight, Inc. There are no levels or advancements of any kind. There are no stakes. To be completely honest, there is no "getting in trouble" here. When someone does something wrong we all get together and have a group meeting to find out what happened and why. If you want to call that punishment, then so be it.

[Anonymous]

I have a family member that was recently pulled out of the Whitmore.  The stories about this place are so mixed, even in our individual instance, and I'm trying to understand them, but here are simply a few things that concern me...

1.  In a state of self discovery and desire to grow, the focus is on the SELF, not the leaders of these kids.  When all the talk(good or bad) is about Cheryl and Mark, from the kids AND parents, and the focus from the KIDS is how MARK AND CHERYL are doing, Its a red flag to me.

2.  My relative who went there suffers from a very real and possibly very dangerous psychological condition.  I haven't been able to find anything regarding Mark and Cheryl's crediations/education/qualifications.  They were aware of her condition going in and said they had "dealt with it before."  An entire group of professional mental health workers are still in debate as to have this disorder treated, yet these people with unknown qualifications can nip it in the bud? That seems a bit iffy to me.  Yes, there was a psychologist on staff that has supposedly quit who was working on his dissertation.  ONE person for 40 kids???

3.  The lack of communication with parents and not passing on emails is absurd.  I did have that problem where my communication was not passed on.  Look, that seems like it could be a heck of  a job, but if you can't do it, DONT offer it.

By and large, I can see that the place is simply unprofessional if nothing else.  I have no doubt that a disciplined, rural family and faith driven environment really has worked for certain kids with certain problems, but they really need to be honest about what they can and can't produce and what they can and can't do.  

A phone call to the local police office in the area will tell you something.  They've been out there every day this past week and arrive to a whole group of kids supposedly in bed by 10 up at 2:30 am to run out and scream at them telling them to get the f%$# off the property.  Ok, thats NOT what I would want from my kid.  I can appreciate that they are obviously taking some ownership in the place BUT, first, why are they not in bed and second, I would want my kid to show some respect to local law enforcement.

[Anonymous]

For the one talking about the "unruly drunken teen" who got away, I urge you to make a phone call to the local police and hear their side of the story.  It won't be easy to hear, but I think you need to know. Our family received a similar story at first and felt just like you did.  Digging slightly deeper shed a whole new light on the matter.

[Anonymous]

Ok, I obviously have more to say on this...point being about my last post urging to dig deeper on the latest drunken teen story, a lot of the kids there have issues with lying.  What are the owners showing as role models to kids about honesty and accountability?

[Anonymous]

It is true that some psychological problems are too extreme for even the most experienced parents/teachers and psychologists. As a parent, it is good to know that these extreme cases are removed from the Whitmore in order to allow the program to work for the rest of the teens as it is supposed to.

As for the police's efforts to escort concerned parents to retreive their noncompliant children, their assistance is appreciated by distant parents who can't wait for all this to settle down and for light to be shed on the truth.

It is understandable that these teens are passionate and protective of each other. I beleive if left to learn by example, these kids will develop a deeper respect for authority figures...remember, these kids are just learning, judging them does not make us any better.

My thoughts are with your family during this hard time. I hope things get better for this student.

Karen

[chrisgentile]

I dont understand why you have to hide behind the anonymous title. Why not say who you are?
I am not hiding who I am...
-chris

[jourdan craggs]

These things that you guys are saying are stupid. I am aformer student at Whitmore Academy and I know for a fact that it a great place to send your kids. And for the people who have never been to the Whitmore and experinced it first hand, youy have no room to be talking. Yes, there was a teen that did cause some problems, but he has been removed, but before everything happened everybody and chryl and Mark did everything to help him get on the right track. There is nohing wrong going on at this school. People should stop harrassing Cheryl and Mark because they dedicate their lives to kids who need a little guidance. They love the kids like their own, and even though I am no longer there I know they love me just the same. I just encourage you to look at it from another perspective with open eyes.
Jourdan Craggs