Mission Mountain School founders were a part of Spring Creek Lodge. Those founders from Mission Mountain School are John Mercer, Gary Kent, Mike Finn, Deborah Finn and Coleen Harrington. Only Gary has qualifications to deal with teens, but was pretty much a pushover and lets John run the show and therapy. John has a degree in ecology, nothing more. They branched out from Spring Creek complained about not liking the level system, and that it was too easy for kids to manipulate their way out, but frankly, if you read anything about the school on the other site, the head master, John Mercer is pretty much a sick guy that gets his jollies intimidating young girls and uses the 'manipulation' card to keep parents at bay and keep the big money rolling in while pretending to provide therapy that is really about coersion and intimidation. You have no choice but to change, but it's not real growth, it's just doing what you can for the sake of not getting sent out to do work crew- hard labor- mostly for the schools benefit- months at a time.