Fornits
Treatment Abuse, Behavior Modification, Thought Reform => The Ridge Creek School / Hidden Lake Academy => Topic started by: Jill Ryan on January 15, 2011, 03:11:03 PM
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http://http://www.advanc-ed.org/oasis2/u/par/accreditation/summary?institutionId=37703
Go to: “Executive Summary” for full doument. It is enlightening to say the least.
Once again, RIDGE CREEK SCHOOL just like it’s days as Hidden Lake Academy is accredited to teach students with every anomaly known to man with no certified Special Ed. Teacher, no Science Lab., etc.
SACS/Advanced Ed. issues guidelines for schools to follow, the guidelines are preferences, not written in stone.
Excerpt from document dated 2010, showing 100 children.
"Ridge Creek School students come from all over the country and from abroad; therefore, the RCS community extends well beyond the
local campus. In 2010, RCS served students and families from twenty-two states, and two countries. Eight three (83%) of students are
male. Students' ages range from 12-17 years (grades 7-12) at enrollment; the average age of students at RCS upon enrollment is 16.5
years. Students are typically from Protestant, Catholic or Jewish backgrounds; however, other faiths are also represented. Many
students come from divorced (45%), single parent 925%), or adoptive (25%) families. While many referrals are through educational
consultants, other sources of referral include the internet and parents of current and former students. Sexty-five percent of students
have had prior counseling; (25% have been hospitalized at least once and 30% have attended a wilderness program prior to
Ridge Creek School
Page 3
©2010 AdvancED http://www.advanc-ed.org (http://www.advanc-ed.org)
enrollment. **** Though students tend to represent financially affluent families, 35% receive financial assistance.
RCS students tend to fit into the broad category of Oppositional defiant Disorder; however, many students also have other idagnoses,
such as Anxiety Disorder, ADHD'ADD, Major Depression, or other Mood Disorders. approximately 20% of RCS students have been
diagnosed with a learning disability and require special education services. Typical student issues and behaviors include:
- Defiance or parental and/or other adult authority
- Poor or declining school performance
- Depression and/or sucidal ideations
- Inappropriate expression of anger
- Promiscuity
- Runaway attempts/episodes
- Alcohol and/or drug abuse
- Self-destructive behaviors (e.g. eating disorder, self harm)
In RCS' professional staff-to-student ratio of 1:1, all counseling and academic faculty is consistently employed on a full-time basis.
Advance degrees are held by 67% of the academic staff, 100% of the counseling staff, and 93% of the administrative management
staff. As with RCS students, staff too comes from all over the United States,a s well as internationally to provide a culturally diverse
campus."
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Now that's funny! What do they say when you tell them the entire page is a blatant lie? Even the DHS reports cited them for dangerous understaffing and not training employees. When the kid got his head kicked in there was one staff guarding 29 residents. 1 to 1 ratio...not exactly.
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Once again, RIDGE CREEK SCHOOL just like it’s days as Hidden Lake Academy is accredited to teach students with every anomaly known to man with no certified Special Ed. Teacher, no Chem. Lab., etc.
Dysfunction Junction had pointed out earlier that the school is in the process of hiring a Certified Special Education Teacher so that problem should be resolved in short order, but as far as a Chem.Lab, is this a requirement for becoming accredited? I did not see this listed as a requirement anywhere.
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Jill, howcan SACCS accredit a corporation that in no way is defined as a school by the state in which it operates? Can they accredit KFC or Walmart? Where is the accountability?
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Jill, howcan SACCS accredit a corporation that in no way is defined as a school by the state in which it operates? Can they accredit KFC or Walmart? Where is the accountability?
Thats a good point, DJ, Ridge Creek School must be a school then. I think you settled this for the readers.
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Ridge Creek School is not recognized by the state of Georgia as a private school nor is it considered licensed by the state as a school; it is considered a child caring institution. Parents need to know this so they can make an informed decision before placing their child there. The fact that RCS is permitted to call itself a "school" is very questionable to me.
RCS is not considered a "Private" school:
http://public.doe.k12.ga.us/ci_exceptio (http://public.doe.k12.ga.us/ci_exceptio) ... ateSchools
RCS is not considered a "Private" school by GAPSAC:
http://www.gapsac.org/index.php?option= (http://www.gapsac.org/index.php?option=) ... 4&Itemid=3
RCS is not considered a "Public" school:
http://lumpkincounty.schoolinsites.com/?PN=Schools2 (http://lumpkincounty.schoolinsites.com/?PN=Schools2)
RCS is not considered a "Charter" school:
http://www.doe.k12.ga.us/pea_charter.aspx (http://www.doe.k12.ga.us/pea_charter.aspx)
RCS is not considered a "State" school:
http://www.doe.k12.ga.us/pea_stateschools.aspx (http://www.doe.k12.ga.us/pea_stateschools.aspx)
Find " State Certified" teachers:
http://www.gapsc.com/ (http://www.gapsc.com/)
I don't think so, Whooter. Georgia says they aren't.
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Ridge Creek School SACS Accreditation
Once again, RIDGE CREEK SCHOOL just like it’s days as Hidden Lake Academy is accredited to teach students ...
Thanks for the information Jill.
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Jill, howcan SACCS accredit a corporation that in no way is defined as a school by the state in which it operates? Can they accredit KFC or Walmart? Where is the accountability?
In name only. RCS is registered and licensed as a CCF( Child Caring Facility) and/or CCI(Child Caring Institution). It is not a school according to the State of Georgia. RCS operates offering education within it licensed Child Care Facility, just as the Department of Juvenile Corrections offers education courses for GED's and Continuing Ed.
HLA lost it's SACS accreditation as it lost it's 501 C-3 status way back. Apparently with RCS, it has been renewed until June or July 2011.
The Deparment of Juvenile Justice has addressed going for dual certification within the Department of Corrections re: Education Department with SACS.
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Once again, RIDGE CREEK SCHOOL just like it’s days as Hidden Lake Academy is accredited to teach students with every anomaly known to man with no certified Special Ed. Teacher, no Chem. Lab., etc.
Dysfunction Junction had pointed out earlier that the school is in the process of hiring a Certified Special Education Teacher so that problem should be resolved in short order, but as far as a Chem.Lab, is this a requirement for becoming accredited? I did not see this listed as a requirement anywhere.
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Correction: I should have written " SCIENCE LAB" which according to Dr. Judy Flatt( now former Assoc. Director at SACSCASSI ) listed requirements for credit in Biology and Chemistry, a science lab is required. AGAIN, no mobile lab was ever purchased and no science lab exists or ever existed. The Fire Marshall states that special building codes have to be in place for a science lab and the building housing the classrooms were not up to code to allow a science lab. One can find these directives and they have been published on Fornits - check the archives or go to sacscassi web-site.
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Ridge Creek has been operating without a certified Special Ed. teacher? Hidden Lake Academy revisited? Offering special education for what they have determined to be, in RCS Director Mull's own words, " approximately 20% of RCS students have been diagnosed with a learning disability and require special education services."
That's brilliant. Hire in a hurry, so that all is in place for the SACS accreditation review coming this year. Be sure to request ones' colleagues review the school and be sure not to mention a conflict of interest. Also, be sure the new spec. ed. teacher does not declare when they started their illustrious career at RCS. Just so the reviewers don't catch on that there might have been cross uitization of teachers outside their field, without SACS required approval. Apparently, a lot of staff are wearing quite a few hats, although not certified to teach in their field. Wine the reviewers and dine them in the office as was the case when the place was Hidden Lake Academy, so that they never take the tour and realize there is no science lab. Or, perhaps one could interject the mobile lab has gone in for repairs.
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I think it all comes down to the wording, Jill. The people here on fornits recognize it as a school as we see the thread headers and forums names (vs. calling it Ridge Creek, inc.). The Ridge Creek School is accredited to teach students and is receiving oversight from the state. The kids get an education at RCS and move on to college receiving scholarships etc. so they are recognized by the state as a school otherwise they would not have been accredited.
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Guest3 wrote:
Ridge Creek School is not recognized by the state of Georgia as a private school nor is it considered licensed by the state as a school; it is considered a child caring institution. Parents need to know this so they can make an informed decision before placing their child there. The fact that RCS is permitted to call itself a "school" is very questionable to me.
RCS is not considered a "Private" school:
http://public.doe.k12.ga.us/ci_exceptio (http://public.doe.k12.ga.us/ci_exceptio) ... ateSchools
RCS is not considered a "Private" school by GAPSAC:
http://www.gapsac.org/index.php?option= (http://www.gapsac.org/index.php?option=) ... 4&Itemid=3
RCS is not considered a "Public" school:
http://lumpkincounty.schoolinsites.com/?PN=Schools2 (http://lumpkincounty.schoolinsites.com/?PN=Schools2)
RCS is not considered a "Charter" school:
http://www.doe.k12.ga.us/pea_charter.aspx (http://www.doe.k12.ga.us/pea_charter.aspx)
RCS is not considered a "State" school:
http://www.doe.k12.ga.us/pea_stateschools.aspx (http://www.doe.k12.ga.us/pea_stateschools.aspx)
Find " State Certified" teachers:
http://www.gapsc.com/ (http://www.gapsc.com/)"
End quote
Ridge Creek School is a "Child Caring Institution" recognized as such by the State of Georgia with an educational program in effect that is currently SACS certified. SACS, again certifies many adjunct programs such as one promoted by the Department of Corrections. RCS was afforded Stimulus funds as a "Child Caring Institution," grant status deemed through DJJ , not as a public or private school. A private Child Care facility (CCF), a private Child Care Institution(CCI).
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Guest3 wrote:
Ridge Creek School is not recognized by the state of Georgia as a private school nor is it considered licensed by the state as a school; it is considered a child caring institution. Parents need to know this so they can make an informed decision before placing their child there. The fact that RCS is permitted to call itself a "school" is very questionable to me.
Why does it bother you that they call themselves a school? I dont see why this is misleading?
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Ridge Creek School SACS Accreditation
Once again, RIDGE CREEK SCHOOL just like it’s days as Hidden Lake Academy is accredited to teach students ...
Thanks for the information Jill.
NO JILL RYAN WROTE:
"Once again, RIDGE CREEK SCHOOL just like it’s days as Hidden Lake Academy is accredited to teach students with every anomaly known to man with no certified Special Ed. Teacher, no Science Lab.(edited), etc".
I WOULD APPRECIATE IT IF ONE IS TO QUOTE MY WRITTEN WORD, IT IS DONE IN IT'S ENTIRETY, OTHERWISE THE WRITTEN WORD IS SKEWED AND NOT REPOSTED AS IT WAS INTENDED. THANKS.
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Ridge Creek School SACS Accreditation
Once again, RIDGE CREEK SCHOOL just like it’s days as Hidden Lake Academy is accredited to teach students ...
Thanks for the information Jill.
NO JILL RYAN WROTE:
"Once again, RIDGE CREEK SCHOOL just like it’s days as Hidden Lake Academy is accredited to teach students with every anomaly known to man with no certified Special Ed. Teacher, no Science Lab.(edited), etc".
I WOULD APPRECIATE IT IF ONE IS TO QUOTE MY WRITTEN WORD, IT IS DONE IN IT'S ENTIRETY, OTHERWISE THE WRITTEN WORD IS SKEWED AND NOT REPOSTED AS IT WAS INTENDED. THANKS.
I think if you would speak to people and have a conversation then we would not have to dissect the few words that you place out here. I ask you questions all the time and you just avoid having a discussion or sharing your thoughts so I try to figure out the response on my own.
Many states do not have categories for therapeutic Boarding schools within their definitions. The kids do not spend 4 years there and many times the kids do not have IEPs so they dont need to be special education. They have kids on medication but they dont meet the needs of a hospital setting requiring expensive ramps and emergency entrances and medical personnel. The schools do not fit the definition of charter schools because they dont all give out diplomas or teach a course on the history of Georgia because many of the kids are not from Georgia and this course would not be transferable back to their home state......they cant be religious schools because they dont teach religion etc. etc.... its a temporary situation....but they have teenagers there and they hire teachers to teach them during the day. The schools try to get certification thru the state even though they dont fit into a category as defined by them.
If they house high school kids and they teach them high school subjects by qualified teachers then why not call themselves a school? The parents of the kids know that the kids are not going there for 4 years and understand the challenges so why do you have a problem with it?
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Hello? Are you serious? Math (Algebra, Geometry, Trig, etc), Science( Biology,chemistry, etc) English, History( American, Modern European, etc.),Spanish/French, Special Education, Electives(Art, Drama).... They have not and do not have enough teachers certified in said subject areas. tHEIR ACCREDTATION IS COMING UP, THAT IS THE ONLY REASON THEY ARE HIRING, The teachers have always been cross-utilized without the permission of SACS. How? SACS has always been on the periphery and lied to, period. SACS needed to cover themselves after Dr. Flatt's debacle with HiddenLake Academy. So good-bye Dr. Flatt. Then, when one calls SACS, one is informed that information regarding HLA/RCS has been moved to their main headquarters because of the sensitivity/debacle/mishandling of the accreditation.
How do we all know this? We LIVED it, research.
I cannot phathom why one would continuously attempt to debate something to which they are not educated about. It stands to reason one would wish to debate something that they are knowledgeable about rather than look ignorant. I certainly would not debate physics. It's not my area of expertise.
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Hello? Are you serious? Math (Algebra, Geometry, Trig, etc), Science( Biology,chemistry, etc) English, History( American, Modern European, etc.),Spanish/French, Special Education, Electives(Art, Drama).... They have not and do not have enough teachers certified in said subject areas. tHEIR ACCREDTATION IS COMING UP, THAT IS THE ONLY REASON THEY ARE HIRING, The teachers have always been cross-utilized without the permission of SACS. How? SACS has always been on the periphery and lied to, period. SACS needed to cover themselves after Dr. Flatt's debacle with HiddenLake Academy. So good-bye Dr. Flatt. Then, when one calls SACS, one is informed that information regarding HLA/RCS has been moved to their main headquarters because of the sensitivity/debacle/mishandling of the accreditation.
How do we all know this? We LIVED it, research.
I cannot phathom why one would continuously attempt to debate something to which they are not educated about. It stands to reason one would wish to debate something that they are knowledgeable about rather than look ignorant. I certainly would not debate physics. It's not my area of expertise.
I talk about it and post because it is interesting to me. I would think the number of students would drive what type of teachers they need and how many. If they only have a few students then they could not afford to staff a full time teacher for every dedicated subject. They would have to rely on cross utilization. The other question would be how many of the teachers need to be certified and licensed with the state? If they do not hand out diplomas then do they need to be accredited? These therapeutic schools do not fit into any category that the state has set up so they are specialty schools.. kids do not attend for 4 years, many have dropped out of school all together and need to get back on track.
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Mr. Mull stated in 2010 Summary on the SACS site "ADVANCED ED" there were 100(I sincerely hope not) children at RCS... Mr. Mull also stated that 20% require special education. Do the math. Read the staff credentials. SACS accreditation is coming up. They NEED a CERTIFIED Special Education teacher, as well as other teachers that do not have an M.Ed. in Psychology teaching subjects. It does not take a rocket scientist to understand the SACS requirements: teachers teach in their certified/schooled subject areas. No cross utilization is allowed without permission of SACS. SACS had no clue this was going on when it was HLA, until informed. Obviously, if Mr. Mull is correct, 20% of the children last year needed Special Ed. Dah.
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Mr. Mull stated in 2010 Summary on the SACS site "ADVANCED ED" there were 100(I sincerely hope not) children at RCS... Mr. Mull also stated that 20% require special education. Do the math. Read the staff credentials. SACS accreditation is coming up. They NEED a CERTIFIED Special Education teacher, as well as other teachers that do not have an M.Ed. in Psychology teaching subjects. It does not take a rocket scientist to understand the SACS requirements: teachers teach in their certified/schooled subject areas. No cross utilization is allowed without permission of SACS. SACS had no clue this was going on when it was HLA, until informed. Obviously, if Mr. Mull is correct, 20% of the children last year needed Special Ed. Dah.
If the kids required special education and did not receive it then that is bad, I agree, hopefully the parents knew. Does RCS need accreditation from SACS? Do they need this to receive state appointed kids?
I think we need to keep in the back of our minds that this is not a 4 year school. They take kids for as little as 6 months and many of these kids are not even going to school and have issues that go way beyond the class room... getting them to read a book or sit still for 45 minutes may be the biggest challenge. Their local highschool may be accredited and have the best teachers in the state but that does not do the kids any good if they dont go to school. A big step may be to just get these kids into class rooms and start opening books.
If RCS is breaking any laws I am not defending that. I am defending the fact that they dont have the advantage and the time that other boarding schools have. RCS does not have a majority of kids who want to be there, many of the kids dont want to study or sit in classes.
They have a special challenge.
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Hello? Are you serious? Math (Algebra, Geometry, Trig, etc), Science( Biology,chemistry, etc) English, History( American, Modern European, etc.),Spanish/French, Special Education, Electives(Art, Drama).... They have not and do not have enough teachers certified in said subject areas. tHEIR ACCREDTATION IS COMING UP, THAT IS THE ONLY REASON THEY ARE HIRING, The teachers have always been cross-utilized without the permission of SACS. How? SACS has always been on the periphery and lied to, period. SACS needed to cover themselves after Dr. Flatt's debacle with HiddenLake Academy. So good-bye Dr. Flatt. Then, when one calls SACS, one is informed that information regarding HLA/RCS has been moved to their main headquarters because of the sensitivity/debacle/mishandling of the accreditation.
How do we all know this? We LIVED it, research.
I cannot phathom why one would continuously attempt to debate something to which they are not educated about. It stands to reason one would wish to debate something that they are knowledgeable about rather than look ignorant. I certainly would not debate physics. It's not my area of expertise.
Why continuously debate? The money's good... or it's more fun than the entertainment in the psych ward.
Of all the people the shill has been accused of being, I think it's most likely that he's a hired PR person. Fornits makes him earn his money. LOL
Has anyone contacted SACs about the inadequate teaching staff? At what point would they revoke accreditation?
Does SAC answer to anyone? Who monitors the monitors? LOL
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There's the humour I missed:)
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:bump: for Bonney...
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This is just unbelievable.
Science lab ?? Remember all those grueling hours spent in the Bio lab and the Chemistry lab in High School? They were necessary to gain credit for the courses.
ANNOUNCEMENT BY RIDGE CREEK
"Monday, February 14, 2011
First Therapeutic School to Receive Accreditation by Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
Ridge Creek School is proud that we were the first therapeutic school in the country to apply for and receive accreditation by Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). We feel that this definitely paved the way for greater op opportunities for all struggling students to receive placement consideration and acceptance at colleges and traditional boarding schools.
SACS is now known as AdvancED and our 5 year reaccreditation team has just left campus. We are very pleased that not only are they recommending us for continued accreditation but that they commended us for the remarkable commitment of all staff to the success of Ridge Creek School students. They were especially impressed by our professional atmosphere where students feel concern, care and respect from adults. All students who were interviewed said that they would rather be somewhere else especially during the first 6-8 weeks but when asked if in 3-5 years they would look back on this as a positive experience, all students interviewed resoundingly said "YES"."