Fornits
Treatment Abuse, Behavior Modification, Thought Reform => Aspen Education Group => Topic started by: Anonymous on July 23, 2006, 03:04:54 PM
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Anyone know anything about this place? Thoughts....comments...all appericated.
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Does anyone konw anything at all about this school?
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Its director is Craig Christensen. Does anyone know of him?
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NLA was aquired by aspen in around 2000 Prior to this it's Oregon Campus was called Green Ridge. Does anyone know anything about a Green Ridge school which ran in the late 90s?
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There is an old article on a school run by a woman called bobbi Christensen from Oregon called crater lake school. It closed due to licencing issues. According to this, the woman had previously operated a camp under her maiden name Bobbi Trott & had been forced to close it because of the drowning deaths of 4 students in a lake.
She was also on the inaugural board of NATSAP. Does anyone know if she is connected to Craig Christensen?
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/155 ... sed02.html (http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/155033_schoolclosed02.html)
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I have an acquaintance whose daughter has attended for 18 months. Background: daughter is caught in an ugly custody dispute and custodial parent sent her to New Leaf (North Carolina). Pros: small classes, excellent field trips and good extra-curricular opportunities. Example: The girl has participated in running competitions, gone tubing and skiing, learned to play chess, gone to visit Duke University. Cons: very limited parental access for at least the first year. No home visits, limited phone calls. letters written to the girl are opened and reviewed before she can read them. Her letters are reviewed before she sends. All phone calls monitored. Little emphasis on family therapy and no confidentiality.
Much of what this girls says in therapy is fodder for the courts.
Anyway, for what it's worth.
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Thank you. This is worth a lot. It says a lot. You mentioned not much contact for the 1st yr and dodgy therapy. Do u know what the therapy consists of? Given the young age of the girls does the NC branch allow people to escort their kids?
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The homepage stated:
"The staff at New Leaf Academy private girls school carefully and individually screens each candidate and her parents for admission through a series of interviews and assessment tools."
How does it work? Does the parents have to show the contents of their wallets?
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To add to my post of December 24 and to answer some questions.
No I do not know anything more about daily therapy at the school other than what the web site contains. I only know that my aquaintance (who is the non-custodial parent of the student) is not allowed to be involved in any face-to-face therapy with her child and a therapist. Instead my friend is only allowed a ten-minute conversation with her child per week. The counselors are pressuring the child to make these phone conversations (which are monitored and recorded) "structured". That is, they require the child to ask my friend "therapeutic" questions. If the parent does not want to respond to these questions, the child and the counselor at New Leaf terminate the call. All discussions between my friend and the child are turned over to the custodial parent for use in an on-going custody/visitation dispute.
In the end what has New Leaf accomplished with this child? Before the student entered New Leaf she was hostile to the custodial parent and loving toward the non-custodial parent. Now she is openly hostile and contemptuous of the non-custodial parent. I do not know what her relationship is with the custodial parent. So, is the situation better? Who knows??
As for screening the parent and child, yes absolutely. The parent(s) must be able to pay. And New Leaf at North Carolina will not address children with severe emotional or behavoiral problems.
They do not want children who have abused drugs or alcohol, been runaways, are sexually promiscuous, have been violent or suicidal, or have children with severe learning or emotional disabilities. They do not have the expertise to deal with these problems.
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Can either parent visit?
Can the kid write to wider relatives?
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No, visits are strictly limited. The child must go through therapeutic steps. As she makes progress through the steps, she is rewarded with more parental access (to her custodial parent). She has virtually no contact with the non-custodial parent.
As for letters, the child can only receive letters from and send letters to people on a pre-approved list. All letters written or received by the child may be opened and scrutinized by the staff at New Leaf first. The staff may opt to withhold letters from the child or not send letters she has written.
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To add to my post of December 24 and to answer some questions.
No I do not know anything more about daily therapy at the school other than what the web site contains. I only know that my aquaintance (who is the non-custodial parent of the student) is not allowed to be involved in any face-to-face therapy with her child and a therapist. Instead my friend is only allowed a ten-minute conversation with her child per week. The counselors are pressuring the child to make these phone conversations (which are monitored and recorded) "structured". That is, they require the child to ask my friend "therapeutic" questions. If the parent does not want to respond to these questions, the child and the counselor at New Leaf terminate the call. All discussions between my friend and the child are turned over to the custodial parent for use in an on-going custody/visitation dispute.
In the end what has New Leaf accomplished with this child? Before the student entered New Leaf she was hostile to the custodial parent and loving toward the non-custodial parent. Now she is openly hostile and contemptuous of the non-custodial parent. I do not know what her relationship is with the custodial parent. So, is the situation better? Who knows??
As for screening the parent and child, yes absolutely. The parent(s) must be able to pay. And New Leaf at North Carolina will not address children with severe emotional or behavoiral problems.
They do not want children who have abused drugs or alcohol, been runaways, are sexually promiscuous, have been violent or suicidal, or have children with severe learning or emotional disabilities. They do not have the expertise to deal with these problems.
I see no reason for this place to be in business. What exactly are they doing there? It seems the only "expertise" they possess is in dealing with kids that don't have any problems.
Go figure.
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Being workrelated involved in some nasty divorces, I can see a reason for such a facility in a society that default don't grant shared custody.
It is so bad and so damaging for the child to enforce any kind of feelings toward the former partner. Children should not be used a weapon when one partner wants to her the other.
I think that I want to refer the academy as a kind of divorce tool. There is absolutely no reason for isolating a child for such a long period, if they only want to fix minor problems.
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I definitely think that this school is not appropriate for children who are learning disabled. I do not think they have the expertise to teach learning-disabled children with the appropriate curriculum (such as Lindamood-Bell, Orton-Gillingham, multi-sensory techniques for learning). New Leaf is a behavoir modification program with parental/home access as the carrot and stick. If the heart of your child's difficulties is a diagnosed learning disability, then there are far better schools out there for the same amount of money. For example, Brehm Academy in Illinois is an excellent boarding school. It has a regular academic year schedule where the kids go home for Thanksgiving, Christmas holiday, Easter and a three month summer break. The emphasis at Brehm is on high quality education taught in a way that has had proven success for learning-disabled children. Although they have therapists on staff, they do not deny parental access in any way.
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Here is a site devoted to learning difficulties where a bunch of New Leaf old girls have posted.
Anyone know about this site
http://www.ldresources.org/?p=969 (http://www.ldresources.org/?p=969)
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I would like to point out that most if not all the comments from the girls on the above web site are for the Oregon school. Some of the comments are from students who attended the school before it was taken over by the Aspen Group. New Leaf at North Carolina is a much younger school. It was started in the spring of 2005 (I think).
When my friend's child started at New Leaf, N.C. (summer of 2005), there were approximately thirteen students. Since then, they have increased enrollment. But I do not think they plan to have much more than fifty students.
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FYI
July 2004- AEG acquires New Leaf Academy in Bend, Or for girls. Founder/ Dir Craig Christiansen
http://portland.bizjournals.com/portlan ... ily29.html (http://portland.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2004/07/05/daily29.html)
http://www.strugglingteens.com/news/asp ... wleaf.html (http://www.strugglingteens.com/news/aspenacquiresnewleaf.html)
That site is ran by Richard Wanderman, an educational consultant that specializes in LD but hawks Aspen programs.
http://www.ldresources.org/?cat=32 (http://www.ldresources.org/?cat=32)
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Covergaard makes an excellent point. One wonders just how many children at New Leaf (and other therapeutic boarding schools) are children of divorce? Naturally, these children are very frightened and angry, but do they truely suffer from emotional disorders that justify placement in New Leaf. In my friend's case, the custodial parent did not want the child to have any visitation with the non-custodial parent. Very often, custodial parents use placement in private boarding schools far away from the non-custodial parent as a mechanism for preventing visitation. However, the courts usually rule that if the custodial parent wants a private school education for the child, he (or she) must pay for it. The exception to this type of ruling is if the placement is medically necessary for the child. So the custodial parent hires therapists and educational consultants to present "expert" testimony to the court. The therapist recommends a facility like New Leaf (which is a "therapeutic" rather than an academic school). The courts rule that New Leaf is medically necessary and the non-custodial parent must pay half the cost! So my friend is in the position where she is legally required to pay some of tuition at New Leaf but is completely denied contact with her child! It is all so very sad and it makes me so cynical and distrusting of the "industry" of educational consultants, pyschiatrists, pyschologists, and therapeutic boarding schools.
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Covergaard makes an excellent point. One wonders just how many children at New Leaf (and other therapeutic boarding schools) are children of divorce? Naturally, these children are very frightened and angry, but do they truely suffer from emotional disorders that justify placement in New Leaf. In my friend's case, the custodial parent did not want the child to have any visitation with the non-custodial parent. Very often, custodial parents use placement in private boarding schools far away from the non-custodial parent as a mechanism for preventing visitation. However, the courts usually rule that if the custodial parent wants a private school education for the child, he (or she) must pay for it. The exception to this type of ruling is if the placement is medically necessary for the child. So the custodial parent hires therapists and educational consultants to present "expert" testimony to the court. The therapist recommends a facility like New Leaf (which is a "therapeutic" rather than an academic school). The courts rule that New Leaf is medically necessary and the non-custodial parent must pay half the cost! So my friend is in the position where she is legally required to pay some of tuition at New Leaf but is completely denied contact with her child! It is all so very sad and it makes me so cynical and distrusting of the "industry" of educational consultants, pyschiatrists, pyschologists, and therapeutic boarding schools.
Quite the scam, huh? Very similar to my situation. HLA not only diagnosed my son, but also provided perjured testimony in order to keep him there when I contested his placement. They told the state they were a boarding school to avoid regulation, yet provided psychological services to my son.
If that weren't enough, they labled me "adversarial", falsely accused me of harrassing staff at home and on campus which resulted in being placed on "bans" with HLA. All calls had to go through their corp attorney. Was rarely able to speak to my son after that fiasco.
There are other similar cases posted here at Fornits. Once the program has the kid in their grips it can be an expensive legal nightmare to get them out.
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Does anyone actively have a child enrolled at NewLeaf Academy in Bend Ore.
If so what has your daughters expereince been?
thank you
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What kind of retarded-ass question is that? This is Fornits. Don't try to ask parents what their children's experiences were.
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Are there any old girls of New Leaf who attended back when it was Green Ridge? What was the school like then?
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New Leaf (NC) isn't licensed as a Residential Care Facility.
http://www.dhhs.state.nc.us/dss/licensi ... lities.pdf (http://www.dhhs.state.nc.us/dss/licensing/docs/rccfacilities.pdf)
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I am asking for information about New Leaf Academy, North Carolina. My experience and information are all extremely negative. Survivors? Parents?
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The Fornits wiki page about the facility can always use an expansion (Link) (http://http://www.fornits.com/wiki/index.php/New_Leaf_Academy).
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First, let me state the the letters that follow my name are Ph.D., M.A., and M.S.Ed. I am certified in L.D. I have a daughter there who has bipolar and LDHD issues. My ex sent her there (N.C. campus) without an interview. No assessment was made. No determination as to whether she is a fit. The place is bogus and run strictly for profit. The website is misleading (that's not a real bedroom--your child will live in a cramped basemnt room with little daylight and a bathroom with no door). The grounds are disgusting. The classrooms are trailers. There is no gym. Food is substandard. Staff is unqualified and counselors are part time. Mine does not even other to make her weekly calls to me. Mail is opened and withheld (contrary to published statements). They do not discuss family or personal issues. The teaching faculty is minimally qualified. Most are not certified. The school is not SACS accredited, though they claim they have applied. The texts are the same series/publisher used by the N.C. public school system. The library has less than 300 books in it. The field is hilly and useless for sports. There is no gym. Fencing--highly touted--is rarely taught as the instructor is often away.
The girls there seem unhappy.
Need I say more? Oh---better have $20,000 ready at admission--preferably in small unmarked bills.
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Have they no shame??
To add to my post of December 24 and to answer some questions.
No I do not know anything more about daily therapy at the school other than what the web site contains. I only know that my aquaintance (who is the non-custodial parent of the student) is not allowed to be involved in any face-to-face therapy with her child and a therapist. Instead my friend is only allowed a ten-minute conversation with her child per week. The counselors are pressuring the child to make these phone conversations (which are monitored and recorded) "structured". That is, they require the child to ask my friend "therapeutic" questions. If the parent does not want to respond to these questions, the child and the counselor at New Leaf terminate the call. All discussions between my friend and the child are turned over to the custodial parent for use in an on-going custody/visitation dispute.
In the end what has New Leaf accomplished with this child? Before the student entered New Leaf she was hostile to the custodial parent and loving toward the non-custodial parent. Now she is openly hostile and contemptuous of the non-custodial parent. I do not know what her relationship is with the custodial parent. So, is the situation better? Who knows??
As for screening the parent and child, yes absolutely. The parent(s) must be able to pay. And New Leaf at North Carolina will not address children with severe emotional or behavoiral problems.
They do not want children who have abused drugs or alcohol, been runaways, are sexually promiscuous, have been violent or suicidal, or have children with severe learning or emotional disabilities. They do not have the expertise to deal with these problems.
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the NLANC library has well over 1500 books.
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Carefully chosen Id geuss. Hell I probably have 800-900. ::)
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Carefully chosen Id geuss. Hell I probably have 800-900. ::)
Yes, they were carefully chosen by a professional librarian, who made the best with what money she was given. :)
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I've heard a lot about this therapeutic boarding school (http://http://www.teen-boarding-school.com). Some says that almost all of their students involved in individual and family counseling.
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I've heard a lot about this therapeutic boarding school (http://http://www.teen-boarding-school.com/). Some says that almost all of their students involved in individual and family counseling.
Do you do a lot of marketing for Turning Winds Academy, now known as Turning Winds Academic Institute? :D
But, hey... thanks for the bump!
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Its director is Craig Christensen. Does anyone know of him?
Craig Christiansen used to be the former executive director of J-Bar-J Youth Services in Oregon, the parent organization of the recently discussed Academy at Sisters (http://http://www.fornits.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=30744), also in Oregon. He resigned from J-Bar-J shortly after some allegations of financial improprieties were made in early 1997. He and his wife, Christy Christiansen, started New Leaf Academy later that year.
Was Christiansen trying to "turn over a new leaf?" :D
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I am looking for a boarding school for girls in school in California. Do not say anything about New Leaf Academy, because I'm not looking for something uneasy or student.