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The Troubled Teen Industry / Desisto School
« on: April 13, 2004, 12:00:00 AM »
Under state pressure, DeSisto School to close
Monday, April 12, 2004 - After an extended battle with state Office of Child Care officials, the DeSisto School for emotionally troubled children has announced the its Stockbridge campus will close in June of this year.
According to Executive Director Frank McNear, nine DeSisto high school seniors will remain on the Stockbridge campus until June graduation. Between 15 and 20 of the students will finish out the semester at DeSisto's property in Mexico, said McNear, while 7 or 8 of the children have returned home.
McNear hosted a parents' meeting on Saturday to discuss options for the school, which is in the midst of its second state-ordered admissions freeze in the last year. The parents were offered a decision either to close the school or move some of the students to the school's property in Mexico. The parents voted for the Mexican option, according to McNear.
The school and state officials have been at odds for many years overf the school's unorthodox therapeutic approaches. A. Michael DeSisto, the school's founder, resisted state oversight, but in recent years he handed over management to school officials who have been attempting to meet state requirements. Admissions were frozen earlier this year after OCCS officials said the school "failed to take necessary steps to protect residents who exhibit self-injurious behavior."
Michael DeSisto died last November.
Monday, April 12, 2004 - After an extended battle with state Office of Child Care officials, the DeSisto School for emotionally troubled children has announced the its Stockbridge campus will close in June of this year.
According to Executive Director Frank McNear, nine DeSisto high school seniors will remain on the Stockbridge campus until June graduation. Between 15 and 20 of the students will finish out the semester at DeSisto's property in Mexico, said McNear, while 7 or 8 of the children have returned home.
McNear hosted a parents' meeting on Saturday to discuss options for the school, which is in the midst of its second state-ordered admissions freeze in the last year. The parents were offered a decision either to close the school or move some of the students to the school's property in Mexico. The parents voted for the Mexican option, according to McNear.
The school and state officials have been at odds for many years overf the school's unorthodox therapeutic approaches. A. Michael DeSisto, the school's founder, resisted state oversight, but in recent years he handed over management to school officials who have been attempting to meet state requirements. Admissions were frozen earlier this year after OCCS officials said the school "failed to take necessary steps to protect residents who exhibit self-injurious behavior."
Michael DeSisto died last November.