i'm an incoming senior....to parents interested

[Anonymous]

excuse me for the informal writing, it's 3:30 in the morning, so bear with me...i'm going to be a senior and it's going to be my 4th year. i have seen good and bad. good from hyde's perspective and good that hyde hasn't recognized. the sterotypical "tool"(what most kids would call the 100% good guys are the ones Hyde will usually praise, yes, and still challenge. i've seen a kid i went to summer challenge with eventually graduate dirty. yes. but I was able to see the IMMENSE positive change he made. he realized to take his life seriously. M.D. was the classic "bad boy" and still looks like the really cool really tough guy. but he's a good kid now. he always was, but he learned some responsibility. for him, that's really all he needed. i've seen "bad" kids come in, refuse; and then refuse a year and a half into it. those kids are a waste of our time, the parents' money. i've seen good kids, such as myself, who've never done anything bad, learn to be less oblivious and also learn that not all of the current youth culture's bad. like, that drinking a little at a party isn't nearly the end of the world. i've gotten a lot out of hyde cuz i put a lot of faith and trust into it. granted, i DID NOT wanna be there during SC '03 and the beginning of freshman year. but i see that hyde is a place to develop yourself, but whatever it needs to be. not necessarily what hyde thinks it should be. whether or not hyde recognizes that you accomplished something doesn't matter. YES THERE ARE FLAWS! but nothing's perfect. i see that there IS a business perspective; hey, someone's gotta pay the bills to keep the place actually open. i worked in the admissions office for three weeks this summer...i noticed we, at least the woodstock campus, has begun to be more selective and not letting people who aren't ready for us in. which is good. i encourage you look at the school, regardless of the stories, it really depends on your kid. maybe he/she needs something more extreme. like elan, or family foundation(although, they may wanna kill themselves after F.F.). or wilderness. or rehab. hyde is a GREAT transition school from one of those, because they are 1) more willing to go to something less strict and 2) if they did the other program right, then they'll be more willing to continue the change they've been making. it's TOTALLY TRUE that hyde's NOT FOR EVERYONE. but you never know till you at least look. but i know that the common thing with teens today is lack of self-confidence, self-worth, or immaturity. usually a good combination. i was all three. what keeps me coming back are the PEOPLE and the staff. so i'm really tired, but PLEASE, if you have any questions, i'll answer them. i see myself as a completely neutral, seeing as i see them all from both sides. My name is Billy Procida...my email address is wprocida@hyde.edu. And good luck with however YOU raise your children. but it's late, and i gotta sleep

[Anonymous]

excuse me for the informal writing, it's 3:30 in the morning, so bear with me...i'm going to be a senior and it's going to be my 4th year. i have seen good and bad. good from hyde's perspective and good that hyde hasn't recognized. the sterotypical "tool"(what most kids would call the 100% good guys are the ones Hyde will usually praise, yes, and still challenge. i've seen a kid i went to summer challenge with eventually graduate dirty. yes. but I was able to see the IMMENSE positive change he made. he realized to take his life seriously. M.D. was the classic "bad boy" and still looks like the really cool really tough guy. but he's a good kid now. he always was, but he learned some responsibility. for him, that's really all he needed. i've seen "bad" kids come in, refuse; and then refuse a year and a half into it. those kids are a waste of our time, the parents' money. i've seen good kids, such as myself, who've never done anything bad, learn to be less oblivious and also learn that not all of the current youth culture's bad. like, that drinking a little at a party isn't nearly the end of the world. i've gotten a lot out of hyde cuz i put a lot of faith and trust into it. granted, i DID NOT wanna be there during SC '03 and the beginning of freshman year. but i see that hyde is a place to develop yourself, but whatever it needs to be. not necessarily what hyde thinks it should be. whether or not hyde recognizes that you accomplished something doesn't matter. YES THERE ARE FLAWS! but nothing's perfect. i see that there IS a business perspective; hey, someone's gotta pay the bills to keep the place actually open. i worked in the admissions office for three weeks this summer...i noticed we, at least the woodstock campus, has begun to be more selective and not letting people who aren't ready for us in. which is good. i encourage you look at the school, regardless of the stories, it really depends on your kid. maybe he/she needs something more extreme. like elan, or family foundation(although, they may wanna kill themselves after F.F.). or wilderness. or rehab. hyde is a GREAT transition school from one of those, because they are 1) more willing to go to something less strict and 2) if they did the other program right, then they'll be more willing to continue the change they've been making. it's TOTALLY TRUE that hyde's NOT FOR EVERYONE. but you never know till you at least look. but i know that the common thing with teens today is lack of self-confidence, self-worth, or immaturity. usually a good combination. i was all three. what keeps me coming back are the PEOPLE and the staff. so i'm really tired, but PLEASE, if you have any questions, i'll answer them. i see myself as a completely neutral, seeing as i see them all from both sides. My name is Billy Procida...my email address is wprocida@hyde.edu. And good luck with however YOU raise your children. but it's late, and i gotta sleep

Thanks for your comments.  I'm glad to know things have worked out well for you at Hyde.  Also, I appreciate your willingness to answer questions about Hyde.  Since you were asked to work in the admissions office I imagine you're one of the "on track" kids at Hyde who has invested himself.  That's great that Hyde was comfortable having you meet parents and students, show them around, etc..  When I was at Hyde I definitely saw some kids who were like you, but not too many..  

I also saw the "other" side of Hyde.  I met many students who, in my opinion, never should have gone to Hyde and were often "off track," on 2-4, sent to outpost, ran away, etc..  They had serious psychiatric problems or drug/alc problems, but Hyde took them anyway.  I definitely met students there who needed treatment, not Hyde.  I could never understand why Hyde acceptd these students when it didn't have anyone on staff to counsel them.  

I now get questions from parents who are thinking about Hyde and know I was there.  In my honest opinion, the good at Hyde (which you experienced and benefited from) does not outweigh the bad.  I tell parents they should look for a school that cares about values, character, and all the good stuff, but that doesn't have Hyde's problems.  Hyde tells everyone it's about character education, which is true.  Character education the way Hyde does it seems to work for a certain kind of student (you seem to be an example), but it seems to fail with many students because they need something real different from what Hyde offers (usually related to their mental health/drug/alc problems).

I also had a big problem with some of the seminars, which seemed an awful lot like group therapy at times.  What bothered me is that it wasn't unusual for people to "break down" in those groups or "lose it," but no one with professional training was there to handle that stuff.  I saw some really bad incidents.

Here are my questions for you:

* How many of students were in your entering class (2003)?  How many graduated?
* How has Hyde changed its admission standards?  You said they're being more selective.  How?
* What percentage of Hyde's current students seem to have pretty serious mental health/psychiatric problems?  Drug/alc problems? Has that changed since you started at Hyde?
* Did you witness any bad incidents in seminars (FLCs) or was it all good?  Did you think the staff had the proper training to handle those groups, especially when things got real intense?
* How much turnover is there with teachers these days?  When I was at Hyde the turnover was real high.
* Is Joe Gauld still very involved?  What's your experience with him?

Thanks for posting.

[Anonymous]

excuse me for the informal writing, it's 3:30 in the morning, so bear with me...i'm going to be a senior and it's going to be my 4th year. i have seen good and bad. good from hyde's perspective and good that hyde hasn't recognized. the sterotypical "tool"(what most kids would call the 100% good guys are the ones Hyde will usually praise, yes, and still challenge. i've seen a kid i went to summer challenge with eventually graduate dirty. yes. but I was able to see the IMMENSE positive change he made. he realized to take his life seriously. M.D. was the classic "bad boy" and still looks like the really cool really tough guy. but he's a good kid now. he always was, but he learned some responsibility. for him, that's really all he needed. i've seen "bad" kids come in, refuse; and then refuse a year and a half into it. those kids are a waste of our time, the parents' money. i've seen good kids, such as myself, who've never done anything bad, learn to be less oblivious and also learn that not all of the current youth culture's bad. like, that drinking a little at a party isn't nearly the end of the world. i've gotten a lot out of hyde cuz i put a lot of faith and trust into it. granted, i DID NOT wanna be there during SC '03 and the beginning of freshman year. but i see that hyde is a place to develop yourself, but whatever it needs to be. not necessarily what hyde thinks it should be. whether or not hyde recognizes that you accomplished something doesn't matter. YES THERE ARE FLAWS! but nothing's perfect. i see that there IS a business perspective; hey, someone's gotta pay the bills to keep the place actually open. i worked in the admissions office for three weeks this summer...i noticed we, at least the woodstock campus, has begun to be more selective and not letting people who aren't ready for us in. which is good. i encourage you look at the school, regardless of the stories, it really depends on your kid. maybe he/she needs something more extreme. like elan, or family foundation(although, they may wanna kill themselves after F.F.). or wilderness. or rehab. hyde is a GREAT transition school from one of those, because they are 1) more willing to go to something less strict and 2) if they did the other program right, then they'll be more willing to continue the change they've been making. it's TOTALLY TRUE that hyde's NOT FOR EVERYONE. but you never know till you at least look. but i know that the common thing with teens today is lack of self-confidence, self-worth, or immaturity. usually a good combination. i was all three. what keeps me coming back are the PEOPLE and the staff. so i'm really tired, but PLEASE, if you have any questions, i'll answer them. i see myself as a completely neutral, seeing as i see them all from both sides. My name is Billy Procida...my email address is wprocida@hyde.edu. And good luck with however YOU raise your children. but it's late, and i gotta sleep

Thanks for your comments.  I'm glad to know things have worked out well for you at Hyde.  Also, I appreciate your willingness to answer questions about Hyde.  Since you were asked to work in the admissions office I imagine you're one of the "on track" kids at Hyde who has invested himself.  That's great that Hyde was comfortable having you meet parents and students, show them around, etc..  When I was at Hyde I definitely saw some kids who were like you, but not too many..  

I also saw the "other" side of Hyde.  I met many students who, in my opinion, never should have gone to Hyde and were often "off track," on 2-4, sent to outpost, ran away, etc..  They had serious psychiatric problems or drug/alc problems, but Hyde took them anyway.  I definitely met students there who needed treatment, not Hyde.  I could never understand why Hyde acceptd these students when it didn't have anyone on staff to counsel them.  

I now get questions from parents who are thinking about Hyde and know I was there.  In my honest opinion, the good at Hyde (which you experienced and benefited from) does not outweigh the bad.  I tell parents they should look for a school that cares about values, character, and all the good stuff, but that doesn't have Hyde's problems.  Hyde tells everyone it's about character education, which is true.  Character education the way Hyde does it seems to work for a certain kind of student (you seem to be an example), but it seems to fail with many students because they need something real different from what Hyde offers (usually related to their mental health/drug/alc problems).

I also had a big problem with some of the seminars, which seemed an awful lot like group therapy at times.  What bothered me is that it wasn't unusual for people to "break down" in those groups or "lose it," but no one with professional training was there to handle that stuff.  I saw some really bad incidents.

Here are my questions for you:

* How many of students were in your entering class (2003)?  How many graduated?
* How has Hyde changed its admission standards?  You said they're being more selective.  How?
* What percentage of Hyde's current students seem to have pretty serious mental health/psychiatric problems?  Drug/alc problems? Has that changed since you started at Hyde?
* Did you witness any bad incidents in seminars (FLCs) or was it all good?  Did you think the staff had the proper training to handle those groups, especially when things got real intense?
* How much turnover is there with teachers these days?  When I was at Hyde the turnover was real high.
* Is Joe Gauld still very involved?  What's your experience with him?

Thanks for posting.

Mr. Procida--A couple of days ago one of the people who posts on this board asked you some questions about Hyde.  I would appreciate your answers.

[Anonymous]

I also wonder if this boy is really a student at Hyde.  What is he doing up at 3:30 in the AM?

[Anonymous]

Note the part, "those kids are a waste of OUR time."  Could this be a staff member posting and not a student?

[Anonymous]

I guess anyone who posts on this board and doesn't trash Hyde must work for them or be a fake. And why can't they answer my barrage of questions and requests for data? Everyone who truly had anything to do with Hyde should know these things off the top of their head, since Hyde brainwashes them with this information. Come on, get real. If you want this information, get it from someone at Hyde, don't expect laymen to know it...

[Anonymous]

or incoming seniors...

[Anonymous]

excuse me for the informal writing, it's 3:30 in the morning, so bear with me...i'm going to be a senior and it's going to be my 4th year. i have seen good and bad. good from hyde's perspective and good that hyde hasn't recognized. the sterotypical "tool"(what most kids would call the 100% good guys are the ones Hyde will usually praise, yes, and still challenge. i've seen a kid i went to summer challenge with eventually graduate dirty. yes. but I was able to see the IMMENSE positive change he made. he realized to take his life seriously. M.D. was the classic "bad boy" and still looks like the really cool really tough guy. but he's a good kid now. he always was, but he learned some responsibility. for him, that's really all he needed. i've seen "bad" kids come in, refuse; and then refuse a year and a half into it. those kids are a waste of our time, the parents' money. i've seen good kids, such as myself, who've never done anything bad, learn to be less oblivious and also learn that not all of the current youth culture's bad. like, that drinking a little at a party isn't nearly the end of the world. i've gotten a lot out of hyde cuz i put a lot of faith and trust into it. granted, i DID NOT wanna be there during SC '03 and the beginning of freshman year. but i see that hyde is a place to develop yourself, but whatever it needs to be. not necessarily what hyde thinks it should be. whether or not hyde recognizes that you accomplished something doesn't matter. YES THERE ARE FLAWS! but nothing's perfect. i see that there IS a business perspective; hey, someone's gotta pay the bills to keep the place actually open. i worked in the admissions office for three weeks this summer...i noticed we, at least the woodstock campus, has begun to be more selective and not letting people who aren't ready for us in. which is good. i encourage you look at the school, regardless of the stories, it really depends on your kid. maybe he/she needs something more extreme. like elan, or family foundation(although, they may wanna kill themselves after F.F.). or wilderness. or rehab. hyde is a GREAT transition school from one of those, because they are 1) more willing to go to something less strict and 2) if they did the other program right, then they'll be more willing to continue the change they've been making. it's TOTALLY TRUE that hyde's NOT FOR EVERYONE. but you never know till you at least look. but i know that the common thing with teens today is lack of self-confidence, self-worth, or immaturity. usually a good combination. i was all three. what keeps me coming back are the PEOPLE and the staff. so i'm really tired, but PLEASE, if you have any questions, i'll answer them. i see myself as a completely neutral, seeing as i see them all from both sides. My name is Billy Procida...my email address is wprocida@hyde.edu. And good luck with however YOU raise your children. but it's late, and i gotta sleep

Thanks for your comments.  I'm glad to know things have worked out well for you at Hyde.  Also, I appreciate your willingness to answer questions about Hyde.  Since you were asked to work in the admissions office I imagine you're one of the "on track" kids at Hyde who has invested himself.  That's great that Hyde was comfortable having you meet parents and students, show them around, etc..  When I was at Hyde I definitely saw some kids who were like you, but not too many..  

I also saw the "other" side of Hyde.  I met many students who, in my opinion, never should have gone to Hyde and were often "off track," on 2-4, sent to outpost, ran away, etc..  They had serious psychiatric problems or drug/alc problems, but Hyde took them anyway.  I definitely met students there who needed treatment, not Hyde.  I could never understand why Hyde acceptd these students when it didn't have anyone on staff to counsel them.  

I now get questions from parents who are thinking about Hyde and know I was there.  In my honest opinion, the good at Hyde (which you experienced and benefited from) does not outweigh the bad.  I tell parents they should look for a school that cares about values, character, and all the good stuff, but that doesn't have Hyde's problems.  Hyde tells everyone it's about character education, which is true.  Character education the way Hyde does it seems to work for a certain kind of student (you seem to be an example), but it seems to fail with many students because they need something real different from what Hyde offers (usually related to their mental health/drug/alc problems).

I also had a big problem with some of the seminars, which seemed an awful lot like group therapy at times.  What bothered me is that it wasn't unusual for people to "break down" in those groups or "lose it," but no one with professional training was there to handle that stuff.  I saw some really bad incidents.

Here are my questions for you:

* How many of students were in your entering class (2003)?  How many graduated?
* How has Hyde changed its admission standards?  You said they're being more selective.  How?
* What percentage of Hyde's current students seem to have pretty serious mental health/psychiatric problems?  Drug/alc problems? Has that changed since you started at Hyde?
* Did you witness any bad incidents in seminars (FLCs) or was it all good?  Did you think the staff had the proper training to handle those groups, especially when things got real intense?
* How much turnover is there with teachers these days?  When I was at Hyde the turnover was real high.
* Is Joe Gauld still very involved?  What's your experience with him?

Thanks for posting.

Mr. Procida--A couple of days ago one of the people who posts on this board asked you some questions about Hyde.  I would appreciate your answers.

Mr. Procida--I thought you were interested in sharing your opinions about Hyde and answering questions.  At least that's what your earlier message said: "PLEASE, if you have any questions, i'll answer them."  I'm curious to know why you haven't answered the questions to you that have been posted here.  Have you changed your mind?  Did someone at Hyde ask you not to post comments about the school?

[survivor122770]

Note the part, "those kids are a waste of OUR time."  Could this be a staff member posting and not a student?

yup!. pretty plain and simple. he knows that any survivor is gonna sit back and wait and pick him apart. i got tired of waiting. it is a director or staff. if not i welcome him to respond. if parents want to know what goes on there they should not talk to someone who works there,they should talk to former staff or a survivor of that program and then take a tour and ask questions of current staff or students. if they do this their child wont be attending. if they wont let you talk to students of your choice then that is a good indicator that something is not right. whatever you do dont just listen to the brainwashed students that they pick.

[Anonymous]

Your opinion.

[Anonymous]

and it is clear where it is coming from.

[Anonymous]

Why is everyone picking on this grad who is sharing his experience?

[Anonymous]

i'm at my uncle's and he told me he found my post. i didn't know what he was talking about, then i was like "o yeaa". i'll be sure to try and check this site more often. but again, i'm sorry. i just thought if people had questions, they'd email them. (and i was up that late because I was playing some online poker, got bored, and searched hyde school on google). So about those questions(and being over half way done with senior year, almost been a full 4 years).
* How many of students were in your entering class (2003)? How many graduated?
Maybe 15 back in the days of the year 03-04. We have 4 from THAT class. Another one of them went up to the Bath campus half-way through because he wanted a change (and his mom worked at the woodstock campus) and we have two 4-year seniors from the bath campus down at woodstock.
* How has Hyde changed its admission standards? You said they're being more selective. How?
it's changed in the sense that those kids you said needed something more therapeutic or rehabilitative don't get accepted anymore. i agree, too many kids who should have NEVER been there were accepted. i think there was just a financial pressure, being its first 10 years in, we just needed more people. after this whole Hyde @ 40 financial campaign thing, we got a lot more money that we raised. so there's not that pressure to keep accepting anymore. the feel on campus this year is SO much different. there's no longer kids on 2-4 for a week or two at a time. kids are off after usually 3-4 days. we dont' have a bunch of kids out breaking ethics ALL THE TIME like my other 3 years. it's just a new feel. i'm not the BIGGEST fan of Laura Gauld, but she's done some things Duncan (Mr. McCrann) just couldn't do.
* What percentage of Hyde's current students seem to have pretty serious mental health/psychiatric problems? Drug/alc problems? Has that changed since you started at Hyde?
I'd say maybe 10-25 percent maybe (very rough estimate). but it's way under half. the other years, esp. last year, drugs were a huge issue. my sophomore year there was a kid dealing massive amounts of coke, last year it was ecstasy. and you could tell that there was something really off in the community. you just don't get that feeling this year.
* Did you witness any bad incidents in seminars (FLCs) or was it all good? Did you think the staff had the proper training to handle those groups, especially when things got real intense?
o we all have stories about people breaking down (my mother breaks down way too often). def. not all good. again, no one's a certified psychologist or counselor (except Don MacMillan). so it's just people helping people. yes they screw up, because we all don't have the answers. the faculty and students only have our own personal experiences. i've heard (and recieved) feedback that was extremely off, but if people could just take it with a grain of salt, and accept it has no bearing, they could just leave it alone. don't take it personally. it's even one of the seminar guidelines. the faculty could definitely work on intense situations. the younger facutly are a lot more open to ask for help, i've noticed, because they are new and recognize that. they have no problem seeking help from the veteran faculty if things are getting to be too much.
* How much turnover is there with teachers these days? When I was at Hyde the turnover was real high.
Faculty turnover was pretty good going from last year to this year. there was a big controversy that upset many (including myself) over L.G. not renewing Tom Lord's contract (brilliant man, even non-returning offtrack kids weeped and were pissed about it). but it was pretty good. we picked up 2 faculty members mid year this year. somehow we picked 2 young guys that seem to just get it. i've never seen new faculty be this dead-on about attitudes. I'm talking about Julian Miller and Wesley Jenkins.
* Is Joe Gauld still very involved? What's your experience with him?
He's still here, old shaking and still going. haha. he's been coming down a lot to talk to us seniors and work with us. and of course for FLC weekends. i had more experience with him my first two years with my father because my dad's not in the process at hyde and exchanged some words with Joey G via email. they're on better terms now. my dad needed something different. he's been doing it, and improving. sorry, i just don't personally have much experience with him.

I was really dissapointed with many accusing me of being a fake or a faculty. i can understand why though. i understand ya'll are looking for help, and when there's an air of suspicion, it's easy to take a big whif of it. so if you still doubt me, call me up. 201-788-1824. if you live in jersey, we'll sit down for lunch and discuss. but please don't accuse me of something like that. i do see things from a more objective point of view. i was an innocent my first two years and hung around off track kids. most of my friends were off track dishonest ethic breaking kids. it didn't make them bad people. but i can recognize that. i also am around a lot of "ontrack" kids too. i've seen most of it, just short of breaking the ethics myself. any other questions i'll ask, HONESTLY and from an objective point of view. hyde has its faults in the practice, but so does every other school. but the basic concept is: be a better person. and who can argue with that. if you're really on that road for yourself trying to better yourself, a teacher messing up a single situation shouldn't throw you off the deepend. i'll try my best to check this site, but feel free to also email me questions or comments: wprocida@hyde.edu . i've got to go back to my family.
- Bill Procida

[Ursus]

My dear Mr. Procida:  I am trying very hard to give you the benefit of the doubt here, but I am hard pressed to comprehend why anyone with even the intelligence of a small reptile  could honestly and with the most transparent of motives expect ANYone to email them to "just chat about Hyde" at an emailaddress@hyde.edu.  Ever hear of "adminstrator priviledges"?  I wasn't exactly born yesterday, although, come to think of it, you were, and perhaps that explains the disconnect here.  This is, of course, presuming you are who you say you are, and I am not talking about your name as it appears on your birth certificate.

That said, thanks for checking back and answering the questions.  Perhaps you'd care to contact Gary and share your story re. Hyde, as it does appear to be somewhat anomalous to other stories here on this board?

[Anonymous]

i'm at my uncle's and he told me he found my post. i didn't know what he was talking about, then i was like "o yeaa". i'll be sure to try and check this site more often. but again, i'm sorry. i just thought if people had questions, they'd email them. (and i was up that late because I was playing some online poker, got bored, and searched hyde school on google). So about those questions(and being over half way done with senior year, almost been a full 4 years).
* How many of students were in your entering class (2003)? How many graduated?
Maybe 15 back in the days of the year 03-04. We have 4 from THAT class. Another one of them went up to the Bath campus half-way through because he wanted a change (and his mom worked at the woodstock campus) and we have two 4-year seniors from the bath campus down at woodstock.
* How has Hyde changed its admission standards? You said they're being more selective. How?
it's changed in the sense that those kids you said needed something more therapeutic or rehabilitative don't get accepted anymore. i agree, too many kids who should have NEVER been there were accepted. i think there was just a financial pressure, being its first 10 years in, we just needed more people. after this whole Hyde @ 40 financial campaign thing, we got a lot more money that we raised. so there's not that pressure to keep accepting anymore. the feel on campus this year is SO much different. there's no longer kids on 2-4 for a week or two at a time. kids are off after usually 3-4 days. we dont' have a bunch of kids out breaking ethics ALL THE TIME like my other 3 years. it's just a new feel. i'm not the BIGGEST fan of Laura Gauld, but she's done some things Duncan (Mr. McCrann) just couldn't do.
* What percentage of Hyde's current students seem to have pretty serious mental health/psychiatric problems? Drug/alc problems? Has that changed since you started at Hyde?
I'd say maybe 10-25 percent maybe (very rough estimate). but it's way under half. the other years, esp. last year, drugs were a huge issue. my sophomore year there was a kid dealing massive amounts of coke, last year it was ecstasy. and you could tell that there was something really off in the community. you just don't get that feeling this year.
* Did you witness any bad incidents in seminars (FLCs) or was it all good? Did you think the staff had the proper training to handle those groups, especially when things got real intense?
o we all have stories about people breaking down (my mother breaks down way too often). def. not all good. again, no one's a certified psychologist or counselor (except Don MacMillan). so it's just people helping people. yes they screw up, because we all don't have the answers. the faculty and students only have our own personal experiences. i've heard (and recieved) feedback that was extremely off, but if people could just take it with a grain of salt, and accept it has no bearing, they could just leave it alone. don't take it personally. it's even one of the seminar guidelines. the faculty could definitely work on intense situations. the younger facutly are a lot more open to ask for help, i've noticed, because they are new and recognize that. they have no problem seeking help from the veteran faculty if things are getting to be too much.
* How much turnover is there with teachers these days? When I was at Hyde the turnover was real high.
Faculty turnover was pretty good going from last year to this year. there was a big controversy that upset many (including myself) over L.G. not renewing Tom Lord's contract (brilliant man, even non-returning offtrack kids weeped and were pissed about it). but it was pretty good. we picked up 2 faculty members mid year this year. somehow we picked 2 young guys that seem to just get it. i've never seen new faculty be this dead-on about attitudes. I'm talking about Julian Miller and Wesley Jenkins.
* Is Joe Gauld still very involved? What's your experience with him?
He's still here, old shaking and still going. haha. he's been coming down a lot to talk to us seniors and work with us. and of course for FLC weekends. i had more experience with him my first two years with my father because my dad's not in the process at hyde and exchanged some words with Joey G via email. they're on better terms now. my dad needed something different. he's been doing it, and improving. sorry, i just don't personally have much experience with him.

I was really dissapointed with many accusing me of being a fake or a faculty. i can understand why though. i understand ya'll are looking for help, and when there's an air of suspicion, it's easy to take a big whif of it. so if you still doubt me, call me up. 201-788-1824. if you live in jersey, we'll sit down for lunch and discuss. but please don't accuse me of something like that. i do see things from a more objective point of view. i was an innocent my first two years and hung around off track kids. most of my friends were off track dishonest ethic breaking kids. it didn't make them bad people. but i can recognize that. i also am around a lot of "ontrack" kids too. i've seen most of it, just short of breaking the ethics myself. any other questions i'll ask, HONESTLY and from an objective point of view. hyde has its faults in the practice, but so does every other school. but the basic concept is: be a better person. and who can argue with that. if you're really on that road for yourself trying to better yourself, a teacher messing up a single situation shouldn't throw you off the deepend. i'll try my best to check this site, but feel free to also email me questions or comments: wprocida@hyde.edu . i've got to go back to my family.
- Bill Procida

Thanks for offering so much detail about Hyde.  It seems that many kids leave Hyde before graduating.  What's your impression of the reasons?  

Also, are you concerned that Hyde monitors this website?  Is there any risk for you when you post your opinions like this?