Rocklyn Academy(Canada)

[ticked]

From what I can tell from the net these 2 guys were just run of the mill canadian school teachers before they opened this place in 1999. Anyone know of any prior connections to this industry? How would they have brought such an idea to Canada?

No idea, but they seemed to pick the tricks of the trade up fast. Lots of connections to US troubled teen schools now. If a girl is resistant or showing serious problems, she ends up in wilderness, usually in Utah, fast. The parents are asked to give them permission to do this in the contract. This is a huge money maker. Tuition is 48,000+. Then they bill for therapy, gym, riding, outings on top of that-but are not clear about that part up front.

[Che Gookin]

Hiring Canadians is a Three Springs speciality. Lots of the Northern Mexicans.. err Canadians used to work for Three Springs when I was there so it isn't conceivable that they have either scored some people who used to work for Three Turds or they spent some time there themselves.

The other thing to consider is innovation in this industry is pretty nonexistent. Normally they just rearrange the same old crap and call it all good.

[ticked]

There seems to also be very high staff turnover.. :-?

[ajax13]

Canada has a long tradition of operations like this.  While the story of Pere Murray at Notre Dame is the stuff of Canadian legend, the fagging or "old boy" system employed there was the usual Lord of the Flies dynamic.  Sedberg in Quebec was the same.  People with money and poor parenting skills have always dumped their children into private schools like Shawnigan or St. John's Academy of Child Drowning in Alberta.  AARC's most avid media supporter, Report magazine, was run by Ted Byfield who was the man behind St. John's.  The problem with the new wave is that they aren't really schools.  While life is harsh at the Island private schools, and at Wilcox, these places are first and foremost schools, with professional educators composing the administration and teaching staff.  AARC is a child prison, staffed by former inmates.  Rocklyn appears to have a fake doctor running the show just like AARC.

[Che Gookin]

Interesting.. Glad to see the myth that its all America's fault for Canada going down the Kool Aid chugger's way is more or less false.


High staff turn over? That is just about the norm for most programs in any country. Not many people want to take it from both ends, which are their bosses at one end and the kids at the other, for a paltry sum.

[Rachael]

Canada also has the abhorrent history of residential schools where the Canadian government (up until the 60s in some cases) had First Nations children taken from their parents into "foster care" and the had them placed in schools run by Catholic clergy. There they were regularly abused in every context of the word, literally tortured when speaking their native languages, and overall severely tramatized in the name of "education". Some of the stories from survivors of these "schools" are horrific. They would have their tongues stabbed with hot needles if they were caught speaking Cree, Ojibway or whatever their native language may have been. They were often sexually abused by the priests/nuns. And they weren't allowed to see their families for years in many cases.

Basically, Canada has its own just lovely history of institutionalized abuse that is only starting to come to light and be dealt with. The difference lies in the general public attitude towards it. Wheras in the US, the public consensus seems to be in favour of "tough love" and corporal punishment, in Canada when such things come to light there tends to be enormous public outcry. These things are not socially acceptable in Canada, although they do happen. It just should theoretically be easier to bring about change than in the US. Of course, this is also aided by the fact that Canada has a much more centralized government and isn't as complexly divided by state law.

So.... any lurking Canadians out there wanna help me?

[Che Gookin]

Seriously.. good luck, and I'm not being sarcastic, in running that bullshit out of your country. The sooner the better I say.

[Rachael]

Someone earlier asked about regulations and oversight with repect to the entire industry in Canada. As far as I know there is no specific oversight for the "troubled teen industry". Depending on the nature of the institution, it could fall under the purview of existing legislation or be completely unregulated. Boarding schools such as Rocklyn would be regulated as private schools. As such, they are subject to provincial and federal regulations from their respective Ministries of Education. Officially, the provincial Ministry is the governing body, but federal standards also apply.

With respect to Rocklyn Academy specifically, here is what I could find.

From the Ontario Ministry of Education's website: http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/general/el ... index.html

In accordance with section 16 of the Education Act, operators of private schools in Ontario are required to notify the Ministry of Education annually of their intention to operate by filing a Notice of Intention to Operate a Private School. The ministry provides a list of registered private schools on this web site. Note: Inclusion of a private school in this directory does not imply that the instruction it offers has been approved by the ministry.

The Ministry of Education may inspect a private secondary school that has requested inspection in order to authorize the principal to grant credits in subjects leading to the Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD). The inspection relates to the standard of instruction. Private secondary schools are authorized to grant credits only after a ministry inspection and this authority may be revoked following an inspection. The ministry does not inspect health, equipment, practices related to safety, or staffing issues.

The ministry does not conduct inspections of private elementary schools, unless a serious issue is brought to light. In such cases, investigations conducted by the ministry are authorized under section 16(6) of the Education Act.

Consumers are advised to exercise due diligence with respect to contracts with private schools as they would with any other business transaction. For questions related to consumers and business practices laws, marketplace rights and responsibilities, please refer to the Consumer Protection Branch of the Ministry of Government Services at Consumer Protection Overview - Government of Ontario (Canada) or call: (Toronto) (416) 326-8555, or (toll-free) 1-800-268-1142.

It should be noted that principals and teachers in private schools are not necessarily certified by the Ontario College of Teachers. Certified teachers are listed on the College’s public register at www.oct.ca. For information about disciplinary actions taken by the College, see investigations and hearings on the College web site.

Note: The source of most of the information provided in this list is the Notice of Intention to Operate a Private School, submitted annually by a private school.

When I searched for Rocklyn, I found that it was listed:

Rocklyn Academy
RR 2 (Rocklyn), Meaford, N4L 1W6
Tel: (519) 538-2992, Fax: (519) 538-1106
District: Barrie, School No.: 878715
Principal: Robert Shaw

Secondary
Offers credits towards the Ontario Secondary School Diploma
Female/ Residential Female
Association membership: Ontario Federation of Independent Schools



I called the number listed for the Consumer Protection Branch of the Ministry of Government Services. (If you want a laugh, listen to listing of services "If you are calling to place a complaint about a cemetary, bailiff, video rental service or professional boxing or wrestling organization, press 4.") Anyway, I couldn't get through, so I'll be calling back in an hour or so to try again.

[Oz girl]

Canada has a long tradition of operations like this.  While the story of Pere Murray at Notre Dame is the stuff of Canadian legend, the fagging or "old boy" system employed there was the usual Lord of the Flies dynamic.  Sedberg in Quebec was the same.  People with money and poor parenting skills have always dumped their children into private schools like Shawnigan or St. John's Academy of Child Drowning in Alberta.  AARC's most avid media supporter, Report magazine, was run by Ted Byfield who was the man behind St. John's.  The problem with the new wave is that they aren't really schools.  While life is harsh at the Island private schools, and at Wilcox, these places are first and foremost schools, with professional educators composing the administration and teaching staff.  AARC is a child prison, staffed by former inmates.  Rocklyn appears to have a fake doctor running the show just like AARC.

Most post Colonial countries have boarding schools in the British tradition. Most also have a history of church as well as state run Orphanages and schools where indigenous children have been taken from their parents in a bid to teach them to be "white" .Australia has a very similar history in this regard. Most of these countries including Canada have recognised that such treatment of indigenous people is morally and legally indefensible and made some attempts to make ammends for such gravely terrible public policy. Their major churches have followed suit in this regard.

But the concept of these schools is a different and in some ways more sinister kind of abuse. Nobody is encouraged to send their child to normal boarding school (not even the tom brown school days type places) as a punishment for bad behaviour or as a treatment for mental health or disability. While there has been a sad tendency particularly in religious boarding schools for kids not to report abuse for fear of not being believed, nobody ever actively hindered or monitored communication with family and friends. They certainly do not discourage intellectual rigour or thought. Most of the major religious & private academic schools have also thankfully been forced to enact extremely thorough and strict guidelines for dealing with complaints of abuse. While horrible that it took so long the safe guards are now there in countries like Canada Oz and the US.

 These places have a whole cultic mindset that is unique. They are also far greedier than their pompous boy's school or horror orhpanage cousins. They prey on people who are feeling stressed and out of options in a way that normal BS does not & in the US have actively resisted the need to put clear safe guards in for the kids they treat.

This is why it surprises me that Canada, a country with a reputation for valuing intellect and in recent years human rights seems to be embracing these schools. It is vital that this industry is stamped out in Canada before it becomes the runaway train that it is in the US. the spread of programs into Canada is the beginning of the end. it gives the industry a testing ground for the UK, europe and the Antipodes

[Anonymous]

Very well said, good post.

[Che Gookin]

Canada has a long tradition of operations like this.  While the story of Pere Murray at Notre Dame is the stuff of Canadian legend, the fagging or "old boy" system employed there was the usual Lord of the Flies dynamic.  Sedberg in Quebec was the same.  People with money and poor parenting skills have always dumped their children into private schools like Shawnigan or St. John's Academy of Child Drowning in Alberta.  AARC's most avid media supporter, Report magazine, was run by Ted Byfield who was the man behind St. John's.  The problem with the new wave is that they aren't really schools.  While life is harsh at the Island private schools, and at Wilcox, these places are first and foremost schools, with professional educators composing the administration and teaching staff.  AARC is a child prison, staffed by former inmates.  Rocklyn appears to have a fake doctor running the show just like AARC.

Most post Colonial countries have boarding schools in the British tradition. Most also have a history of church as well as state run Orphanages and schools where indigenous children have been taken from their parents in a bid to teach them to be "white" .Australia has a very similar history in this regard. Most of these countries including Canada have recognised that such treatment of indigenous people is morally and legally indefensible and made some attempts to make ammends for such gravely terrible public policy. Their major churches have followed suit in this regard.

But the concept of these schools is a different and in some ways more sinister kind of abuse. Nobody is encouraged to send their child to normal boarding school (not even the tom brown school days type places) as a punishment for bad behaviour or as a treatment for mental health or disability. While there has been a sad tendency particularly in religious boarding schools for kids not to report abuse for fear of not being believed, nobody ever actively hindered or monitored communication with family and friends. They certainly do not discourage intellectual rigour or thought. Most of the major religious & private academic schools have also thankfully been forced to enact extremely thorough and strict guidelines for dealing with complaints of abuse. While horrible that it took so long the safe guards are now there in countries like Canada Oz and the US.

 These places have a whole cultic mindset that is unique. They are also far greedier than their pompous boy's school or horror orhpanage cousins. They prey on people who are feeling stressed and out of options in a way that normal BS does not & in the US have actively resisted the need to put clear safe guards in for the kids they treat.

This is why it surprises me that Canada, a country with a reputation for valuing intellect and in recent years human rights seems to be embracing these schools. It is vital that this industry is stamped out in Canada before it becomes the runaway train that it is in the US. the spread of programs into Canada is the beginning of the end. it gives the industry a testing ground for the UK, europe and the Antipodes

 

seriously... fuck you for trying to blame Canada's condition on the usa. The canucks are as anti-american as you can get. They don't follow anyone's lead unless it suits their own francophile purposes.

[Oz girl]

No gook you were just too busy trawling paranoidly for anti american sentiment to get my post.
Once this industry moves extensively into a country which currently has a good recent human rights record it is the beginning of the end because it signals a change in mindset as to how young people should be treated! i couldnt give a shit if its country of origin was timbucktu!

When I first came across the industry I was shocked that any modern western country could create a market for private schools designed to treat 'bad' kids or treat addiction by beating and starving and yelling at kids. Particularly the US which is often seen erroneously as being a little indulgent of its young!!!!! Particularly since the US devotes a lot of rhetoric to the idea of liberty or death! Turns out i was wrong.

So in the nicest possible way fuck you right back

[Che Gookin]

That is it you are being struck off my christmas card list!

[ticked]

bumping this up. Hopefully some of the girls who come home for the holidays might get a chance to find this-the ones that actually get to come home. They have expanded the program to cover 365 days a year-so if they want, they can deny the girls a visit home if they don't "earn it"..and charge big bucks no doubt for the extra time there.  Not alot of incentive for the staff to help the girls get a visit home. Bet a few of them lose a level or more in the next week in order to justify keeping them. Very typical and predictable.

[ticked]

Sorry another bump for Rocklyn. Hopefully a parent researching this for second semester will think long and hard, and hopefully any of the girls who are able to come home for Christmas  will understand they cannot be forced to go against their will. Better help is available within community agencies, and is provided free by OHIP. Sixty thousand dollars a year  is a scam for shoddy and potentially dangerous care provided. Honestly i don't know how those people sleep at night.