Academy at Sisters

[Antigen]

Can't say. Wish I could but I can't. Anybody know if anything has changed out there lately?

[Oscar]

I found some new testimonies on Yelp:

Susy Q.

Its been a long time since i attended The Academy but from the looks of it not much has changed. Well the cost had gone up but it was overpriced then like its overpriced now.
Please read all the reviews here, meaning the not recommended reviews and check the dates of the ones yelp wants you to read.
Seems as if The Academy is very concerned with being viewed as pricey. And i cant seem to see how they are getting away with the non-profit act... they are all about profit.
Just think twice before sending your daughter to The Academy or a school similar please. Teenage years are hard and being sent away to be dealt with leaves a mark on a girls life you can never change.
I hope its obvious to the reader which reviews here are real and which were written by paid staff.
Please give your daughter another chance.

Casey C.

First, I would like to say that I am grateful for all the friends on FB that I get to see grow up and become who they were meant to be. It's awesome to see the changes over the years and remember who they were. It creates a bittersweet nostalgia.

The most beneficial lesson taught was the mistaken beliefs.

I attended the academy at sisters in 1999. It was not my choice, I was  handcuffed and escorted to Oregon with no warning...there, I learned that I couldn't even talk to my family for a month, and I couldn't talk to my friends for probably a year. I refused to get out of the car, so they put me in a holding house for a couple weeks, then I was sent to a 3 week survival camp called suws. What happened mentally to me was that the programs broke me down. They put me in a position that I knew I couldn't control my life. All I could do was put one foot in front of the other and work through their program... it was the only way for me to have any hope of getting out of there... just pretend to be who they wanted you to be.
All of the real friends and relationships I had were ripped away and never regained. After I graduated the program, I was left with nothing real in my life... it didn't give me coping skills, it created an emptiness. I believe that if I would have just been left alone and continued my life, my behavior would not have downward spiraled like it did afterwards... because I would have had friends and family relationships that were not ripped away.
Now that I am a mother of of a teenager, I understand the feeling of not being able to control your child and the desire to find someone or something that can. I urge you to find something else that your child is engaged in. If they don't want to go... find something else. Change is only real when the child wants to change.... they only want to change at these places because you are withholding their relationships and freedom. So they learn to be who you want them to be.... it's not real, and it takes decadeS to regain grounding of their own.

Sydney L.

Trust me, you want to read this review. Whether or not you have already enrolled your daughter here or are thinking of doing so, it is important that you know what the place is like from first-hand experience.

I promise you, this is not just another angry rant from a past student.

I was a very respectful student at the Academy. I did not break rules or act out. I was very polite to staff and peers. However, many things stood out to me and I was becoming increasingly baffled by situations that I became involved in.

Sending your daughter away for months or even years is a very big decision. It's not just something you can do in a few days. Most of you have been sent here by social workers who recommended that your daughter benefit from aftercare. This may be true, but the Academy at Sisters is not the right place.

This therapeutic boarding school is clinging onto every penny. The program is entirely overruled by outdated methodology. What stood out to me the most was how often girls would get sick. Girls with fevers sleep side by side, and if the sickness spreads, that's just how it is. You can't escape a cold if you're stuck rubbing shoulders with your feverish peers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Without bias, I want to say that the whole situation is sickening, itself.

I live in Houston, so the climate in Bend was very different for me. When I first arrived, it took a while for my body to adjust. The air is thinner and drier. When I began to feel ill, I would blame it on the elevation. However, it quickly crossed my mind that the school itself was slowly eroding at my immunity. I started off with mild headaches, and I began to get weekly fevers. Then migraines. However, I trusted the process and ignored the symptoms of what later labeled me as immunocompromised. The house is constantly being scrubbed down with bleach, disinfectant, and pesticides. The kitchen was also being repainted at the time I was there. The toxins were making me sick, and I didn't even notice.

Another thing you might know is that there is a countrywide reform which is fixing on taking place in 2022. This reform states that in order to send your child to a group home (7+ kids living in the same house), they will need to consult a lawyer and stand before a jury. Already, it is apparent that the Therapeutic Boarding School "movement" is slowly declining with technological and societal advancements.

Don't be fooled by the term "non profit." The term doesn't even matter since the staff who are interacting with your daughter are still working for money. You could say that the staff here are no more eager to work than the employees at your local grocery store.

So I have gotten your attention now... keep reading if you want to here more about my personal experiences. The following events stood out to me significantly:

One of the therapists was living with one of the resident monitors. This may seem perfectly normal to some, but others will know that this strange arrangement among a professional workplace is a conflict of interest. (let me put this into perspective for you: would you want one of your hall monitors knowing your nitty gritty business that only your therapist knows?)

The kitchen was being remodeled and painted. The kitchen is not blocked off from the bedrooms, and there are no doors separating the amenities. Girls living in the house inhale the fumes with every breath.

One last note: I was reading the newspaper one day. I stumbled upon an article stating the dangers of living in a group home. A staff member discovered the article, confiscated the papers, and had them shredded. The Academy at Sisters was just a big manipulation scheme. It doesn't help girls get wiser, it just teaches them to succumb to an uncomfortable situation. If girls are willing to live and thrive at the harsh, punitive program, imagine how they will manage an abusive relationship: they won't. They will accept their place.

You may see smiling girls on the Academy's Instagram, Facebook and other media. Imagine all the pictures they are not taking.

Love heals all wounds. The Academy at Sisters is not loving. Love is family. Make the right decision and choose families over facilities!!!