I was there from april 18 2003 to the end in early January. I don't know about any molestation by any staff, but I would believe it if either Mike Allgood or Eric Von Melzer(not his real name by the way) were implicated. As admissions declined more and more kids were breaking the rules and getting expelled. This leaked to the ed consultants who began recommending other programs. By the time the family graduated in December 2003, there were less than 50 kids there. Compare this to the 115 or so who were there when I got there. I believe that the school would have closed at some point in 2004, but me and the majority of the students simply could not put up with their B.S. that long. We staged a mass refusal or sit down in which we all refused to go to forums or follow the rest of their rules. After many of my friends were kicked out and I believed I would be next. My parents told me that if I continued to refuse and was expelled, I would go to another Therapuetic Boarding school. I decided that the school would probably close down soon anyways and I had a better chance of getting home early if I stopped refusing and waited. I was right. After the many expulsions resulting from the refusal, there were only about 20 or so kids left. At this point, there was much more staff than kids and it was obviously doomed to bankrupcy. They finally pulled us out of school for a general meeting in which they anounced Cascade was closing. I remained there for about a week while my parents made arrangments to send me to North West Academy, a CEDU school in Idaho. I graduated from NWA in August 2004. CEDU anounced its complete closure today, march 25 2005. I beleive all of the scandalous info on Cascade and would like it if anyone would post more info about Allgood and Eric Von Melzer's shady past. I hope this helps those of you struggling to understand Cascade's closure. I still feel sad and depressed when I think of the place. Also, what up Lav, this is Will Hinman. I led the refusal!!!
