At the time I attended Copper Canyon Accademy (Jan 1998 - May 2000), it was a mess. I was considered their "first student", although technically this is incorect. One girl was there breifly before me, for only two or three months. I watched the school grow from having a "max" populaton of 12, 16, 20, 24 to finally around 36. The consultant who sent me there was named Jill Porter, a miserable woman who was more than happy to send me to a school she had never seen, and never would visit until over a year after it's founding.
The original core Copper Canyon Academy staff consisted of Tammy Behrman (sp on last name), Patty Bowman, and Judy (last name unknown, an elderly caucasion woman). Tammy operated the school out of her house, a 5 bedroom home in Camp Verde, AZ. She and her husband lived downstairs, and students upstairs. Linda Cathcart (once again, sp) was the practicing therapist, and was joined by a female friend of hers (name forgotten). All these staff members came from a school called Spring Ridge Academy - apparently, Tammy was a part owner of that program, but her partner somehow tricked her out of her share. She claimed to be upset with the way the school was ran, but in truth from what I have read, ran CCA almost identically to SRA. CCA claimed to have many things - equine therapy, tailored educational services, and a professonal staff and atmosphere. It had none of these. The staff were terrible, and on one occasion, a staff member came in drunk to work. Many of the staff members were not qualified to work at anything more than Wal-Mart or Chevron, but were allowed to stay on because they were friends of Tammy's through the mormon church.
The school began doing much better once Tammy removed herself from power (although not from profit, as she still collected a sallry even while doing nothing). Once her brother, Darren, began running admisions and having a say in how the school was ran, things became much better. Also, the therapists Terry and Mark made a significant change to school policy, and made it a much more humane place, in which one was less likely to be punished for the whims of a staff-member. These two therapists left, however, they were replaced by staff that were, in my opinion, of equal caliber.
5 years have passed sence I attended CCA, and things are much different, and while I hope the program has become more professional and honest, I wonder how much this can be in a culture of deception fostered from the program's birth. I can personally say CCA made me worse, not better. My learning disability was ignored, my issues regarding social phobia were never addressed, and I left a much more passive and fearful person than when I started. I was unlucky in that I entered CCA at a young age - 13 years old. Older students seem to have delt with their experiences far more constructively, and I wish them the best of luck.
I could fill pages about what I think about this program, but it isn't relevant. CCA is dangerous because the woman who started it is dangerous.
Please forgive my spelling errors, but I haven't the time to proofread this.
~Liz
