CEDU: A Timeline (Work In Progress)

Latest Addition: April 13, 2005
Some of the material published has been incorrect.  Some of the published material (from former students) is interesting but hard to verify.

The administrative structure first of CEDU (the Wasserman years) and later Brown Schools is hard to picture.  They sure seem heavy on administration, from my point of view. 

The six CEDU schools, with founding (and closing) dates:

1. CEDU High School, Running Springs, CA (1967-2005)
2. Rocky Mountain Academy, Idaho (Bonner's Ferry, ID (1982-2005)
3. Boulder Creek Academy, ID (1993-2005)
4. CEDU Middle School,  Running Springs, CA (1994-2005)
5. Ascent Therapeutic Wilderness Program, ID
   
6. Northwest Academy, ID (1997-2005)
7. Milestones Transitional Progam, ID (-2005)
8. St. George Academy, VT (1998-2005) (started as a Brown Schools project, not CEDU)

CEDU TIMELINE
The Wasserman Years
1960s: Mel Wasserman

founded by Mel Wasserman first began listening to kids and interacting with them in the '60s when he lived in Palm Springs.

(somehow, this morphed into parents paying Mel to take their kids, and turn them into....well, hopefully solid adults)

1967--Running Springs, California: Wasserman sells his furniture business in Palm Springs, and with some support,  opens Running Springs (CEDU high school) as a for-profit entity. Some accounts have the date as 1968. ( I'm not sure why he chose for-profit, as the not-for-profit model had some advantages, other than the lack of IRS scrutiny as to expenses.)
1972--Mark Hughes, the Herbalife founder, sent to CEDU by father (?).  Part of the "recovery" was to sell raffle tickets door-to-door.  Hughes stays on after graduation, selling the CEDU school to parents. (source: People Weekly 4/29/1985)
1982--CEDU expanded to eastern Washington state (or 1983? Dates vary)--Rocky Mountain Academy.
1983--Lon Woodbury admissions director for CEDU's Rocky Mountain Academy.
1987--Mount Batchelor Academy founded by College Health Enterprises. (not a CEDU enterprise, but founder later joins a CEDU enterprise)
1988--Lon Woodbury leaves CEDU's Rocky Mountain Academy. 
1988--Doug Kim-Brown is headmaster of Rocky Mountain Academy.
1989--Mel and Brigette Wasserman move to Monterey Peninsula
1990--CEDU High School accredited by WASC.
1991--CEDU High School expands to Middle School
1993--Doug Kim-Brown leaves job as headmaster of Rocky Mountain Academy.
1993--Boulder Creek Academy started -- third CEDU School.
1993--Rocky Mountain Academy changes policy, will accept children on psychotropic medication (meaning, antidepressants, medication for bi polar, ADHD medications, etc.)
1994--July--Rocky Mountain Academy Student commits suicide.
1994--Northwest Academy founded. Purpose is to get troubled, but not-too-troubled, high school juniors and seniors to finish high school and have the skills to go on to college effectively.
1994--ASCENT, CEDU's therapeutic wilderness program, founded
1994--Len Woodward reviews Brown Schools
1994 -- Brandi Elliot joins CEDU
1994?--CEDU Middle School opens in California.
1995--Tim Marshall joins Brown Schools.
1996--Jan. 31:  Healthcare America  announced that John P. Harcourt, Jr. has been elected president and chief executive officer and Michael C.  Piercey, M.D., executive vice president and medical director of the company; their assignment is to lead the company through Chapter 11 bankruptcy.  By 1999 Harcourt is CEO of Brown Schools.
1997--Riot at Northwest Academy (CEDU) , in which students are injured and the Boundary County Sheriff's department is called in.
1997-- In November, The Brown Schools terminated 29 employees in a broad-based reduction of its workforce.  William H. Bettcher III and co-worker Diane Roper were among those terminated. Bettcher was 65 years old and Roper was 60.  On August 11, 1998, Roper (a female) filed a sex and age discrimination suit.
1997--The Brown Schools' North American Boarding Schools division begins planning a new boarding school.  Paul Dudley Hart is the President of the Education Services Group of The Brown Schools.
1997--Northwest Academy, a new venture of the CEDU Family of Educational Services. is announced.
1998--April Kevin Accomazzo's family and Stanton Lewis files suit against CEDU for maltreatment in the Idaho programs, including the riot in 1997.

The Brown Schools / McCown deLeeuw Years
1998--July The Brown Schools purchases CEDU (five boarding schools and a wilderness program) for $78 million (note: Mel Wasserman is still alive).      At that time, John P. Harcourt was the CEO of Brown Schools.

In 1998, The Brown Schools acquired The CEDU Family of Services, a pre-eminent provider of college preparatory education and emotional growth programs founded in 1967 by Mel Wasserman. MDC provided most of the new equity utilized to effect the transaction.

• Brown Schools Board Chair =  John P.Harcourt, jr.
  • Brown Schools CEO =
  • Brown Schools Private Schools (non-criminal remand) =
    
    • Idaho Operations Head =
    • BMA head =
    • NWA head =
    • Ascent head=
    • Milestones head =
  • California Operations =
    
  • CEDU High School head =
  • CEDU Middle School=
  • East Coast Operations
    • Vermont =

1998 Mike Naylor is named the acting CEO of CEDU schools.
1998--Brandi Elliot named head of CEDU Middle School.
1998--Brown Schools' division North American Boarding Schools opens St. George School, for kids who are stuggling but not yet in the deep hole of the CEDU programs.   Linda Houghton, Founder, and Rebecca Plona, Admissions Counselor

 

Founder Linda Houghton is adamant that King George School is not a therapeutic school, and thus any diagnosis a child as is usually incidental to what she is looking for in prospective students....” She sees King George School as a regular boarding school that accepts the fact all teens have mental, emotional and physical needs in order to grow up. Her vision is that as old institutions such as family, church and community weaken, something needs to replace them in order to help teens make the changes needed to become successful adults. She feels a new vision of boarding schools is necessary to help their students compensate for the increasing absence of one in the older weakening institutions.

1999--Pete Talbott joins McCown DeLeeuw. (PR Newswire)
1999--Friends of CEDU Foundation started by Howard and Sheryl Swibel, and by Joel Horowitz  (Tommy Hilfinger co-founder)  to assist families who faced having to remove a child prior to graduation, because the CEDU tuition was more than the family could continue to pay or finance.
1999--February Brown Schools:  John P.Harcourt, jr.  "resigns for personal reasons" as CEO of Brown Schools and is replaced by Thomas P. Riley. 
1999--February: Mike Naylor named CEO of CEDU, reporting to Thomas P. Riley, who is CEO of Brown Schools. Thomas P. Riley- Chairman/CEO, ConnectEdu 1999--Sept. 29 -- CEDU Family of Services looking for a Chief Operating Officer, who will report to [Naylor?]

• 1998 Brown Schools Board Chair =
  • Brown Schools CEO = Thomas P. Riley
       
  • Brown Schools Private Schools (non-criminal remand) =
    
    • Idaho Operations Head =
    • BMA head =
    • NWA head =
    • Ascent head=
    • Milestones head =
  • California Operations =
    
  • CEDU High School head =
  • CEDU Middle School=
  • East Coast Operations
    • Vermont =

 

1999--October 26: The Brown Schools  announced the placement of $15 million of subordinated debt with Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America (TIAA).   The purpose of the debt is to continue its expansion efforts and remain a leader in providing education and behavioral services to the country's youth.   

  "We are accelerating The  Brown Schools' growth plan and felt that TIAA would make a strong strategic partner," said Thomas P. Riley, Chairman and CEO. "To have secured such a long-term relationship with someone of TIAA's reputation is important to us. Our discussions with them have focused on the availability of capital for growth on a green field basis as well as through acquisitions. TIAA is excited about the company's growth prospects."

TIAA's investment will finance current expansion of the Company's Education Group to include operations in Vermont, Nebraska, Houston and Dallas, Texas. It also provides for expansion of programs and services in Idaho and The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico that are assigned to its Specialty Behavioral Group.

source: Business Wire; 10/26/1999
2000--March Lori Armbruster, whose job was to sell  the CEDU program to educational consultants, leaves CEDU.
2000--June:  Dan Krabacher named president and CEO of CEDU.   Current interim president and CEO, Ann Knopf will become vice president of marketing and development for The Brown Schools Education Services Group.
2000--Jim Zuberbuhler becomes Executive Director, CEDU Schools of Idaho.
2000--July: Parent Uprising at King George School   Mass staff resignations at King George School, which are criticized  and rebutted
2000--Rob Kantar is Head of St. Georges School.
2000-2001--Six Seconds emotional intelligence team, part of Institute for Organizational Performance Institute, consults with CEDU.  OPI is part of http://www.6seconds.org/,  whose chair is Karen Stone McCown, George McCown's wife.

In a project with The Brown Schools’ residential programs in Idaho, the leadership team raised census by over 25 percent while significantly reducing incidents and accidents and trimming operating costs. In addition to focusing resources at a facility level, we helped the management team develop and use emotional intelligence to connect more effectively.

Sherry Thornton was Brown Schools’ COO at the time; she intuitively saw the gap between departments and between management and line staff,  so we quantified the issues for her with the climate assessment. “The Lights, Camera, Action process helped focus our change effort and increased buy-in from staff,” says Thornton. By sharing the results with each facility team, staff felt heard and could support efforts to improve the workplace environment.

2001--September 17, Marguerite Sallee is named President, CEO of Brown Schools.

"I believe that the best business opportunities exist when real needs are being met. I am looking forward to exploring new opportunities for growth and financial success for The Brown Schools as we continue to fulfill our important mission. I am gratified to be working with our investors as they support us in our efforts to make a difference in the lives of vulnerable young people," Sallee is quoted in PR Wire.

Tom Riley is still a director and an investor.

2001--September 17, George McCown will become chairman of the board.  McCown's firm, MDC, is The Brown Schools’ principal shareholder.

“I look forward to working with Marguerite and Tom to solidify The Brown Schools’ position as the leading company providing services to solve the complex problems that young people face and further our reputation as the thought leader and standard-setter in our industry. MDC has a history of investing in growth companies like The Brown Schools. With her background in education and youth services and her experience building growth companies, Marguerite Sallee is the right person to lead the company forward,”

2001--December 11: Education industry authority John M. McLaughlin, Ph.D., has been named executive vice president for education leadership and strategic planning for The Brown Schools.  The position is new;   McLaughlin will be responsible for assessing and strengthening existing educational programs; identifying strategic opportunities, including acquisitions; providing industry guidance; and representing the company with educational organizations and opinion leaders across the country. He will report directly to chief executive officer Marguerite W. Sallee.   

"Education is a vital part of the work that we do in helping children with extraordinary needs reach their potential and become productive members of society," Sallee said. "John brings a strong desire to serve these special students and a lifetime of knowledge and expertise in education, in particular for-profit education. His decision to give up a successful advisory business to join our company confirms his belief in  The Brown Schools.   

2002--January-- Dwindling demand for 30 month program, so Northwest Academy becomes 12-month, finish high school, academic AND emotional growth program.  Lori Rist is director, reporting to ??

2002--Friends of CEDU Foundation --Chris Schneider, Foundation Manager. 

2002--March 27--Sherry Thorton is Chief Operating Officer, Brown Schools.
2002--March-- Rae Ann Knopf is Chief Operating Officer at St. Georges School, reporting to??
2002--Jim Zuberbuhler takes job liasing between Cedu Schools & Cedu Foundation.

2002--April 28 Mel Wasserman dies.
2002--June 24- Sherry Thornton steps down as Chief Operating Officer, Brown Schools.   She is not replaced;  Marguerite Sallee, who is the CEO and President of Brown Schools,  will oversee the private schools division. 

• Brown Schools Private Schools (non-criminal remand) =
  
  • daho Operations Head =Tim Marshall (Executive Director?)
  • RMA head =
  • BMA head =
  • NWA head =
  • Ascent head=
  • Milestones head =
• California Operations =Greg Hitchcock
  
• CEDU High School head =
• CEDU Middle School=
• East Coast Operations
  • Vermont =Rae Ann Knopf = Vermont (St. George School) Executive Director.

2002--June 27--Multiple staff reassignments.

• Milestones--Program Director Leaves, Admissions Director Assumes Control
• St. George Academy:
  • Head (Bob Kantar)  Leaves To Strategize
  • "Executive Director" becomes Head of School
  • Milestones Director Becomes Assisant Head of School

 2002--July--CEDU announces scholarship program.
2003--January--Ascent program certified safe by ACA.
2003--January-- Bob Kantar quits St. George, CEDU, and Brown Schools posts.
2003--February--Brown Schools sells six behavioral healthcare centers to Psychiatric Solutions Inc
2003--March--Lori Rist leaves NWA
2003--April Marguerite Sallee leaves CEDU for Senate job with Lamar Alexander.
2003--June 19 George Condas named head of the California Division of the CEDU schools, part of the private schools division of Brown Schools.  He will be the head of CEDU High School and oversee Brandi Elliot as the Head of CEDU middle School. Condas reports  to ??
2003--August 04: Larry Stednitz resigns as head of Boulder Creek Academy;  Paul Johnson assumes headship. 

2003--Brandi Elliot is director of CEDU Middle School.
2003--September  Idaho CEDU Changes 

• Sept 11 --School Director for Rocky Mountain Academy promoted up, to Assistant Regional Director for CEDU North Idaho Programs and Schools.
• Sept 17--Idaho Executive Director Quits,  CEO Bob Naples to add those duties to his own while seeking a replacemnt.

 2003--October 2--Bob Naples, President, CEO & CFO of CEDU Education and The Brown Schools,

• Interim Executive Director, Idaho CEDU = Dr. Roger Rinn
• Director of ASCENT = Dr. Roger Rinn
• Support Rocky Mountain Schools team = Dr. Roger Rinn

2004 February 11--Rae Ann Knopf resigns from King George
Dr. Mark Kaufman, Dean  of King George School and Dr. George Condas, Executive Director, CEDU California will be assisting in the
February 24: PROMOTIONS AT CEDU

• Vice President of Idaho Operations - Roger C. Rinn
• Vice President of California and Vermont = George Condas
• Vice President of Business Operations and Admissions - Beverly Kee
• ASCENT Executive Director = Scott Hess

Rocky Mountain Academy and Northwest Academy (both CEDU) to switch campuses.  RMA focussing on drug abuse recovery.
2004--May:  George Condas named VP for Operations, CEDU unit of Brown Schools; has oversight for Idaho operations.
2004--June Ruth McKnight named Head of Northwest Academy.
2004--October--Four lawsuits are filed against CEDU schools in Bonner County, Sandpoint, Idaho.  There are over 24 families who are party to the suit.
2004--October 5, 2004 Brandi Elliot resigns as head of CEDU Middle School. 2004--October 4--Scott Addison Named Director at Rocky Mountain School 2004--November 30:  Scott Addison resigns from Rocky Mountain Academy and Dr. George Condas, CEDU Vice President of Operations, assumes direct control.
2004--December CEDU Intervention announced.
2005--January, Fenton "Pete" Talbot joins Brown School Board.  He was previously on board at McCown DeLeeuw.
2005--February 15 --Rocky Mountain Academy is closed permanently.
2005--March 24--CEDU staff informed that they would not be paid for the previous pay period.
2005--March 25 (good Friday)  the Board of Directors of Brown Schools votes for and files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy.   Most of the children at many schools sent home.
2005--March 26 (Saturday) -- Staff informed that schools could carry on, as interim financing had been provided. TIAA provided the bulk of the financing for the purchase of the schools, and the debt service – as well as legal expenses on outstanding litigation – did the company in, said Brown Schools CEO Fenton "Pete" Talbot.

 

CEDU Posts

• Former CEDU Schools Reborn January 5 2007
• Update on CEDU Schools October 28 2005
• CEDU Properties Sold August 18 2005
• The Business of Troubled Teens August 18 2005
•  CEDU Closing: Buildings and Contents to be Sold May 8 2005
• CEDU Closing: On Edison Schools April 30 2005
• CEDU Closing: Pete Talbott's Resume April 27 2005
• CEDU Closing: McCown DeLeeuw Sued ByEmployees April 14 2005
• CEDU Closing: George Locker's Criticism of the CEDU Enterprise April 14 2005
• CEDU Closing: 1990 Snapshot of McCown DeLeeuw April 12 2005
• CEDU Closing: A Timeline of the CEDU Enterprise April 2005
• CEDU Closing: Letter from a Former Faculty Member April 2005
• CEDU Closing: Parents of CEDU Students Helping Economically Distressed Faculty April 7 2001
• CEDU Closing: Economic Impact on CEDU Employees Devastating April 7 2005
• CEDU Closing: 310 Employees Stiffed on Wages April  6 2005
• CEDU Closing: Who is To Blame? April 6 2005
• CEDU Closing: Running Springs Area Also Suffers Financial Impact April 6 2005
• CEDU Closing: An Alumnus Pleads, "Save CEDU!" April 4 2005
• CEDU Closing:  A Parent's Response to CEDU's Closing April 3 2005
• CEDU Closing: Bankruptcy Trustee Slams Door Shut, Then Open April 3 2005
• CEDU Closing: Parents Out Prepaid Tuition, Employees Lose Retirement. McCown Deleeuw Still Solvent April 3 2005
• CEDU Closing: King George Stays Open as Head Thinks on Feet April 3 2005
• CEDU Closing Shocks Industry Reporter April 3 2005
• CEDU Closing: Parent Company, Brown, Negotiating in Bad Faith?  April 1 2005
• CEDU Closing: More Details March 29 2005
• CEDU Closing: Brown Schools, CEDU's Parent, Files for Bankruptcy March 29 2005
• CEDU Closing: Margurite Sallee, The Brown Schools, and McCown DeLeeuw March 27 2005
• CEDU Closing: All CEDU Schools Closing Immediately March 25 2005
• CEDU Closing: Rocky Mountain Academy Folds Abruptly February 12 2005

Related Posts:

• Debunking "Tough Love" Programs April 11 2006
• Advice for Parents Seeking a Therapeutic Program for Their Children January 21, 2006
• Why The "Troubled Teen" Industry is Booming January 2, 2006
• The Road To Whatever August 25 2005
• Nonpublic School Governance April 23 2005
• Why Parents Seek and Pay for Therapeutic Boarding Schools April 14 2005
• NYT Article on the Therapeutic School Industry April 13 2005
• Therapeutic Schools: What Happens to Poor Kids April 10 2005
• Thinking of Sending Your Kid to A "Tough Love" Program?  March 30 2005

Questions Parents Should Consider Before Placing A Child

• NonPublic Schools: Part I--Overview
• NonPublic Schools--Part II Evaluating Mission, Values, & Goodness of Fit for Your Child
• NonPublic Schools--Part III Faculty and Staff Qualifications
• NonPublic Schools--Part IV: Evaluating Academic Program
• NonPublic Schools:Part V--On Accreditation
• NonPublic Schools:Part VI--More Detail on Financial Issues: IRS Status

Comments

[Scott Cook]

Lori Rist left Northwest Academy in March of 2004. As per the article and as per that's when I started with Northwest Academy.

Thanks,

Scott Cook

[TODD FAUTH]

I WENT TO CEDU IN THE EARLY 1970'S. WONDERED WHAT HAPPENED TO MEL & BRIGETTE AND MICHEAL ALGOOD & AL MELINGER, HOPE YOU CAN GET SCHOOL STARTED AGAIN.

[TODD FAUTH]

I WENT TO CEDU IN THE EARLY 1970'S. WONDERED WHAT HAPPENED TO MEL & BRIGETTE AND MICHEAL ALGOOD & AL MELINGER, HOPE YOU CAN GET SCHOOL STARTED AGAIN.

[TODD FAUTH]

I WENT TO CEDU IN THE EARLY 1970'S. WONDERED WHAT HAPPENED TO MEL & BRIGETTE AND MICHEAL ALGOOD & AL MELINGER, HOPE YOU CAN GET SCHOOL STARTED AGAIN.

[brian]

I went to Cedu in the early 70's It was a brainwash system. It sucked, I bet it made Mel and company allot of lettuce$$$$$

[Abigail]

I went to cedu in 2002 and i hate to say it but its sad it closed. I dont miss the rules or any of the pointless agreements(in my eyes they are) but i miss propheets and seeing the staff on a daily basis. I was there the day they annouced the closing, i had come to visit and im glad my cedu circle came to close.

Abigail

[Blend Shape]

Certainly not one of the most brutal or disturbing of the behavior modification schools, but I guess maybe one of the first? Right out of Synanon. (Charles E. Dederich University = CEDU. The "see yourself as you are and do something about it" bit to explain the school name was only started after the rattlesnake incident, apparently.) No wonder students felt brainwashed.

[Rebecca Klingel]

Ok, I was in PG1 of the NEW NWA in 1997. My question is - how the hell am I going to get my high school transcripts this week? I live in Australia!

[jeremy dutcher]

i went to rma 94-96 i think it sux people r out of jobs and that it closed i did not like it when i was there but i also learned a little about people and me but to bad they closed. one// JEREMY

[fo]

http://amazingforums.com/forum/BS4/153.html

Chuck posted 4/27/03 1:52 AM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The worst and most abusive of the Boarding Schools Is definately the CEDU Brown Schools group. All my work there has been destroyed by psuedo professionals who manage the high school graduates that manage the kids. It is a total brainwashing process that comes directly out of The EST and Synanon self help model. In attending the parent workshop I felt like a kindergardner in romper room. The People running the workshop were out ofr emotional control, has screwed up lifes and their material was simplistic self help jargon. This is what the kids get and they leave and are still smoking pot with screwed up lives. Money invested is wasted - especially at Rocky mountain Academy and Boulder Creek Academy. BCA is still trying to find itsel in the Life Spring, EST cults. The managers Just went through the Forum again - to find themselves - they are robots as EST asserts we all are. Jews are responsible for the holocost as EST asserted. We are totally responsible for what we "get." The problem is that At CEDU, we and our kids get it and "there is nothing to get:

See

http://perso.wanadoo.fr/eldon.braun/awareness/pressmn1.htm

[Angel]

The reason CEDU closed with no regard to the wellbeing of the children is because the school's staff and administration NEVER cared about the wellbeing of the children. I'm not surprised at all that "pre-paid" parents lost so much money: CEDU's main focus was always to make money at any cost, even at the expense of a misguided or poorly raised child's emotional integrity.

As a survivor of CEDU and ASCENT, I can say with great confidence that my experiences there created more problems in my life than they solved. I am ecstatic to hear that CEDU has closed. It brings me great peace to know that CEDU will never again inflict abuse and irreparable damage on the children of naive, incompetent parents.

[Petey Earle]

edited for languageI've been sent to many terible places by my parents. Ascent and the Cedars academy were the two worst...

since all the abuse is over and I remain a survivor with intolerable trauma from the emotional and physical abuse from both places and Ascent was shut down, I must fight to raise hell for other places like it.

That is why we must tell the Cedars Academy to shut itself down before we the people take a stand!

contact the cedars and show your discontent so no more kids suffer emotional and physical abuse like I did. The founder of the school (Neal Swartz) threatened to smash my head back into a tree because I called him "f---ing fascist scum." the headmistress (Mary Pauer)waved a knife in my face and tried to supress my left wing ideaology. The staff stood by and let my 18 year old room mate beat me up each day for my political views. (keep in mind I was like 13 and small for my age, an easy target for a coward like him and his accomplices amoungst the staff.) I am 18 now and this horible school is still up and running. We must stop this madness one placement at a time.

Tell that fascist school that censors left wing literature and abuses kids and punishes kids for making attempts at ending their lives (instead of helping them through it) to f---ing close down or we'll continue to give them hell.

and tell the wankers Petey Earle sent you!!!

The Cedars Academy
P.O. Box 103
Bridgeville, De 19933

or by telephone:
(302)337-3200

fax:
(302) 337-8496

STOP THE CRIMINALIZATION AND RANK AND FILE ORDER TOWARD THE YOUTH!!!
VIVA CHE!

[Petey Earle]

ASCENT-TESTIMONY

- ADMITTED 4 YEARS AGO -

-AT ASCENT THEY FIRST TOLD ME TO TAKE OUT MY EAR RING OR THEY'D DO IT BY FORCE. I DID. THEN THEY TOLD ME TO STRIP DOWN IN FRONT OF THEM.WHEN I SAID NO AND REACHED FOR MY ONLY PROTECTION, A KNIFE, THEY HAD A GUY, THAT I DIDN'T KNOW WAS BEHIND ME, TACKLE ME AND PRY THE KNIFE FROM MY HAND. AT THAT POINT USING EXCESSIVE FORCE THEY TOOK OFF ALL MY CLOTHES. THEY THEN REPLACED THEM WITH DIFFERENT CLOTHES. (THEN AT AGE 15 AND ALREADY QUESTIONING MY SEXUALITY I WAS SCARED, THESE WERE GROWN MEN)

-THEY FORCED ME TO SLEEP IN A TENT WHERE I'D WAKE UP WET AND COLD EVERY MORNING SEVERAL TIMES. THESE TENTS KEPT ALL THE MOISTURE FROM MY BREATHING IN.

-THEY WOKE ME UP TO YELLING EVERY MORNING I WAS THERE. (FOR SOMEONE WHO ALREADY HAD TRAUMAS THAT WAS HARMFUL ENOUGH)

-THEY HAD "GROUP THERAPY" SESSIONS WHICH CONSISTED OF YELLING AT ME FOR EVERYTHING THEY CONSIDERED A FLAW. (AGAIN I ALREADY HAD TRAUMAS)

-THEY LIED TO MY PARENTS ABOUT HOW THEY TREATED ME

-THEY SUPRESSED ALL MY ARTISTIC EXPRESSION. (THIS INCLUDED POETRY AND DRAWING)

-THEY REFUSED TO LET ME DO POLITICAL WRITINGS.

-AFTER THEY FINALY OFFERED ME A VEGITARIAN DIET, STAFF RIDICULED ME ABOUT IT. SAYING THAT I'M NOT A TRUE ANIMAL LOVER. WHO ARE THEY TO JUDGE ME?

-THEY UNDER FED ME AND DID NOT ALLOW ME THE RIGHT NUTRIENTS.

-I ATTEMPTED TO RUN AWAY WHEN THEY CHASED AFER ME AND TACKLED ME IN THE WOODS WHICH WAS RIDDLED WITH SHARP STICKS AND STONES.

-THEY HAD ME DO MANUAL LABOR. (WHICH WAS NOT SO BAD PER SE.) WHAT WAS BAD WAS WHEN THEY YELLED AT ME FOR "NOT WORKING HARD ENOUGH" BECAUSE I WAS SMALLER, SKINNIER, WEAKER AND MORE MALNURISHED THAN THE OTHERS. (I HAD LOW SELF IMAGE AND THAT WORSENED THE SITUATION)

-THEY MADE ME SAW LOGS, (EVEN THOUGH I WAS A CUTTER.) THEN WHEN I CUT MY ARM, THEY HAD ME CONTINUE TO WORK THE SAW.

-THEY ALLOWED SOME OF THE OTHER KIDS TO GET AWAY WITH CALLING ME HOMOPHOBIC SLURS. SOME KIDS STOOD UP FOR ME.EVENTUALY I WASN'T BOTHERED ANYMORE.

-EVNTUALY I USED THE CHORD TO MY RAIN COAT TO ATTEMPT SUICIDE BY STRANGLING MYSELF. THAT WAS WHEN I WAS SENT TO NORTHERN IDAHO BEHAVIORAL HEALTH. I AM NOW A SURVIVOR. I NEVER WENT BACK TO ASCENT. BUT THE TRAUMA STILL HAUNTS ME TO THIS DAY.

[Jessica K]

I went to ascent in the summer of 04 and i can say without any question it saved my life. yes I had to do manual labor, yes i was yelled at, yes I had to do things I didn't want to do. I was also a drug addict, an alcoholic, a bad person, who lied, cheated and stole constantly...all at the age of sixteen. it was also there that i met caring and compassionate individuals that inspired me to do more for myself and be a better person. counslers were strict, yet compassionate. work was hard, but the hiking we did was spiritual. it was hard, it had to be. i was a spoiled brat and the "trauma" i experienced was a good kick in the ass that led me to desire something better for myself. never did i experience nor witness any of the this "torture." today i have 20 months sober and i can say without a doubt without ascent i would have never done this.

[william j. m.]

edited for language -- I don't allow on this blog and I don't want found through search enginesI as well found the good in the ascent program, fun hiking, cooking rice and beans, cool kids, whats up brad? holla. However I did witness excesive force from a camp leader, "Randy", and also saw another adult working there preying sexually on the weaker kids, he worked at the base where u stopped at first to get ur gear before going to the indian hut things T.P. right? anyway u could tell he was writer reveals prejudices; alleges person was homosexual and that such could be discerned by "the look on this face", but enough about the negative i was able to write even though it was mostly bullsh** to trick em but some of it was real and i still have my note books and stuff. One trip there was all i needed to get me back on track, however my moms tough, tougher than me and she sent my ass back to cedu, who sent me back to ascent, who sent me back to cedu which i ran from then sent to hilltop. The cedu and hilltop experince were the ones that pushed my calm and relaxed self over the edge, but i ended up running from there too 6 months later and took a greyhound bus back to washinghton d.c., anyway big eff you to all involved at cedu and hilltop, and to u teachers if that what u call urselves, please dont complain about not being payed as these institutions go under because theres only a select few to blame and thats urselves. Do good get good do bad and well u figure. out the rest. My stint 94'95'.

[Olivia Stull]

I went to RMA PG121 and there is no mention of all the layoffs that went on during May/June 2004. That's what killed it ultimately. John, Dave, and Bob ran that school and as soon as they left no one respected the staff anymore. Staff wouldn't last more than a couple months then they would leave or be fired. It was a lot like the Summer of 2003 where everyone rebelled against the staff and no one had control over anyone anymore. Most of the students were escorted to Acent because of that week. And BTW before John, Bob, and Dave left that was the worst experience I ever had. Honestly I didn't change a bit and things just got worse until I went to Walkabout Wilderness in Utah. If there are any parents that want to get help for their kids, send them to wilderness. Those very short four weeks saved me and honestly I wouldn't have changed otherwise.

[Thomas Cray]

I was at CEDU from 1982-84. I'll be 40 in a few months. I'm married, have kids, have a career, and seem to function just fine in this world. CEDU certainly didn't harm me. Did it help me? probably, but do we ever really know these things? I'll say this, I went to Italy, I went on two Outward Bounds (thanks Craig!) and graduated from college 4 years after graduation from CEDU. I met my best friend there - he was the best man at my wedding, and I still talk to him almost every week even though we're thousands of miles apart. CEDU was a safe, nurturing place. A few power-hungry wacko staff were my only complaints... but I'm sure Karma has taken care of them. I'm told John P. is no more... He got what was coming to him.

[On twos]

Hi Liz, the timeline needs to be updated. NWA and BCA are running again, I believe. UHS, the company which runs Provo Canyon School, is the parent organization now. I'm also fairly certain that most of the staff who were let go have been rehired.

It's still on the cow creek campus on route 1, where RMA used to be.

Same old story... sad.

[on twos]

Thanks for the update, Liz. It will be "interesting" to see how things develop. And by "interesting", I mean "car crash". Their pitch is different, but I'd love to know what is going on behind those doors. Raps? Propheets? Full-times and work details? Forced intimacy? Coercion? I guess we will have to wait for the first crop of survivors to come out, decompress for a few years, and then talk.

I suspect that NWA and BCA are going to be about as effective at treating learning disabilities as RMA was at treating kids who were bipolar, which was not at all.

Interesting that a school with such a miserable track record for academics should suddenly claim they are going to help kids learn.

The NWA website, incidentally, looks almost identical to the one posted when they were owned by Brown. (I wonder if they just pulled it out of their server cache?) You would think that if they wanted to present a different image, they would at least go to the trouble of changing some things. Maybe a font? Some new pictures of current students, instead of ones from the Brown years?

Sadly, it seems to be easier to get rid of a cockroach infestation than it is to effectively shut down an abusive facility, and keep it shut down. Just like the cockroaches, they keep coming back.

[Danielle Johnson]

I went to Ascent twice and attended BCA.98-02. I feel that these schools are not beneficial at all. I feel that there "therapy" tactics are completely out of line and belittling. I went to ascent upon my graduation from the 8th grade. tow days after my graduation and the day of my sisters graduation form RMA. Two of my sisters attended RMA, BCA, NWA and Ascent before me and one attended NWA after i was sent away. So when i got there i was already known because of my sister, which was unfair because we are different people, different problems, diffenent feeling etc.... I feel that i was treated the best when i was at Ascent.(which to many might be a surprise) i feel that the BCA was way worse than ascent, maybe because of the time of the program maybe because of the program. I was at these programs for 4 years including the hospital and i feel that these schools just made things in my life worse than they were to begin with not even mentioning that i got NO education there. I took maybe a total of 3 real educational classes in 4 years and they weren't even real classes. i felt emotionally abused and i feel that my rights as a person were not given to me at this school. i was never physically abused, and believe me i was kinda mouthy and defiant. I tried everything to escape these programs but the final straw was i was about to be 18. thank god. i miss all my friends from this school but that's the only thing i miss. i feel like i missed a huge part of my life having been sent away to this isolated campus. i missed the transition into being a responsible adult. i feel like those high school years in the real world would have made a huge difference in how my life has ended up today.......

[Eddy]

I went to Ascent and I made it out okay. Those of you that were restrained at Ascent, deserved it. The only people who got restrained or harassed at Ascent were the babies who would cry when they had to saw a couple logs or couldnt hack the physical training in the morning. Yes the people there were dicks, but what do you expect. Do you think you are getting rewarded for shitting on your parents and doing drugs, hmmmm. Maybe you were really sent there because you were just a dumb ass, not because you screwing up.

[Adrienne]

I was at RMA from 1992-1995 and did one stint at Ascent. I also worked at NWA after I graduated. There were some pretty messed up staff at Ascent, I completely agree with the "Randy" mention from an earlier post. But there were also some wonderful people there who cared deeply for kids. Chris M is one in particular. It definitely was the turning point for me and allowed me to go back to RMA and finish up the program.
I have been reading all these horrible things about these schools for years now. I think like all things there is some truth. I am now a social worker and I can tell you there are messed up people all over the world with degrees trying to help other messed up people. It can be pretty scary.
I can say though that in the two and half years I was at RMA I felt cared about. I was not abused in any way. I literally spent around 300 days on work assignment, but it was what I needed. I spent the 2 years before RMA in and out of psych hospitals and in traditional therapy. It wasn't working for me. I was an extreme kid and needed an extreme situation to help me. I needed someone yelling at me that I was going to die if I didn't change, because that was the truth. I am thirty, have a masters, three kids, happy marriage, financailly well off. i know I would not be here if it weren't for RMA.
It makes me sad to read all these horrible comments. Sad because I know kids were hurt in these programs and sad that it seems so difficult to really run a great boarding school program.

[Max Federman]

I went to BCA from 1997-1999. I had just turned 14 when I arrived. I am searching CEDU postings on the web now because of a new story I am working on as a contributing news journalist here in central Texas. There is a bizarre cult-like pyramid scheme called the Forum that uses many of the exact same techniques (from "raps","propheets", workshops, and so on) from the CEDU program I myself attended. I cannot go into much further details as it may compromise this story before I get a chance to finish it and submit it to the line producers. What is important to think about is how the experiences (we) experienced at CEDU could be used to take advantage of emotionally ill people and "soul seekers" who are forking over their bank accounts and homes and leaving their families in the hopes of "getting" the experience. Anyone with any insight into this story is strongly encouraged to email me personally at max@mediadesign.net. I will try to respond as quickly as I can.
Many thanks and best wishes,
Max Federman
max@mediadesign.net

[Luc Goulet]

All you people whine about how hard it was at Cedu, I was a student in the early 80's. But in my eyes it was the best thing too happen in my life, All the experences I encounterd there, My life is a better place, I was told that the world would become a smaller place, How right they we're. Was the first to go out of state on outward bound, Went to the Grand Canyon, Wow good times, luc_goulet1@hotmail.com

[Ned Hasler]

I attended CEDU from August '89 to December '91. There is a lot that can be said both good and bad. I hated being there. Looking back, I find some of the 'truths' about life that I was presented with back then to be contrary to my personal beliefs now. Homosexuality was treated as a problem - as 'gay issues' and this is misguided. Much of what worked there, worked because the school was able to cut it self off from the outside world and establish it's own set of ethics. In one respect, it was pretty impressive that peer pressure actually worked to the school's advantage in terms of keeping people in line. I think some of the content from the propheets was fantastic though. Peace of Mind is my only goal, but that doesn't always work when I am short on money for bills, or my kid comes home and tells me he got a girl pregnant. It did work in that world, at that time, to help me get over a few irrational fears and afford me some room to see what I really feel underneath my daily assumptions.

In the end, I feel that I was there during a particularly excellent time in the school's history and my life is better because of it. This site has helped me learn a great deal about what happened after I left and I enjoy that. I think the soul of the school died for good when the Brown Schools Corporation took over. This is very consistent with our Country's current priority and invesment in education though. If there's no money to be made today, it's just not important.

[Paul Ryan]

Wow i cant believe i found a web site that is helping me years later as a 28 yr old male that i feel am still suffering from the emotional and physical abuse i took from sgt. calderhead or randy. Boy would i like to have a sit down with them. I wish i had done something sooner to help get the people get what they all deserved. Im not saying that they were all bad, but i definatley had one of the rougher goes there. i did learn alot about surving in 20 below temps though. Now that im doing quite well finacially. I would love to figure out if i could hire an attorney and sue the hell out of them. I think my statue of limitations is up. Anyone that wants to chat about there experiences i can be reached at paulryan86@yahoo.com
thanks again to all and good luck.... -pr

[Laura]

I went to CEDU in 89-92. CEDU was hell on earth, and anyone who says differently is crazy. Our Teachers were criminals, and drug additcs, none of whom had any formal training in anything remotely near therapy. We were emotional tortured, made to be janitors, and grounds Keepers, for the school, Physical slaves is what we were. We were shamed constantly in front of our peers. Lived in constant terror, Completely lied to and fucked with. It was a CULT. The faculty there were freakin perverts. I have spent the last 17 years trying to escape the hell that place put me through. I hope all the people that worked there or had anything to do with that place, get what they deserve.

[Jeff Bradford]

I went to RMA from '88-'90. I was 14 in '88 and had been arrested twice for stealing a car and breaking and entering. I had a pretty bad drug problem in that I would rather smoke weed and drink than go to school or anything family oriented. I also had a lot anger toward my dad and probably would have committed patricide if I had not been removed from my environment. I've heard a lot of negative things since graduating, like the stuff posted by "Laura" (I bet she whined just as much then), but my experience was tough and positive. I have a strong work ethic now and feel that people got out of it what they put into it. I remember trying to run away when I was in Challenge, yeah after a year of being there. It took the Bonners police about two seconds to find me (it must have been the clean clothes and full set of teeth) and bring me back to the campus. I was put on a two-week fulltime, right through my birthday) and built the planter boxes in front of the girls dorm under the main house. It was on that fulltime that I came to accept myself for who I was and what I had done to get myself there, that it was up to me to make a change in my thinking. If any of my old peers want to get in touch they can reach me at lebejeff@gmail.com. But don't do it just to bitch.

[Shea]

I was a student at the new Boulder Creek Academy after it re-opened for two years. The school is a complete SCAM, they want to get as much money out of you as they possibly can. It was the absolute worst time of my life. The so called qualified staff and therapists didn't help me out at all they were more interested in making my life miserable by not letting me talk to my friends, or even have private phone calls with my parents. i am not lying when i say there was no therapy. if you are a parent reading this, i understand how you are seeking help for your kid. i hate to say it but if you send your kid to bca they will either have sex, use more drugs on campus, run, or be outcasted. I could only rely on close friends there for help.I have a friend named Melanie while I was there. She hates it there and its just making her sadder and sadder being there. She’s not happy, and after seeing all her friends leave, the only thing she wants to do is leave as well.Bottom line, if you want your son or daughter to be happy, don’t send them there, and you shouldn’t send them their any way. In short words, its not a “therapudic” boarding school, its a scam to get money from you. I hope that school gets shutdow for the good of mankind.

[Woman reflecting on her youth]

I attended RMA and ascent from 1996 to 1998.
I too am saddened by many of these accounts including my own.

Especsially those that taint children who received abuse as having deserved it.

I know that I never did. As schools that advertise their loving ability to repair children with serious mental disorders, I happen to know from experience that this was far from the truth.

True, there were many staff there that allowed me to feel loved and cared about, after all we are all human.
That in my opinion does not make up for those people who sought employment with the schools that were not qualified to teach children, let alone children with serious emotional issues and disabilities. Not only where they not effective in treating bipolar and schizophrenic children, they were emotional abusive and torturous. I too spent many days on work assignment, and i have to say that being so scared that I didnt feel like I could talk, and discovering years later that I suffer from a major emotional illness (most likely the cause of this) was by no means a warrant for viscious staff to repeatedly take away my 'privledge' to smile, sing, touch, or talk to people for over months at a time. Sinking me into the scariest pit of depression I have ever been in, I think it is hardly therapeutic to isolate a 14 year old in this manner for weeks on end, while humiliating them repeatedly in front of their peers on daily basis.

I questioned if this was worth writing, to appeal to someone who seems to feel that any method is righteous: that I didn't deserve to be pinned down to the ground after not having slept for up to 14 hours, with little food, having songs repeatedly played over and over, while people physically pinned me down and yelled at me, or that my 14 year old female freinds shouldnt have been pinned down to the ground while people yelled at them that they deserved to be raped because they where sluts.

My favorite, was loosing your privilege to learn and educate yourself. Perhaps being uneducated gave the staff an advantage. I was too scared to realize that what was happening to me was not normal, because from the day I got there it was constant.

So in response to some of the people who have abused this blog to make people feel like they deserved the abuse they received: I feel incredibly sad for you. Perhaps you inherited some of the hatred from the staff and the methods they enjoy employing on our CHILDREN.

To people who miss these school: I do to sometimes, after all during all of this, the people I experienced it with are akin to my family. But I don't miss the negatives, and given the current legislature it is virtually impossible to regulate these schools and the people that start them.

Often once they get in trouble, they open new schools under different names. It is also one of the US's biggest industries--for this reason I dont think they should reopen. Undoubtedly when some do, it is unavoidable that these abuses will still remain very much prevelant, unregulated and unreported until its too late and it has happened already.

[Nancy]

I went to Cedu in the 70's for 2 years. I had been using drugs for years already and I was only 16. I was then shooting heroin. It was at that time the hardest program out there and the hardest challenge of my life...
But, I never regret that I went. All these years later I am still grateful. I won't say I was perfect after I left. I relapsed from time to time, but I knew what to do to come back. I was a friend of Mark (Hartman) Hughes. It was an amazing group of people there at that time. When I read all these comments I think, what a bunch of cry babies. I am alive in Israel today because of the interceding of this program in my life. I hope that their work continues.

[Dess]

I am so sorry for those who have suffered in poor or dysfunctional programs. As a parent I am so grateful for the school we found in Utah because of our educational consultant. My son has grown incredibly and it is primarily because of the positive people who run the school. If anyone is reading this who wants to help their out of control teen look for a reputable and ethical consultant who has lots of references and actually visits the wilderness or school recommended.

[MPH]

I entered CEDU a bright and reasonably happy kid in the summer of 2000. I left with an abscence of education, an anxious and fearful outlook, and a lifelong struggle with trust and authority. I have nightmares to this day; a place where gestapo peers are demanded to rat out their friends. Where physical labor, required silence, and daily privilege reductions are the answer to depressed and lonely kids/teens problems. CEDU in effect ruined my life.

To see any reports of it opening again in any capacity puts a pit in my stomach. The age of arrogance, laziness, and irresponsibility is prevalent. Who represents this the most? The modern, wealthy American parent. The three archtypes of the typical CEDU student are, in this order:

1. The Spoiled brats, reflective of parent, receives little or innappropriate attention and are rewarded for their typically childish (as they are children) attempts to reach out by means of seclusion, isolation, and mistrust. This effectively destroys the bridges they were trying to cross in the first place

2. The mentally and emotionally challenged. The kids who aren't apart of the psychiatric doping of our children, the ones with legitimit learning disabilties in school. Significant problems ranging from suicidal depression to actual conditions of retardation such as autism, Asperger's syndrome, and other specialized disorders. They are sent to schools with uncertified high school graduates to teach a regiment designed (poorly) for capable minded students, meanwhile they often terrorize said students. Eg. CEDU Middle School, challenged kid smears feces on "normal" student's bed, everyone makes fun of challenged kid. Everyone loses.

3. Crossfire kids. Parents are drug addicts. Divorced. They hear a story about transformative "emotional growth". Read a pamphlet with a beautiful campus, unaware that it is gorgeous because of forced student labor under the guise of "punishment for their actions". Immediately decide to send a good kid to this school with little question, perhaps struggling in school? Maybe teen rebellion? "Egging houses and falling grades ARE A PATH TO DRUGS, SEX, AND POSSIBLY DEEEEAAAATTTTTHHHHH"

I have become religious in the past year, as I have needed faith to cope with my recent medical crisis' as well as the issues that linger from my time with my parents, especially the CEDU years. I pray that children are spared of such a life, a life where you are never quite the same, never "normal" again. Many people are abused, and the outlet to grieve and grow is there for the drug addicted or depressed. The life of a CEDU "graduate" is one where you never feel you can connect with someone again and I pray it won't happen to anyone else

[wil gonyea]

Doug kim brown
I still think of you and how much of a creep you were for outing me in that one rap.

[wil gonyea]

And how you tried to get back at me for taking it out of a rap when I told my father about the incedent. what made you think the school was a safe place to come out of the closet with so many homophobic staff and students. and what made you think it was my responsibility to create that safety when there was hardly anybody there to prop me up and support me in the first place what a schaudenfreude you were. I honest to god hope you are still not like that.

[Jenna]

I Was sent away to Ascent April 30th 2009. I was only gone for seven weeks then my parents came and got me and let me come home. I was there for lying, stealing and having a bad relationship with my family. The people at Ascent were probably the nicest people i have ever met in my life. I loved it out there. it was restricted and i did have a daily schedule but it was my fault i was there. I messed up at home and my parents didnt know what to do with me. Ascent has completly changed my life in so many ways. I love the person that i became. There was absolutly no type of abuse there. The only people that would have been talked to disrespectfully or treated with extra restrictions were the ones who acted up. and all they had to do was follow orders. I miss Ascent and i have only been back five months. I am a senior in high school. Some people just dont understand what a great place it is. And you can totally discover who you are. When i was at Ascent i became the person i wanted to be. and i loved it. I honestly wish i could go back it was a life changes experience and i wouldnt take it back for anything. the only thing i would have changed is how i got there.. Its not that pleasent to wake up to strangers standing over you and taking you away from your house in the middle of the night

[Bill Thompson]

well I was there in the 70's and it was a magical place for me.al mellinger,eric,eddie,michael,and everyone one else....I hate to here the stories about how things got so wierd after eric,and everyone left.I still think of old friends and wish I could find them...cedu was great

[Tracy Tannen]

I'm a Running Spring survivor of 1980. I still have nightmares, even all these years later.

I've gone forward with my life. I have a wonderful husband, son, etc. I even own a home and my own business.

I'm not 17 anymore, I'm 46. And, have the knowledge and wisdom of a woman pushing 50. I can tell you honestly that CEDU did not help, it was harmful.

CEDU was run by adults that had no education or knowledge in dealing with troubled teens. Actually, most of the counselors were majorly screwed up themselves.

We had counselors doing drugs, and even having sex with the students. We all remember Dan, right?

Who gained from their "Cedu experience?" Nobody, if the truth be told, except the schools' bank accounts.

They tried to instill in his honesty and virtue, yet, CEDU left the small town of Running Springs high and dry by closing without paying the major debts they owed. Not to mention, they never refunded the parents' tutions that were prepaid.

Disgusting.

[Didn't take it.]

Cedu sucked cock. Dan Earle was a pervert. Thank God Carmen Earle died. She was a cruel bitch that got off on emotional injury.

John Padgett was as much a pervert as Dan Earle. Hope John is rotting in hell.

FUCK CEDU. FUCK THE KOOLAID DRINKERS. FUCK THE ABUSERS.

[leonard fischbach]

I was in Cedu in, I think 79- 80. How do I get in touch with others. Will somebody please conct me? (I am a former student).

[kenny smith]

ASCENT, never been happier digging my own grave or sawing wood in the middle of the medicine wheel, pooping in a hole in the groud with no doors, waking up in "FIVE MINUETS!", having all my stuff "plumb and square" what ever the hell that has to do with any of the reasons I was there. any way didnt help me at all i fought it the whole way through i remember one of the staff writing " I hope you choke on this" of a wood chip and tossing it to me. i went in as a 15 year old kid who just lost his father in a car crash, who smoked some pot and drank some beers in the basment skipped school a few times and came out a bitter 17 year old with an awesome future of being homeless at 18 five states away from home. thanks for everything CEDU! I am 23 now living in washington dc doing great for myself because of myself. i will never give any credit to the under skilled white trash scum trash that is the ascent staff or the big wig rich sick get rich off of kids problems by sawing wood and yelling.

Kenny Smith - Ascent, BCA, NIBH!

[Christopher Drell]

CEDU was a bad idea for students and good for Mel's pockets.

Primal Scream Therapy and all that other stuff scared and got kids more angry then they were to begin with. A lot of kids commited suicide after leaving CEDU and it wasnt because they wernt there long enough.
CEDU was Phony and relied on Hype from the desperate crazed staff and parent comunicators (us students called them parent manipulators) to talk up the idea that their kids would die if they went back home. So yeah it was helpful in the sense that what ever dosn't kill me maketh me stronger,

CEDU was a half thought through social experiment. I want to know who gave the staff the right to see if this type of therapy would be a good idea. especially with unwilling particepents.
Us students were not alowed to speak negitively about the program with out hard repremand. So it was not an enviorment where thoughts were shared and recived. The enviorment was not calm, ideas were given to us and out of fear we had to say we agreed with it.
Crazy things like i was made to tell me dad that i hated him and that i was angry at him for being stuff from my childhood. So i said it and then i was allowed to have my visit with them. What if just maybe i didn't hate my dad, maybe that type of therapy worked for some people, that had repressed memories or had childhood pains that needed to be resolved, but its unlikely that one approach would work on everyone. approach treated kids like objects on an essembely line.
My childhood had a lot of problems but telling my dad i hated him was phony, didn't make me feel like i weight had been lifted, and i just wanted to get the staff off my back. That is just one example of how this program was so full of itself and not willing to consider other idea's. this was a bad place

CEDU had a lot of dishonest ubsurd overcharges for things like suave shampoo and all that other crappy stuff from comissary. Charged parents way more then what the cost should have been for doctors appointment trips and anytype of trip.

CEDU told parents "We never give up on a child" but you kicked kids out and didnt keep kids that couldnt pay. Infact that school was ubsurdly expensive and CEDU got away with those rates because parents were scared and thought they were paying for something worth it.
sorry about spelling, i didn't spend my childhood in a school. but those mountains in N Idaho were pretty at least there is that :-)

[Christopher Drell]

Do his kids have the 78 million dollars that he sold CEDU for? that money has our (the students) tears on it what an atrocity Mel Wasserman you're lucky your dad before i got to give you a sparring tutorial. and geuss what Mel no charge. if you really are a huminitarian thats how you do it. you were a businessman, a really good one. I would have liked to show you that i bet you'd make a really good bottom too.

[Christopher Drell]

oh i meant Mel you're lucky you "died" before i got to...

[Wil Gonyea]

I HEARD MELS OLDEST SON, ASCONCED WITH THE MONEY,FROM THE REST OF HIS SIBLINGS. HOWEVER, DANA DID INHERIT HIS HOUSE IN MONTEREY PENISULA. BUT DON'T QUOTE ME.