Riot at Ivy Ridge

Riot at WWASPs School makes the NYT.

WWASPs -- criticisms  from PURE  (it is a teen gulag);   Tranquility Bay recovery site; Cross Creek and WWASPs survivors bulletin board

June 8, 2005

Melee Keeps Spotlight on Hard Life at Academy

By KIRK SEMPLE

OGDENSBURG, N.Y. - The melee at the Academy at Ivy Ridge, a boarding school here for troubled teenagers, began at about 10:15 p.m. on May 16 when someone pulled a fire alarm in the boys' dormitory.

Within moments, students were smashing windows, overturning furniture and fighting, with some trying to help the academy's security guards squelch the disturbance. Eleven students fled the campus, near the Canadian border, and bolted into the night.

Ogdensburg police officers, state troopers, St. Lawrence County sheriff's deputies and the United States Border Patrol were called in and the uprising was quickly put down. Those who escaped were rounded up, and the police arrested and jailed 12 students on rioting, assault and other charges; the academy expelled 48.

Administrators say the uprising was not a result of systemic problems in the academy but of the mixture of combustible characters in a severe disciplinary environment meant to rehabilitate teenagers who have run afoul of the law and their parents.

Jason Finlinson, 33, Ivy Ridge's director, said in an interview at the academy last month that with the expulsions, the school had shed its most troublesome residents.

Still, the violence brought more unwanted attention to an institution that, since opening three years ago, has drawn the scrutiny of state investigative agencies and attracted a loud chorus of critics, including former students who have accused the school of mistreatment.

The office of Eliot Spitzer, the New York State attorney general, is investigating whether Ivy Ridge violated state law by issuing diplomas, since it is not accredited by the state. The state police are investigating two cases involving allegations of child abuse and one case stemming from the riot.

Mr. Finlinson and other administrators say all allegations of abuse are false and the invention of disgruntled former students and competitors in the potentially lucrative industry of so-called specialty boarding schools.

Mr. Finlinson said the school was offering a valuable service for parents who feel they have run out of ways to help their children. It's also an expensive service. Tuition and fees are about $3,500 per month.

"We're in a pretty controversial industry," said Mr. Finlinson, who oversees about 500 students and a staff of about 230. "When you're trying to change people's lives, there's controversy. If I didn't want the controversy, I'd go wash cars."

Ivy Ridge comprises a cluster of nondescript brick buildings and a playing field on the campus of a former junior college overlooking the St. Lawrence River. The campus is on the outskirts of Ogdensburg, a small town set amid farmland, about 128 miles northeast of Syracuse.

Its white cinder-block hallways and classrooms are remarkably quiet, and the students - the boys, with close-cropped hair and uniforms of khaki trousers and white shirts; the girls in plaid skirts - move around the building in single file. The children, who are high school age, come from all over the country and abroad and arrive with records of drug and alcohol use, tangles with the law, truancy, domestic violence and splintered families. But they share one thing in common - parents who, at wit's end, have decided that the academy's steep tuition is a small price for a last-ditch effort to straighten out their children.

The academy is affiliated with the World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools, a chain of six behavior modification programs in the United States and abroad run by a small group of businessmen in St. George, Utah. In recent years, local governments and the United States State Department have investigated allegations of physical abuse and immigration violations leveled against World Wide-affiliated programs. Affiliates in Costa Rica, the Czech Republic and Mexico closed under pressure from local authorities, and one in Western Samoa closed for "business reasons," according to James Wall, a public relations representative for World Wide.

Ivy Ridge's program, which Mr. Finlinson said was based on a plan developed by World Wide, is highly regimented and emphasizes discipline. Students try to progress through six levels based on a system of merit points. Privileges are granted at each level. Residents are not allowed to receive telephone calls from their parents until they attain Level 3, which can take several months.

The program includes an academic curriculum, though it is primarily computer-based and self-directed: students spend several hours a day in front of computers working silently on programs.

In the days after the disturbance in May, Mr. Finlinson said, a few parents withdrew their children. But he said that the school was now stable and running smoothly.

Nevertheless, his troubles - and the threat of more damage to the academy's reputation - have not disappeared.

Mr. Spitzer, in his investigation of the academy's status as an accredited school, has forced Ivy Ridge to stop issuing high school diplomas. The academy was accredited until recently by the Northwest Association of Accredited Schools in Boise, Idaho, which is not a registered accrediting organization in New York State. As a result of the investigation, Northwest Association suspended the academy's accreditation.

The New York Department of Education has determined that it does not have oversight of the academy. "It is a behavior modification center," said Jonathan Burman, a department spokesman, "and not a school."

The state police are also investigating three cases involving the academy, a state police spokesman said. He declined to reveal the nature of the cases, except that one was concerned with the May 16 disturbance.

Mr. Finlinson said he believed the cases involved allegations of child abuse.

On Internet sites that criticize Ivy Ridge and other World Wide affiliates, abuse allegations abound, including charges that staff members punched children and deprived them of food as punishment.

Mr. Finlinson and other administrators deny all the allegations. "We go to great lengths to make sure it's a safe environment," the director said, listing a number of precautions, including staff training, security cameras throughout the school and a rule that forbids private one-on-one interactions between adults and students.

He pointed out that no criminal charges have ever been filed against the school in spite of numerous police investigations into abuse allegations.

Leah Swigert, 20, of Eastin, Md., was a student at two World Wide-affiliated programs, including Ivy Ridge, which she left in 2002. Her parents committed her to the program because, she said, she had become unruly and was smoking a lot of marijuana.

On some level, it appears, the program worked. Ms. Swigert is about to graduate from community college and is working as a paralegal. But her memories of Ivy Ridge are entirely negative. She called the program "a scam," noting particularly the academic curriculum.

"I'll still have bad dreams and wake up sweating and crying," she said in a telephone interview. "Nothing really terrible happened. But I think that just about every single day I wanted to run away."

Still, Ms. Swigert says that she never once witnessed any of the kinds of abuses that are regularly posted on the Web. "I never saw anything like that," she said, speculating that many of the allegations probably came from former or current students "who are mad and are trying to get the place shut down."

In interviews at the academy last week, six students - four selected by the administration and two randomly chosen by a reporter, said, in the presence of other students, that they had never been victims of physical abuse or witnessed physical abuse of any kind. They said the staff was allowed to use force on residents only when they became violent and, even then, they used a restraint technique resembling a bear hug.

"I heard about the investigations, but I think it's ridiculous," said Houston Woolery, 18, of Cottonwood, Calif., who has been at Ivy Ridge for nearly nine months and was one of the students selected by the administration for the interviews. "This is the best thing that ever happened to me."

Five of the students said they had initially hated the academy but eventually came to appreciate and, to a certain degree, embrace its tough-love approach.

The sixth student, Gabrielle Sorenson, 14, of Ava, Mo., had been sent to the academy only three days earlier. With her eyes lowered, she said, "This is probably the best choice for me."

Update -- other sources on WWASPS, Ivy Ridge, Robert Lichfield, and the "troubled teen" industry

History of Academy at Ivy Ridge

2000--Robert Lichfield purchases the campus in Ogdensburg, NY.

Litigation Against Ivy Ridge and Similar Organizations

There are two suits going against the organizations Robert Lichfield has invested in. One is specific to Ivy Ridge; the other is broader. 

General class action suit  (The "Wood Complaint"): (defendants include Lichfield, Ken Kay, Karr Farnsworth, David Gilcrease, and "John Does I through XX).

I imagine Hinton will be one of the Does.  The amended complaint:

Download WoodAmendedComplaint.pdf

If you want to join the suit, go to http://www.wturley.com/

Ivy Ridge class action suit:

Download IvyRidgeClassAction.pdf

Previous Posts on WWASPS and WWASPS-related issues:

• Challenge Day & WWASPS --March 30 2005
• Thinking of Sending Your Troubled Teen to a Boot Camp? -- March 31, 2005
• Boonville Says No to WWASPS--April 10 2005
• The Enduring Lure of "Gunny Therapy" -- April 15, 2005
• Riot at Ivy Ridge--June 8 2005
• The Road to Whatever -- July 2005
• Academy at Ivy Ridge--August 23, 2005
• Why "Therapeutic Schools" are Booming January 2 2006
• Advice for Parents Looking for A Therapeutic School -- January 21, 2005
• Maia Szalavitz On Debunking "Tough Love" Schools -- April 11 2006
• WWASPS Suit--September 6 2006
• Exploitation of Youth and Families December 6 2006
• Ivy Ridge "Not A School" -- December 7 2006
• On Accreditation -- December 11 2006
• Northwest Association of Accredited Schools -- December 11 2006
• Randall Hinton, WWASPS Heavy, Arrested for Abuse -- January 12, 2007
• What Alternatives Are There for Parents of Troubled Teens?-- January 13, 2007
• Randall Hinton's Qualifications and Biography--January 13, 2007
• Patty Pacheco, Whistle-blower at Royal Gorge Academy -- January 29, 2007
• Royal Gorge Academy in the News--March 20, 2007
• Four Students Flee Ivy Ridge--March 20, 2007
• Robert Lichfield, One of Mitt Romney's Money Men, Has Legal Troubles -- June 22, 2007
• Testimony from An Academy at Ivy Ridge Graduate--July 28, 2007
• Shawn Jones, Academy at Ivy Ridge Victim

--October 23, 2007

• A Message from an Academy at Ivy Ridge Survivor--November 15, 2007

Series on Questions Parents Should Ask Before Enrolling A Child in a NonPublic School:

• 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

Other Sources of Information:

• Coalition Against Institutionalized Child Abuse (CAICA)--Royal Gorge Index
• International Survivors Action Committee ISAC --WWASPS Index
• WaspsInfo.net ("home of all the information WWASPS wants you to ignore.") --includes Randall Hinton's bio
• NoSpank on residential treatment
• Community Alliance on Ethical Treatment of Youth (CAFETY)
• John Gorenfeld on Tranquility Bay
• John Gorenfield's writings on boot camp abuse
• List of Organizations Opposing "Therapeutic Schools" and "Specialty Schools"

Comments

[nathaniel frank]

My name is nathaniel frank.I recently went to this school.i was on who participated in the riot.me and a few kids managed to escape from that facility.For the kids that didnt i cant manage to get them out of my mind for the shit that they must be going through.i had to spend 9 months of my life in that place.For the parants that do not know about this.many people went to the hospital.Kids lost there teeth.people got there jaws snapped by kids putting soap in a sock.I was one of the few that ran for the hills.i do not have the patiance to sit here and recall what happened there that night.The cold room we had to sit in that night with no sleep and being put through hell my the people who work there.48 of us were sent to a more strick program and i and 2 more were picked up by are parents to go home.Now if you are reading this i advise that you take your kids out of that place ammediatly.i cant explain why but he/she would do much better in your custody.If you have a response or want to ask a question from someone who went to the school just email me at [email protected]......
or just post a message on this sight

[Chris "camel" B]

My name is Chris. I went to the academy at ivy ridge right after the program in mexico called "Casa By the Sea" was shutdown. That was another messed up place too. Anyways I have been home for almost 3 months from that hellhole. THe reason why im home is because I served my time in both programs and turned 18. I am so happy I am out of that disgusting and filthy supposedly called school. On May 16th was one of the craziest days I have ever had in a long time. I honestly didnt think it would happen but when it did it did lemme tell you. Since I was turning 18 in a week at that time i wasnt risking a damn thing to get me sent to jail. I wanted to go home so I just chilled and watched and said to myself man this is the second riot ive had in 2 different programs, this is some crazy stuff were surrounded with. I am appalled that the academy at ivy ridge is still in business after that night, but hey people gotta make there money somehow. My advice to all parents who want to send there kids there DONT!! because you should solve your kids problems on your own without having to send them away. The name might look nice and everything on the outside of these places but wait till you really see whats on the inside of these places. You have filthy bathrooms, some kids who arent allowed to even shower every day, cruel treamtents, etc. anyways there are some really cool staff there but not administration. THey are the biggest fakes ofcourse in the whole place because they have all of the money. So dont listen to Jason "FINNY" haha, or George Tulip they just want your money. anyways if you have questions on this place feel free to email me. [email protected]

P.S whoever got arrested on the night of May16th I hope all you guys are home and doing good.

[Daniel Joseph Burke]

I too was a "student" at Ivy ridge. If any former students would like to get intouch with me please send me an email or Instant message me at BRkdan509

[Javier A (grad from CSA)]

edited for grammar and case Ivy ridge is such a rip off!! I’ve never been abused but I’ve seen it done, especially by that money hungry lying deleted Mr Finlinson, I saw, with my own eyes, one of my friends, David get turned upside down by his legs and tossed from wall to wall by Mr. Finlinson in the o p room. The school sucks! How are we suppose to learn by ourselves?!!? There are no presentations, no group projects, school isn’t enjoyable. The teachers rarely know what they are supposed to be helpful for, there are a few but that’s a few. All they do is look at the answer key and give you the answers. They weren’t even licensed. The food, I’ll admit was delicious but we didn’t get fed enough, for a school that charges $50,000 dollars yearly that is not acceptable. This whole WWASPS is a big scam, they know how much parents love us and will do anything to have us on the right track again so the take advantage of that and parents do not realize that because they have not been there like us kids

Javier

[Anonymous]

I was a student at Ivy Ridge for 12 months -- and was pulled on my year date in September. I was there when the riot happened -- and to be honest I'm surprised it didn't happen sooner. That school sucks money from families -- yes I did learn something about myself -- but I could have done it without all the expenses. Half of the money that my mom paid for that place -- didn't go to where she thought it was going. Ivy Ridge's school system is a joke -- teachers hardly know what they're talking about. The Chefs never actually test their own food or follow health regulations -- and most staff is just there for the money and not for the students.

[Don Fisher]

I was at that school when the riot broke out that school sucked and I feel bad for kids in their it is like hell on earth!

[Don fisher]

editor: I cast severe aspersions on ivy ridge, they wonder why kids rioted their it is becouse the place editor: is terrible in every way

[Don fisher]

I was a former student of ivy ridge and if any student wants to get ahold of me call 1-815-575-4788 or email me at [email protected]

[COURAGE FAMILY]

I edited this so that it was not in all upper case and the swear words, which I don't allow on this blog, were deletedAll you Ivy Ridge parents all you are doing is supporting and funding child abuse. You have no idea how your kids are being treated. Criminals live better lives in jail then we did. Your kids are not lying or manipulating you... they just want help.... they need you to save them from the dorm parents, the administration, even the kitchen staff treats the students like [very poorly]. Ivy ridge is nothing but a multi-million dollar scam that supports child abuse, sexual misconduct (we all know the stories of Justin Bell, Matt Lewis, ans Ian Harrison) Life sucks in there. Do your kid a real favor and bring him home.... you’re right he won’t have changed, but you can’t force anybody to change... change can only happen when the person actually wants to change themselves.... getting ur ass kicked by alpha staff on a daily basis isn’t going to change anybody....

What is alpha staff you might ask? Here just so u can feel one tenth of the pain that your kid feels when alpha staff restrains him go jack your car all the way up lay under it and lower it on top of you... Child abuse and Ivy Ridge are no joke. If you want a better life for your kid spend some [strong emphasis] time with them. Help them learn and grow don’t put them in a place where their credits are taken away for no reason. Everyone needs help nobody is perfect....

If you read this and/or you know what really goes on their and you leave your kid inside that place you are no better than a guy who kidnaps an innocent kid just to rape and abuse him. You are the criminal for financing such traumatizing actions... what they do there is wrong and you can start making a difference by pulling your kid today....

I guarantee you if he graduates he is going to b the same [jerk] he was when he left unless he actually wanted to change himself. Let your kid know you care and save his life today pull him from the program!!!!!! Nobody deserves this. The program did nothing but ruin my relationship with my parents and girlfriend and its not going to do anything more for your kid.

Do you think finnlinson really gives a shit about your kid? if he really cared he would use the 17 million dollars a year he makes to help a fund a program that helps kids, but he drives to work in his Caddilac and underpays his staff, at 7 dollars an hour who the [very strong emphasis] gives [emphasis] about their job they are not professionals. i know you and your child had your fall out, but the only way to start fresh is to bring him home and give him a chance work with him give him therapy and you could be saving the rest of his life.

[Matt Caulfield]

If anyone see this from the old loyalty family holler at me matt caulfield... where did james cohran ever goo!! SBD boys keep your head up fuck the ridge... one day randy garvy will get his fucking ass beat

[Spagnoli Etienne]

edited for language
Yo what up old freedom family and everyone who got locked up wit me on May 16. Yo Ivy Ridge is bull-- straight up and down. How could someone send their child there. I`ll tell you right now Ivy Ridge is not the answer. I was in dat stupid sh-- for 6months and I really could tell you all the place really does is teaches people how to be worst then when you come in. Yea you don`t do drugs anymore or drink and stuff like that but your not learing how to deal with it and quit your learning how too run away from problems and thats one thing i will neva do in my life is run away from a problem. Also everything is not all good in there the whole facility is filled with f----- dieases. You kno its f---- up when you can catch something taking a shower. And walkin in lines is not gunna help you in life belive me. After I got out of Ivy Ridge i really could say thank god i got out of there. Ivy Ridge you are a waste of money. The things are parents pay for we don`t even see it. So From the Freedom/Patriot family and Asbury Park F--- YALL !!!!!!

[mike thompson]

edited for language I do not allow on this blog
i just got home from ivy ridge about 4 hours ago and they tried to manipulate my mom into keeping me there and that dumb [curseword] anne morley and jason finlinsin were there and cris showers they all tried to [cursewordme big time luckly my mom noticed they were takeing my education away from me and this [curseword ] up place was not doing anything for me...i heard all about the *riot* and i know a lot of kids that are still there right now who were involved...i know that the loyalty family started the riot and i was in success the so called new family.

p.s.- [curseword] IVY RIDGE!!

[Michael]

Thanks guys, I was thinking about sending my son to Ivy Ridge but now I won't. Question for you, if you had a 16 yr. old boy who was smoking pot and trying to do other drugs as well, plus doing poorly in school, what would you do to help him? Thanks for your opinion and I hope everyone is doing well.

[infamousnoun]

This is bull shit what he says. i went there and they do not give you a right to live, they make you independent and make you live a way you shouldnt have to live. Choice is of an essence. Taken for granted. Our messege should have been seen. The kids who ran were fools and cowards. It wasnt about fighting either.

[Rose]

I just took my daughter to IVY Ridge on Sunday. She has been there 2 days. Based on what I have read I am really scared for her. I am not sure if I did the right thing. We live very far away from there. I am not sure if I should leave her in the program. Everyone seems so nice. We had our first conference today and they told me she was doing fine. Someone email me with some facts before it's to late.

[Hanna Sherman]

edited for language
yoo .. iwent to ivy ridge too .. this shyt sucked mad d--- .. its a RIP off . i agree .. hit up my aol .. oolilhannaoo .. peace <3

[Chris "Smurphy Cee" Murphy]

edited to remove language I do not allow on this blog
Yo first off, whatup to the whole Unity. U No I Take Ya S*** haha. MOB baby Merc Out Boyz in tha building. Ivy Ridge was effin' horrible. I was there for 4 months and got kicked out about 1 month before the riot because I beat the eff out of some staff who was chokin my close friend Pat. I went up to break it up and he elbowed me in the face so i blacked out and effed em up. I got sent to another place in Utah and I'm doin good now. Yo whatup to all my boyz from the ridge yo stay up get at me... 1-978-657-7822. I wanna say whatup to LP aka Reminis, Matty OG, Zack and John Stella, Pat Symons, Tyler Caroll, Brandon Docusen, JD, Fiallo, Jose, Timmy Teeter, Houston, Buddha, Danny Heslop, Joey C, and all my boyz who I sat with in study hall for hours on end, Zavier, Spag, Shank Stella and all the other kids.
A.I.M - SmurphyCee8269
STAY UP YO eff THE RIDGE
YOURS TRULY MUTHA**** MURDA MURPH, BABY

[AlWAYS FAITHFUL]

I once was a part of the Academy At Ivy Ridge team. When i first was there i thought the place was there to help and so was i. Then i started to see crooked and really messed up things happening. The so called cameras are not there for your childrens protection they are there for the Schools protection they are there so that when your child gets restrained they can copy it and send it to you they just modify it so that it looks like your child has done the wrong not some one else. That doesn't matter though if they want to Mess you up they we would just bring you into the office or put you in your room where the cameras could not see. besides that the cameras in some areas are low enough that if you need them to be conviently coved all you have to do is have a person stand in front of them and cover them so that the deed that needs to be done can be done.
Sometimes i think back and wonder why. why would someone send there kid here by tricking them or lieing to them. some of the student on this page as of right now where tricked into comming here one in particular was they had to go to a funeral of one of there relatives think about that one for a moment. how can you justifie that in your mind think of how messed up the person would have to be to do that to there own child. sometimes it isn't the childs fault at all but more than likely it would be the parents fault. it is an easy way to dump there child off for a few months so they can have a little peace and quiet in the house. when all they had to do in the beginning was just maybe talk to there kid you know when i was there words went a long ways. if i would just sit down with them and talk you could turn a complete emotionaly unstable person and make them understand that they need to remain calm enorder to think things thru clearly.
During my time there i cared so much that it burnt me up inside and out. during my time there the dorm parents as they call them only made minimum wage. non of them had very special skills most are your average high school graduates. there was a few who went to special schools such as culinary arts or business mangment but actually most of them there main focus was getting to the bar by 10:15p.m. unless they had to stay over. if any of you former students are trying to figure out who this is don't you never will and this includes you to George Tulip. i have moved on to better and bigger things i still work the out rageous hours but i work with adults who are not going to be abused now. if anyone wats to comment on these leave them here. hope all you boys that are out are running the straight and narrow.

[MRxLAZIE FROM LOS ANGELES]

As a former student of Ivy Ridge I look back and reminisce about the up and downs. I was in there for about 19 months and was later pulled as I recieved "Level 4", however my parents reason was due to the lack of accreditation. During the night of the riot I sat back and laughed. I was sent to Ivy Ridge for selling Illegal/Deadly Weapons and was a methamphetamine abuser myself. I was going down the wrong path and whatnot, and later the decision was up to me. Yes I chose to go to Ivy Ridge only because I spoke to a WWASP Program Representative myself. He told me it was a normal boarding school, a school store where we could purchase our own items that we need, proffesional chefs, and a lot more wonderful images that you can picture your self in. As time came, I was stripped of my clothing during the intake proccess, put into my sweats at first, walked in a straight line and I was confused at first because I didn't think anywhere in the world would they have human beings walk in a straight line and do a 90 degree turn at every corner. I am also surprised the riot didn't happen any time earlier because of our treatment, if you talk back slightly they will radio for "Back up staff" or "Alpha staff" and about 6 or more grown ass men would run there and slam us on the ground. The only thing I learned there was my love for my family. Seminars? Are full of crap. They try to make yourself feel better about yourself by flattering yourself with wonderful words that YOU make up. You can be a obese person and wish you were pretty, tell yourself you are pretty everyday but are you pretty? You havent changed. Youre still obese and no one else thinks youre anymore attractive. Its a mean way to put it, but thats basically what they tried to do during seminars. I was actually looking back and one process in the "Focus" seminar, and I said to myself "That was probably the lamest crap I ever done in my life". If you THINK YOURE CHILD IS SOBER still, and if he was really into drugs at home, chances are he's snorting another kids medications right now. Believe me, kids would cheak their pills (petty drugs, dont worry. However if you send your child there because of "drugs" your child is probably still snorting some Adderal, sleeping pills, and other prescription petty "drugs"). Students would exchange something the kid wants, and give him/her pills for it. Is your child safe? Some kids would "jump" each other for fun, or if you "snitched". Basically the place is a bootcamp/Juvenile Detention Center/Boarding School (just because we sleep in dorms)/Rehab/and a bit of a Prison in one. Once in a while we could get our hands on some cigarettes. I have also expanded my vocabulary there just because we had nothing to do so I read the Thesaraus for "fun". Time STOPS when you enter those doors, everyone else out there is living their lives, growing up, moving on, but for us? We live our lives just by the last thing we remember of the real world and the lame stuff we learn in Ivy Ridge. Everything is monitored in and out of the building such as letters and gift boxes. Christmas? The holiday for a wonderful family gathering? Forget it, we get a shoebox full of candy (wow), and watch some movies that we saw millions of times before. Theres more to it, but I don't feel the need to write it all down. If any parents have any questions or anything, leave a comment on this site including your name and E-Mail address and I'll see if I can respond to your concerns.

as for everyone else from Ivy Ridge, STAY UP and Live life to the fullest because tomorrow is not a promise..R.I.P. to Daniel who died while I was in AIR and R.I.P to Sergio who was shot to death while I was in AIR..I wish I could have been there to send my regards, but life goes on, watch over the rest of us.

[Spencer Stroker]

Whats up everybody. any one see LP, or Art, Spag. ne body let them know i said what up and ne one else wana hit me up:

AOL AIM: M u g e n NWC
House Number: 860 567 8646

[Mercedies]

I went to Ivy Ridge ...it sucked I was there for a year and some months. I was in the Faith Family ... I hated it there . Piece of shyt .. I was happy for what happened for them because it was like it was meant to happened . people cant change unless they want to . I hoped that my mother had picked me up but she didnt ... for anybody who wanna holla hit it up BenzeFGC

[SHEA " ernie" WOLCOTT CAR AUDIO SHEA]

edited for language I do not allow on this blog
i was the 52nd kid to enter the horrid vacinity of ivy ridge when the kids REALLY got beat down ....harrased...put through extreme fitness and weather conditions. 1000 jumping jacks and 1000 situps 500 pushups. sleeping on the floor, 3 min. showers assh*le dormdads that dont give a eff . stranglin kids on the floor cause they can. the only thing you ate all week was effing cheese cause theres so many god damn rules and you just dont know em ....who can feel that!?! you cant sh*t now cause some morman moron(jason, i effing hate u u effing peice of sh*t scum bag im coming there to effing light it up with paitballs and im gonna lit ur house up with paitballs too so u can have an awsome time cleaning it off u effing pussy beating up brad effing petrovich ....a god damn [epithet] for christ sake) wants to make up some effing crazy unsat effort ? if any parent see this blog trust me . i was there when it first opened 52nd in line baby. mr finlinson is a business man. he wants $$$. he wants ur $$$. he will lie and cheat and do anything he can to get ur $$$. i had the flu with a 103 temp for a week in the place and they refused to bring me to the doctors let alone give me ANY medicine. i suffered though fitness poor sleep and crappy nutrition...sittin through the pain of my wisdom teeth coming in with no pain killrz...eff that shIt i hate that school and i hate that place eff it any people wanna holla u see this all my old school n**** sheazy baby 1 and only shea wolcott rockland mass WORKSHEETWARRIOR!)@HOTMAIL.com 6/14/02-6-4-03 original no other BRAVE family baby and my PATRIOTS WHUTS UP ???? ALLLLLLLL MY N****

thats [email protected] sheazy baby

[nicole girard]

yea, ivy ridge was a place that would try to take away your current problems but would just make a whole lot more. I dont remember any serious phsyical abuse(on the girls side atleast), but there was a lot of verbal and emotional abuse there. The people that took care of you all day had no training what-so-ever to look after the types of kids who were there. My parents thought that they would be able to visit me, but later found out(after i was sent there) that they couldnt. If you are thinking about sending your kid there, check the whole situation out and not just the people who run it.

[LAZIE]

edited for languageSHEA damn..learn how to speak first and dont think youre hard shooting up places with paintballs..However, I know the stories about AIR when it first openend. I arrived in mid 2004 and heard all them stories. Lots have changed since then, but its still BS in there.

FINLINSONS are all about your money too, punkass mormans just trying to make money to buy some new bikes to ride around town spreading their religion about some beyotch ass god of theirs

[shank]

edited for language I do not allow on this blog--shank threatens staff (mother garvy, tulip, john raymond, and any of u other) with bodily harm

[Emily Girard]

well im just going to say that this place is crazy and is only trying to make some money. becasue my sister went there and It didnt even do anything for her it just created MORE problems in her life.

SO I advice you parents not to send your kid to Ivy Ridge because they will probably end up hating you more and if you want your kids to get better and have some peace sending them away from you. is definetly not going to do it. Maybe you could send them to a closer boarding school like one they can just get away from there family and friends and people. maybe theyll have some time alone to think about life and make new friends they can accually keep that probably live around them. because i fricken live all the way in canada and my sister was sent to New York and I'v heard crazy and heartbreaking stories from her about that place.

so if you want to be one of those crazy parents who thinks they can solve all there problems by sending there kid away (but it accually doesnt) then go ahead. Or you can be a Smart Parent and....NOT !!!

PEACE!

[Anonymous]

SHANK write back, but dont cuss cuz these fools edited your whole entry..or leave your email or SN if you use AIM so I can contact you..

[Teresa]

I have a 13 year old daughter who is making some bad choices in her life. I'm at my wits end with her! She continues to make bad choices and I'm fearful that one of these times it will cost her her life. I pondered Ivy Ridge. Any suggestions?

[Joe]

Teresa,
My son Joe has been at the school for one week. So far so good. He didn't go because of drugs or getting in trouble. He went to catch up on some school work that he has gotten behind in. I drove him up myself to Ogdenburg and told him exactly where he was going and why. We spent three days in Ogdenburg (fishing, basketball, and a trip to Ottawa in Canada). He seems to be doing fine and I send him cards and emails twice a week. He wants to play basketball for the school this fall but will have to be at level 4 to participate. Overall, based on parent involvement through seminars and providing some structure in his life right now based on things that were happening with his Mom. I think we made the right decision without regards to the above comments from the students that are disgruntled. I retire from the Navy this Dec 06 and plan on having my son live with me in New York to finish up High School and to have some quality time with him. I think Ivy Ridge will give me the tools to make our communication and time together better. I think change for Joe is good and he was heading down the wrong path. [email protected]

[Anonymous]

Joe
Please don't speak about the school if you don't have first hand experiences. As a former 19 month student, it didn't do much for me. However I am sober and away from gangs and everything now. But it is because its my decision, and not what seminars have taught me, etc.

[Joe]

I miss seeing my son and he's been at Ivy Ridge for about three weeks. He's at 45 points and is very home sick. He's not making an effort in study skills and has been getting allot of corrections. AIR's accredidation is almost complete with New York and that is where I will live after I retire from the Navy. He's about two years behind in his math and his reading skills are pretty low too. He was constantly telling his MOm to shut up when he was at home and was even hitting his sisters. Ivy Ridge was the only school that I found that had both the discipline and academics to get him back on track. I'm only keeping him there for a year regardless of what level he is at. I just hope he gets with the program and is able to figure out what he wants in life. He always stated that C's and D's in school was okay and I couldn't get him to read a book to help him with his word comprehension. He needs some time to focus on himself and to start setting goals. He is a smart kid and has a good heart but is off track at home and school. Ivy Ridge seems to be the best choice with moving to New York after I retire and with wanting to spend time with him after the Navy.

r/
Joe

[mike thompson]

edited for language I do not allow on this blog
N---- wha! I went to that boarding school for 3 months and that dumb ass Finlnson is a douche and that is true that all he wants is yo money and he told me that if I don't eat all my food that he'll put me in intervention and I was only 12 effin years old finnaly my mom realized that this school...Well disipline bull sh*t was all a lie and got my ass out I was in that bull sh&t success family and it was maaaddd gay...So dont send yur kid or kids to Ivy Ridge if you wanna keep your money at least...Lol a miliary academy is better than this scamming ass h%le morman family and finny can go pray to his morman god and bite me cuz hes a b*tch.

[Zhanna]

I have two teen kids and I have some experience with AIR and a military school.
My daughter went to AIR, and my son went to RMA - military school. They both are doing fine now.
I know what you parents are going through with your teens.
Contact me if you need help or advice.
Zhanna
PS: I am not getting any benefits for doing this so you can expect 100% honesty.
I was one of that parents looking for an answer.

[shhh shhh]

I spent a very very long time at ivy ridge (About 22 months) and I graduated the program... let me tell you...
I was good for about 4 months after i got home. I went to college and screwed up tremendiously.
Why?

listen up well everybody!!!!!!!

ready?

The program drags you from your current life. You dont leave life because you are ready to change, because you have grown out of your rebellous phase... you leave life because someone handcuffed you and through you at AIR. even after two years... I still needed 4 months to do what i had been doing before, so I could grow and learn for myself to do better...

Instead of growing out of it at 15/16, it was dragged out until i was 18... the program didnt make me stop being a pain in the butt, I had to natrually grow out of my crazy phase...

personally I can say that I was made to feel like less of a person at ivy ridge... most of the time i was treated like a dog rather than a human being... actually, my dogs at home are treated nicer than I was. I never refused, hardly ever went to study hall, ect... i followed the rules... and I was still walked over by staff. I felt this way until the day I graduated...

One time I was asked how I honestly felt about the way the program was run (this was when I was about 2 months from graduation) I told them I felt everyone was fake, because all they wanted was to go home... I was dropped from my level for saying this...
There is no freedom of speech/ expression/ or opinion at AIR

If your child is having issues, talk with them, be strong, let them figure things out on their own, guide them but dont force them, its hard to watch your child be destructive to their lives, but the only was to learn sometimes is through experience...

Today I am sober, why? , because after months of re-using I woke up and realized thats not what i wanted anymore, this could have happened 22 months before it did, but that natural growing process was all interrupted by air..

P.S. I dont know any AIR grauduate that is not either smoking pot, doing other drugs, drinking or having sex

[Always Faithful]

yo for any one who wants to know or needs to know and has not heard Randy Garvey is out of the school and from what i heard he is moving to a major city near you..thats right he is moving to Phoneix, Arizona or Some smaller city outside so keep it posted...outtie SEMPFI

[anonymous]

does anyone still have a username and password for the AIR website? I was a former student for about 19 months. leave your email address here if you do and i'll message you.

[Andre]

please i went to Ivy Ridge and i was not a trouble there and i still endured abuse in many ways..kidsz saying that this is the best choice for them are deffinetly being bribed for either level challenges or points no kid in there right mind would say that while there in the program...pshhh

[Sara Mosseri]

I was pulled from Ivy Ridge Sept 2005, I left on level 3, and spent 8 months there. If you have ANY questions feel free to e-mail me anytime at [email protected]

[JM]

I was in Mexico when it shut down, and I was in Ivy Ridge when the riots happened. Imma tell the truth. Yea, i've seen child abuse in Ivy Ridge, but not as much as people are claiming. On da real, I know how it was homies, and I know how much the program sucked. Shit, i've been out for over a year, and i'm still struggling. But u gotta stop blowing this shit outta proportion. Get on wit ur life. U know for a damn fact that people aren't gonna listen to us. They never have, and never will. I mean, I just joined the navy cause I had no other choice. Keep it real. No one is gonna listen to us. They may listen, but no action is going to be taken. So get the hint. Move on wit your lives, cause u know nothing is going to change.. It never has, and it never will... Hit me back. [email protected]

[Matt Iverson]

edited to redact language I don't allow on this blog
I was at Ivy Ridge for about 11 months, Aug. '03- July '04. I moved rather quickly in the program. By about my 8th month in there i was level 4. Ive never been abused myself, but have witnessed alot of abuse by George Tulip, one of the administrators there. I would always see him go to study hall or intervention where the "bad kids" were and just laugh and restrain them for no reason or some shlt. That place is some bullshlt, they do abuse ur kids there. I witnessed it for awhile. I still have dreams about that effing placee, i really hope this place shuts down. Mr. Finlinson thinks hes tough b\c he beats on little kids. Im not just sayin all this shlt b\c im trying to get this place in trouble. Its the TRUTH. i understand why parents think they should send there kids there, dont! find a different place, IVY RIDGE IS A SCAM AND THEY DO ABUSE KIDS THERE MENTALLY AND PHYSICALLY, I HAVE WITNESSED IT

[shank]

holla to all my peoples that swas in that bullshti ivy ridge i wanna holla at all my homies LP Spag, Marino , Frankie MOntero, cordell, artie, stroker, danny fiallo che poso my dude, and everyone else, any of yall wanna holla hit my jak 646 879 7134 or aim BUMBOCLOT16 , and one other thing if anyone knows how i can get in touch with that crazy dude MILES MURPHY let me know thats my nigga, IGht people keep ur head up holla at me chill and burn an L ones of these days

[shank]

im out blowin haze bags the size of ketcup packets,

[Kelly McLaughlin]

edited for language
Heyyy i went to the ridge and it didnt help me at all. I pretty much just complied after 6 six months of refusing so that i could get the f3ck out of that f3cking placeee!!!! i made a lot of good friends tho who i smoke with on a regular basis though!!!!! so yaaa anyone in integrity or hope family hit me upppppppppppp kmmbabydoll is my snnn....and if ur a parent definately dont send ur kids to the ridge bc it doesnt do shlt ur just wasting ur money ohhh and if anyone knows charles curtis let me know where hes attttttt

[jason frey]

I was a "student" at academy ivy ridge for thirteen months and while I still have nightmares about this place I can't say weather it was worth it. Neither can my mom for that matter as she will be paying off a ridiculous loan for the next twenty-something years.

Parents. If you are considering sending your kid to any place like this because it is, as you parents often say, "the only thing left to do", you should see that what your child is doing is a reflection of your life. Maybe you should try to change your life and see if it helps. It will save you a lot of time without your babies and money. I now what you’re thinking. At this point you don't want to be with your babies. Well that is part of the responsibilities of being a parent. Not throwing them in some lockdown facility.

Being in this place is an eye opener but not in the way you want your baby to experience. Maybe someone you want to do more than simply kill but not your own child.

For most of the staff I would compare the profession to that of a boxer as they take there aggression into work. I can recall this one staff how would go down the line slapping every kid in the back of the head as he passed by just to see is anyone would react. Maybe he would have his chance at restraining a kid at that moment. I remember when they would call for backup staff and all the pros would race to the scene to get there shots in. They got joy out of belittling the students. There were some staff that had good hearts but all of those guys got fired. No, I'm not joking. The one that I can remember, who was always a good dorm dad got stabbed as I was told. I never saw him again. And when I say good dorm dad I don't mean the amount of consequences they gave out per day. I mean this guy talked to us. He gave us advice on life in general. In this place, the new guys are always better on the consequences but after maybe a month they would fall into that crappy view on life that most dorm dads share. I'm not saying I blame them. When you are around that type of person you tend to adapt certain traits. So how will that help your kid?

For those of you parents, who did not do the research and find things like this, shame on you. You can do that research on that new plasma tv just fine but you don't care about what goes on at the place you are about to send your son or daughter. No, you just read what’s on ivy ridges homepage. "Hey fred, we can send willy to this place, finally get some peace and quiet around here". It is obvious that most of the kids that go to ivy ridge have problems. In there own way they are crying out for help but this can make things so much worse. I was lucky in a way. I got out of the program and started doing drugs again. More drugs than I ever did before I went in. Hell, you’re around all these drug addicts that talk about how good this and that is and you tend to want to experiment a little. I'm not saying I started doing all this as soon as I got out but after about six months I was right back into it. Not that I was looking for it but it’s so true that generally, throughout your whole life, you attract the same type of people. I don't mean that all my friends do drugs. The fact is that people around the same IQs tend to be friends. And people with higher IQs are interested in curtain drugs that have been known to, "expand your mind". Before you rebuttal look these things up. 99 percent of the kids at these places are far from dumb. I have first hand experience of this.

You'll be happy to know that I no longer do drugs but that has nothing to do with that hell away from hell.

Over all I have one main thing to say about ivy ridge

"no respect"

anyone in courage from back in 03. feel write me an e-mail.

[jason frey]

woops

[email protected]

[jason frey]

oh yes one last thing

mom dukes took me out at level 1, 36 points

[Josh Roman]

Loyalty Family Reppin' right here. Don't send your kids to this place. Worst food. Worst facitility. Worst administration. Worst fitness. Worst everything. Even educational movies, and that is the worst. Waste of money, do not send your kids, I REPEAT (FOR YOUR KIDS SAKE OF SANITY) DO NOT SEND YOUR CHILDREN THERE.

Dolla dolla bill yall! Joe Johnson, Ben Good, Dave Ceceer, Devin Sepe, Dwane Bueler, Ryan Bowman, Akeil Mensa!

[Brave Family]

Academy at ivy ridge is a load of crap. They talk about "scandalous" when they are the ones that are fvcking scandalous. I went there like 3 years ago and i still to this damn day have much hatred for that place. To the parents, realize that these people are robbing you for yor money. This school costs more than college tuitions. WTF. Ill admit there were some chillen people but overall the worst experience any child could go thru. I was in the Brave family. The amount of manipulation these people give out is amazing. Some kids were in this fvcking program since they were 13 yeard old... THIRTEEN YEARS OLD!!!!... If i was an actually caring person, I wouldn't let a 13 yr old stay in sucha horrible program. One thing I would like to get out is some of the dorm fathers. Some were actually not too bad. But then there were some motherfvckers that i would love to see right now. To single out a specific one. MR BURNHAM. If anyone still remembers this guy, he is a fat fvck. This nasty motherfvcker made kids cry at night because he is such an @sshole. He def. got abbused alot in high school. Mr. Burnham if you are reading this, your the genuine 40- year old virgin. YOU WILL NEVER SEE THE COLOR PINK IN YOUR LIFE YOU FAT INSIGNIFICANT PIECE OF LARD.(are you smart enough to get it)Anyway I am very glad Ivy Ridge is in trouble. I hope that place gets shut the fvck down.

[Murda Murph]

whatup yo i jus wanna get at dudes who i havent seen in mad long yo get me. I for some reason been thinkinn bout the Ridge mad yo, jus sayin yo u dudes get at me. If you readin this, LP (BLLLAATT kid, M.O.B), whatup guy, Brandon D, Pat Symons, Matty OG Galaga (AKA THA LEGACY), Buddha aka Pat Tran, Fiallo, Jose, ledga aka EDGE, JD the Bermudian, Rooooslaan hahaha, and Johnny Elkovich. And oh yeah, i dont even rememba dude's name but, whoever that was who was beatin up on Symons, you caught what you deserved guy. Straight up and down yo fukc the ridge yo. GET AT ME 1

UNITY FAM Dec. 26, 2004 - April 26, 2005

P.S> New Mixtape droppin soon yo He$$$ide Silvahearse Mixtape Mass. Murdaraz VOL 1 i'll let you kno when it drops p

[confidential]

shut up you wannabe blacks, youre white, act white, be white trick

[ALWAYS FAITHFUL]

So this is fo rall my ridge kids who ever they might be and what ever year they came in and left. This is the words on the street. The ridge is officially Screwed up. They are at about 160 kids total for both guy and the girls. 90% of the staff that was there is no longer there. Staff from Mr. Eric to Mr. Showers is not there anymore. Mr. Wes is now a Supervisor, Jerod M. is no longer there. From what people be saying is bucky is on his way out. So leave your questions here and if i know i will answere them and if i don't know i will find out for you...any ways soon enough the school will be history.

[guess]

always faithful.

where did eric and showers go then? who are some dorm parents left? did kaysone leave the program yet? i heard about the lawsuit around $100 million.

let me know.

[Always Faithful]

Yo guess showers left for the prison guard thing. yO the new supervisors are Wes m. and mike kelly he was a night staff way back in the day. eric b. is working at some other place i heard he was working at the state hospital. as in the dormdads left there is mike willocks and his son from what i heard along with mike kelley. bucky is still there but word is he is leaving in january though.yeah they are being sued for 100M. i guess they are doing this for issuing false diplomas and for telling parents that they were accredited when they were not. i seen the papers on here it is going way back to like 2003 when kids like Pat Dungan were there. So when did you go there.

who is kaysone? is that a guy or girl and what family is he/she in.

well i am outta here peoples

[Always Faithful]

Yo guess showers left for the prison guard thing. yO the new supervisors are Wes m. and mike kelly he was a night staff way back in the day. eric b. is working at some other place i heard he was working at the state hospital. as in the dormdads left there is mike willocks and his son from what i heard along with mike kelley. bucky is still there but word is he is leaving in january though.yeah they are being sued for 100M. i guess they are doing this for issuing false diplomas and for telling parents that they were accredited when they were not. i seen the papers on here it is going way back to like 2003 when kids like Pat Dungan were there. So when did you go there.

who is kaysone? is that a guy or girl and what family is he/she in.

well i am outta here peoples

[guess]

always faithful you got a email i can email you at?

[Elena]

I was sent to Ivy Ridge in April of 2002, from the "horror" stories I read of '05 and '06, lemme tell you, I have more horror stories, there may not have been a riot, but I did see alot. Thankfully, I was there for a little more than 3 months. My parents told me that tried pulling me from the program two months into it and the program refused, they stopped answering calls, etc..one day my dad took the trip up from NYC and took me home! When I was there, there were about 30 girls, and there was only one story about a kid's parents taking them home, so chances were slim. The place was horrible, and I don't think it helps unless you want it to help you, send a junkie rehab and if he doesn't wanna stop shooting he won't. The place was hell, I think if i stayed for a year or more i would have been brainwash by those mormon freaks for life. Don't send your kids there, god forbid! I'm intersting in talking to some ex Ivy Ridge students, trying to find a few myself. email me a t [email protected]

[Baslios]

Yoo wuz good y'all. Just wanted to say bein out of the uppper east coast feels great. and bein away from faggot ass mormans like finlinson feels even better. I wont forget when during when the riot started me and my boy Rob from honesty were laughin hysterically cuz the staff pussed out for like 15 minutes and then came to slam kids and Flinstones dumbass came in with a big ass flash light and tried beatin me and my boy for not bein on our beds. WHos gonna sleep durin a sick ass riot like dat. even tho its been over a year now Fu** those faggot ass fools that sucked off tulip and flinstone to get upper levels just cuz they knew sumthin was goin down. and oh yea i was the only kid in the whole facility who was droppin a fat duce when it started, it was the best i had that whole year locked up. yo if u read this and u knew me get at me my dawgs, come see me in Dago where I be ballin.

[james gutro]

edited for language I don't allow on this blogF4ck Finlinson, that f4cking c3ck4ucker. I hope he gets a shotgun to his f---- ass skull. I ran from that place in September when they caught me he beat the f4ck out of me and my boy. I hate Ivy Ridge with a passion. The whole thing is a scam for your money please believe me.

[Infamousnoun]

What it do. This be a respect family ender n a honesty family pusher. Listen that Shizzle was fd up. I call finlinson n give em a piece of my mind now and then its been a good few monthes since i postd on this but i want everyone to call him n tell him how much the program has done for them. Sarcasim n for you parents with kids still in call him and ask him in depth questions.

The editor here. I have been asked to remove Mr. Finlinson's contact information from this post. The phone numbers are publicly available here

http://www.academyivyridge.com/pages.php?p=32&s=11

[Amber]

my name is Amber, I attended the program about 2 years ago. When I was there I did see abuse and neglect. I had athethes foot for 4 months. I had sweat pimpes and they didnt anything about it, whenI wrote about it in my refections they didnt even give my mom the info. I am sorry, but it is not a good idea, anywherebut ivy ridge. The staff treat you as if you were dirt. Jason caimed the girls were just skankks, and they I was tramatized. I was asked to restrain a girl who was trying to scratch hersef until she was bleeding. My first day there, a gir drank windex. They gave me corrections for getting 100 pecent meals at dinner so I went to bed hungry. It was so hard, I couldnt sleep and they lied to my mother. I highly suguest shutting it down

[Giovanni Licavoli]

Yea i was at ivy ridge to for about 7 months and i was in study hall almost every fricken day there are alot of people i remember like artie conte, and spencer stroker, nasty nate frank, garrett, and alot of other people but i was in the sucess family and if there is one person i will always hate now and forever it is mr. John mcman or however you spell it he is a dick anybody who remembers me email me at [email protected]

[mike t]

hey Giovani i was in sucess family tell me who all is in the family still is tyler carrol still at ivy ridge? uhh tom d, matt oshman *d1ck*...lol, yeah schoool was sh1tty as fvck when i was there ms.cass is a fat hog lol shed act like every1 is important in her family i was there when i was 14 lol so almost 2 years ago wow...

[mike t]

and yeah john mcman jumped on me when i pulled the fire alarm and ran for the door fat fvck restrained me i almost got kicked oout until my mom believed me that ivy ridge is a fvcked up place fo sho

[shut up]

quit bitchin..mike thompson right? shut your lil ass up you're free who gives a damn about that place..mcmahon is a fat greaseball we all know that, so what..and tyler? he's out

[Liz Ditz]

January 10, 2007: Randall Hinton has been arrested for abusing a child at Royal Gorge Academy. Press Release.

[colt N]

edited for language I don't allow on this bloghaha i was there from may 16 2004 till may 16 2005 oh if you were there during that time you know who i am ha mother frick the ridge i made that fricking riot a thought in the heads of the rebels it was a pretty night fun times in the ridge yo get at me if you know me!! [email protected]

[peggy]

I was in faith family.
11 months starting 2004

recognize me? questions or comments?
please email me

[Beth]

Wow, I am hearing a lot of bad stuff about Ivy Ridge. My best friend has been there for almost 2 years. her parents say its the best school and has changed her. From the sounds of it this place isnt to good. I've always wondered what it was like there. Now her younger sister is there at the age of 14. She will be there a while. I cant believe you guys had to go through that.

[Hilary]

"Let me apply fact to a candid world." Thomas Jefferson, 1776
I attended the Academy at Ivy Ridge from the months of May 2004 until August 2004. My experience was similar to many others, as this schools appearance is very contrary to its intrinsic reality. Upon my arrival, I was greaty by a woman named Miss Sissy, who was outwardly rude and aggressive toward me. I disregarded her horribly disgraceful personality, however, and remained compliant. Throught my experience at this facility, I believe that although physical abuse was present, the psychological turmoil that we all experienced was unforgivable. When we attended the "seminars," (which were synonymous with cult gatherings that teach you how to feel and act unless you will be excommunicated) I was asked to take large objects and bang them on the floor as a way to get out all of the evil forces that were working within me. A little ritualistic and fundamental? My parents could have saved their 60,000 dollars and had me act like a primate in my own room. Also, the "school" aspect of the program was another facet of their idolatary psychological warfare. We would be asked to sit in a room with approximately 30 computers in it, for six hours a day, and read bizarre "educational" lessons on the computer and then answer a series of questions. The curiculum was EXTREMELY biased and it sounded as if it was written by a group of fundamentalist Christians. The "teachers" were underqualified, rude, and pretentious ass holes who could have cared less about the students academic progress, most likely because they did not know how to read or write or do simple math. I witnissed one of the girls in my "family" being hogtied and dragged down a hallway by her legs as if she was a pig being prepared for slaughter. I also met the flaming capitalist Mister Jason F. knock entire shelves down in our classroom with his arm in a fit of rage. With everything broken, all of our belongings strewn accross the floor, he simply told the dorm mom (who was usually a trashy alcoholic smoker who most likely had ten illegitimate children) to make us clean up the mess. When you force human beings into a state that is animalistic and threatening, you can expect a riot or two. I believe that Mr. F. should be facilitated and forced to undergo the treatment we experienced. Those belongings were precious to us and the only things we had. Some of those things were sent by our mothers and fathers who we would have given our own lives to see. I would like to witness your belongings (yes Mr. Jason I am talking to you) burned in a giant conflagration and your family taken from you. I am disgusted and embarassed that I have that experience to look back upon in my life. I am also thankful that I found this webpage in order that we can start a movement against this facility and those alike. My overall experience was appalling and embarassing. I do feel that I have been traumatized by these events, and I believe that this system of helping teenagers regain control of their lives is an absolute scam financially, physically, socially, and psychologically. Hilary

[Murda Murph (Chris Murphy)]

Yo its the kid Murph droppin in. Whatup to the Ridge MOB. fvck the hick staff hillybilly mormon f3ggots. I jus got pinched again but im straight other than that, just enjoyin my free life n shit Hess$ide MixTape droppin soon.. Whatup to all the Study Hall Soljaz Worksheet Warriors so on and so forth.. if u see this n we got down in the Ridge get at me n especially UNITYS... n PS f*ck u if ur a internet gangsta fuckin computer tough guy if u dont like what i got to say s*ck my dlck u didnt do shlt when i was locked wit u.. Lata

[...............]

murph

get at me with your myspace if u got 1

[Christian Godinho]

edited for language I don't allow on this blogI was in brave family from October 29th 2005 to August 19th 2006. I was in brave. That place wasnt as bad as some people make it out to be, but they still did sh1t there that were most likely illegal. Like they understate a lot of things, most of the restraints i ever saw it was kids getting their ass whooped bye staff.

I remember my friend from loyalty, joe johnson, used to just do sh1t to get restrained on purpose cause he got a rush out of it, but other people like Ben Good didnt think of it that way. Ben got his teeth knocked out.

Another wierd fact about ivy ridge is that all the cups were dirty and plates and sh1t, it was all dirty and the bathrooms were all dirty. We got 5 minute showers and 5 minutes to get dressed, dried off, put on every single last one of our clothes, and run out to the line or else some f3ggot lieng ass dorm dad like John Mc Mahon would give you a long list of corrections to fill out.

I would get so pissed over the littlest correction, and i really started to think when i was in there. I thought of how much of a scam it was, and how i was just gonna get out of the f$cking program my way.I just started flipping out about everything because every time i would get up to any amount of points, i would end up getting a cat four from MR BUCKY, although mr bucky was the only cool staff, he would always be an ass to brave, but that old motherf#cker never found all the cheat sheets i put on encarta haha.

but as i was saying about how i started thinking while i was in there, i started thinking like a convict. i dont know if anyone knows this, but the day brian heckman pulled that fire alarm i was sopposed to be down with him the night before, but the hall we were going to run down was filled with staff so we would have gotten f@cked up. i was always plotting to run, i was always plotting on something. but i never had the confidence to do pull anything off cause they always put u down, i always thought i would get caught anyway, beat down and not even kicked out haha.

but yeah, anybody from brave lookin at this that wants to get in touch with me, liek CHRIS JEFFRIES, MIKE GJURAJ, PAT OCONNOR, ROB ROSS, CLINTON LEE, DAN ALESSANDRINI [i think hes in jail], RASHAAD VACA, BRODY DEBRINO, ADAM KASPYRZICKI, ALAN ZHANG, KEITH BAILEY, and anyone else who was like my brother, if i forgot about you dont feel bad, its because i tried to get that place out of my mind and move on, plus i blaze mad trees again haha. well any of you guys want to get in touch with me

my cell 978 397 0908
my home 978 525 2061
aim: ScaUsaBoston

aight well f*ck the ridge, its just a big scam if any parents R readin this its just a waste of money, believe me my mom found that out after the courts ordered me there and had to spend a shit load more to get me out haha

[Rachel]

hey, i went to Ivy Ridge from March 27 (St patty's day) of 2004 until March 1 of 2005, in the valiant family if anyone knows that one leave a message.
Anyway, DON'T SEND YOUR KIDS HERE!! i am now 19 about to be 20, have been in college for two years now but to no appreciation to "The Ridge". I was sent there for pot and sex and not getting along with my family and i never thought that i needed to be there and still don't believe i needed to be there. I did need help, but not from them.
PARENTS PARENTS PARENTS!!!! LISTEN. you may be hearing from your kids that things are fine, but it is only because they are too afraid to tell you the truth, afraid that their letters will be read and that they will not be sent and that they will loose points and be there longer.
I only got up to level 4, my parents did the seminars and everyday i felt as if i would rather be dead than in that hell hole. Kids are not cared for and are not taken care of. The health care is HORRIBLE. i had "personal" infections all the time due to the spandex shorts we had to wear, i was given the wrong meds one time FROM THE NURSE and was refused some medication once as well.

PLEASE READ some of what people are saying here, and review your options, talk to your kids, see what else is out there, this is NOT A GOOD CHOICE fot them or for yourself. If anyone is interested in talking to me, i am open to it and willing to help anyone, or if poeple want to re connect leave a message like i said.
PEACE AND LOVE

[Rachel]

OH I FORGOT THIS APPALING TIME. A girl in my family (vailant) knew her dad was ill, and apparently he had come to visit her to "say goodbye" because he knew that he wasn't going to live much longer, but she never got to see him. he died while she was in AIR and it wasn't until after he died that shd found out about him visiting. Even after his death, they weren't preapring to allow her to leave for a funeral. UNACCEPTABLE If you ask me

[dan street]

i just ran away from ivy ridge, four of us got out ast 1:30am, we broke through night staff and ran down to 10 11 and broke a window, we made it for two days in below zero untill a cop pulled over the car we were in on the second day. that place is a fuck over, if your kid is thier he or she will come out angrier than ever

[Megan Rice]

my boyfriend tried running away with you 4... Dan Boyle. im me on aim - SummorMegan. i would love to talk to someone that knows him there...

[jonathan]

edited for words I don't allow on this blog
yo was poppin matt! i aint even kno n****** had a forum for ivy ridge.. lmao i was in the sh1t for one month when loyalty was planin the riot... but i f****d around and got bagged like a dickhead and got sent to some other family i forgot tho,, James , dilian, matt uhm good lookin to chris who aged out and sent that letter fer me,, would of been jamaica for me if it wasnt 4 u b ... and it wouldnt been possible wit dustin plus the familys in the 2nd floor.. i was one of the 3 that got sent home. F*** SEA BUSCUIT
get @ me - DJSMoked

[matt lewis]

edited for language I don't allow on my blog--including direct threats
yo hey yall,
my name is matt lewis! remember me. f$ck you j$hn $lk$v$ch you b$tch. is i ever see you again i will kick your f$ckin ass. i am differant now, i aint afraid to fight with kids who run there mouth. i learned alot there like not to be a b$tch like you, you st$p$d c$nt.

hey all FREEDOM FAMILY! I i wanna hear from any of yall guys. call me some time at (607) 648-4861.

yo tyler carrol. man thanks for all you did for me. you saved my ass a couple of times when sh$t hit the fan, thanks man, i owe you alot. call me sometime. peace man. i hope that you got out quick, best of luck. matt

hey COURAGE!
good lookin out. i was not cool with alot of kids there. but there were some that i respected. like MIKE. yo i hope you got out and i hope your mom gets better and doesnt have to stay in the hospital. thanks for all you did for courage and me personally. you taught me alot that i still use today man. call me just to say hey. (607) 648-4861.

peace out
matt lewis

[Alexis Moreno]

i was at ivy ridge. got pulled just recently on june 21st 2007. i hate ivy ridge it helped me but that school sucks....cant do anything its like a prison.... im glad to be back home! queens newyork BABY

[Jame b]

THIS JAMES FROM THE VISION FAMILY...WAS SHOWING SOME OF MY FRIENDS THAT I WAS AT A PLACE THAT RIOTED...WASNT INVOLVED I WRITING A SCREENPLAY ABOUT THIS PLACE...IF ANYONE WANTS TO CONTACT ME PLEASE [email protected] OR 201 947 0851

rICH P. WHERE U AT?

[Steve Fielhauer]

I did 14 months in this piece of $hit. Anybody that sends their kids here deserves to have their a$$ beat. They call it restraining when they drop yer a$$ face first in the ground and bend u into a pretzel. It needs to be closed down or the kids will just keep rioting until have no choice.TEAR THAT MUTHA F#CKER DOWN

[Mercedies ... Faith Family]

I know yall remember me .. If yall are looking for me ..hit me up on my myspace page ..request me or send me an msg...www.myspace.com/benzeempress ....

[anonymous]

any kid who leaves ivy ridge trying to be more gangster because of that place is dumb as fcuk.

ivy ridge aint G, you aint G, where you live aint G, so stop trying to be hard

act your race
act your age

till then, just shut the fcuk up

[danielle garo hope]

yo0o0o they told my mom i loveed it there!! explain thAT SHYT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11 holla at me xlbabideelx on aim

[AIR graduate]

I attended Ivy Ridge from July 2003 to April 2005. I am 20 years old now and a junior in college and I still have nightmares about this place. 2 years later, I still am dealing with what I experienced and witnessed.

1)many girls did not get their periods for months in the program because of the constant stress we were always under

2)When girls finally did get their periods, they were made to sit in their bloody underwear the entire day because they "should have known they were going to get their period"

3) Vaginal infections were widespread. We basically wore tight spandex shorts 24/7, basically keeping our genitals oxygen free (any woman can tell you thats not healthy)

4)medical care was consistently denied to us

5) I witnessed girls pee themselves becuase they were denied the bathroom

6) for the entire first YEAR I was there I was not permitted to talk AT ALL. Sometimes, if one person tried to escape the ENTIRE FACILITY would be put on silence... basically meaning that anyone who uttered the smallest "excuse me" lost all of their points and levels and had to start over from the begining

7) if all that was not bad enough we were often given 20 seconds in the bathroom stalls each. And trust me... after eating the food there you need more than 20 seconds

8) the first shower I took there was pubic hair and semen on the walls from the boys who had showered in there 5 minutes before hand

There is so much more... I should write a book

But basically... if it sounds too good to be true it is. There is no magic school, or medicine or even person who can make your child be the person you know they can be. AIR's techniques were very simple. They would break you down until you felt so helpless, so out of control, so much like an unwanted caged animal that you finally give in to them and do exactly as your told. Before I went to the program, I had problems, but beyond that I was a strong- willed, opinionated, get what she wants young lady. They psychologically beat that out of me until I was an empty, listless follower. Like I said, I have been out for 2 years and I am just now starting to get the confidence in myself back. Confidence that what I feel matters and that I can make a difference.

PARENTS- don't let AIR beat the personality out of your children. Dont let them get rich off of ripping your children of their self worth and self esteem. It might make raising them easier, but do you really want your daughter becoming a submissive, weak woman. Imagine the type of relationships you are setting them up to be in.

LASTLY (although not even close to what I have to say)-- There is no sex eduation at Ivy Ridge. As a public health major, I've come to realize the importance of a strong education, especially as it relates to your personal and sexual health.
I've seen the consequences of this lack of education. I know 16 Ivy Ridge girls who are either pregnant or had a baby this year. Not because they are "sluts" or "easy" but because they spent there teen years being isolated from proper sex and relationship education.

Off of that (and I know I said the last thing was the last but this is really important) as I understand it, AIR is not accrediated. I had to teach myself Algebra 2. The program they used basically gave me the problem and the answer and I had to figure out what to do in between on my own. If you think that your child in going to catch up in school, think again. I was able to do it, but i was a small minority. If your child is the type of person that needs one-on-one help, or someone that is a visual learner, or even someone who just needs a teacher... this is NOT... I repeat NOT the school for them.

[lmao]

edited for language I do not allow on this blog
if people really do have nightmares because of AIR you're fvcking weak.

a good majority of people in there always trying to say they ghetto and whatnot, come on kids, if you guys were so queens and brooklyn or where ever you from ghetto, you wouldve seen/witnessed/experienced far more worst than some petty boarding school.

DONT GET IT TWISTED though, AIR is fvcked up and some of that shlt is true, but come on, not to the point you get nightmares.

lets grow up kids

[dewayne beeler]

i was ther 2 and a half years. i learned more frm the students than staff. i saw abuse (mental and verbal) and evrything else. its hell. i tell my gf about it and she thinks its crzy. seminars are like cults. brainwash. the place is all about money. hit me up on myspace. my url is greg_is_the_coolest or my sn is basketball9m

[Michele Bentzel]

I went to Ivy Ridge for 18 months, and I hated every minute of it. I made it to level 3 twice but other than that I screwed around most the time and tried to make the best of a sucky situation. I wouldn't have gotten through it without my girls:J-Roy, Cynthia, Kaylan, Makenzie, Britney, Alexis, Christine, Marina, Beth, Sam, Karlie, Taylor, Naia, Asia, Zoya, Peggy and Kat or without my boys: Dan, Bessette, Peppz, Ricky, Brian, Meek, Dave, Cadet, Callwood, Wanish. Thats the only good part of that place, the awesome people you meet.
>> reppin INTEGRITY FAMILY <<

[Ganimet Brija]

I was the 8th girl to attend Ivy Ridge... I was there for 9 months. My name is Gani.. I was in the Faith family at first then was put in another. Honestly its not an easy place to survive in but honestly I wouldnt be who I am without it. I guess the good parts are you relize how important the little things are like seeing your parents or tv n music even talking all those things you had to earn back cause you didnt appriciate them. I wont say i enjoyed my time there but thanks to a rare few people (Mrs. April, Mrs. Richie) I am a better person now... Need to contact me about anything aim shynquiet86 or myspace www.myspace.com/tinkiesgrl

Hopeing one of my girls looks at this (Nicole, Julie, Paula)

[Travis Hornstein]

Anyone form pennsylviaia who went to The ridge holla at [email protected]
Patriot family by th way

[Kayla from Integrity&Grace]

I got out of AIR 2 years ago and am now able to talk about what happened to me. I have nightmares that i would wake up there level one even till today. I would like to reconnect with all of my girls (Villa I hope you see this). E-mail me at [email protected]

[Christina Ioannou]

Okay, I never went to ivy ridge. I was in another rehab for 14 months and met a kid who was taking legal action against the school. I always have reached my heart out for those who suffer through all of this. I went back that rehab a 2nd time and on one of my "requests" I met a mother who read some crap to me from her support group...i asked her where her daughter was and she said acadamy ridge, a lockdown facility and blah blah.. I have always kept that girl in my thoughts. ...cause it hurts a lot too when you kno this stuff is going on and you can't do anything about it really. ugh. alright. peace.
aim:ariddlesong

[mom of kid at AIR]

I have recently enrolled my son in AIR and want the TRUTH from you guys...
Some of you have stated that its 'the parents fault'...well, how's that??? WE arent the ones gang bagging, WE arent the one doing/selling the drugs, WE arent the one jumping kids just for fun...WE arent the ones sneaking out of the house at all hours, What WE are, are hard working, honest people. I leave for work after my son would leave for school, but he would manage to get high (on whatever) before entering the school. I would work my butt off for 40+ hours a week, but making sure I was HOME when the got home.
I understand that you're not HAPPY that you got put into the facility, but dont you think, just for one minute that your parents WERE SAVING YOUR LIVES?!?

[Gail S]

have any of you people who think Ivy Ridge is so bad stepped back and looked at how you are looking at this situation? People would probably want to hear you if you could speak without a cuss word every 3 words. Im sorry you all had a miserable time there, but they really are a good program from the sounds of things...and your opinion is just that...an opinion. as is mine. but, i think if you have something to say you should be a little more polite about it. If you are really better off than Ivy Ridge--show a little respect and at least speak with some decency.
Thank you.

[attention]

mom of a kid at AIR
it would be helpful if you had a email address

[IliveInIntervention]

edited to remove words I don't allow on this blog, and to remove threats. The writer is referring to "mom of kid at AIR" and Gail S. Readers -- I find nothing valuable in programs such as Academy at Ivy Ridge (AIR), Spring Creek, or Academy at Royal Gorge.

yo this byotch.... shes f*cking SO dumb. She must have went to too many seminars. Yo google defination of a cult and pathways fits right in. F*CK IVY RIDGE. F*CK WWASPS. F*CK JASON FINILINSON. F*CK ROBERT LITCHFIELD.

the following has been disemvoweled.
I can't wait to go back there with my blgrn ng gn nd fck tht plc p nd fr th kds thr. Peace...

[Cody Reynolds]

yoo i went to that byotch way back when Kevin Jenkins and Spencer Strokerand Brandon Dietz and Brandon Bowersox and crazy as CJ and DJ and a fukn lot of other ppl lol Patriot family... anyone remember my ass???

[jon from "loyalty"]

tell me when u gon do it and im down to go up there