Ivy Ridge

The Academy at Ivy Ridge is a WWASPs school, a chain of for-profit "therapeutic" schools with a questionable history (read the riot story here) has been censured by the New York State Attorney General, Elliot Spitzer.

Boarding school tuition--regular boarding school, not therapeutic--is around $30,000 to $35,000 per year, typically for about 37 weeks of instruction.  That is about $945 per week.  The Ivy Ridge tuition was reported to be $50,000 for year-round "instruction,"  of which the academic portion was computer-based distance learning.

Evidently, the faculty and staff at Ivy Ridge claimed the school was accredited and had the authority to grant high school graduation diplomas.  The investigation by the AG's office found that the school's educational program had not been  had not been authorized or approved by the New York State Education Department; that the school was not accredited by the Northwest Association of Accredited Schools; and that it did not have authority to grant diplomas in the state of New York.

As a result, the Academy at Ivy Ridge must issue a 15% refund to the 113 graduates and about 100 current and former students. 

(About the accreditation: NAAS is a bona fide acceditation organization,.  Spring Creek Lodge, another WWASPs school, is accredited by NAAS.  Ivy Ridge should have been accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges)

WWASPs -- criticisms  from PURE  (which describes the WWASPs approach as a  teen gulag);   Tranquility Bay recovery site; Cross Creek and WWASPs survivors bulletin board.   The website Struggling Teens, which surveys the "therapeutic school" industry, has a listing of articles on WWASPs.

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"