Testimony from An Academy at Ivy Ridge Graduate

This eloquent comment on the Ivy Ridge post deserves to be heard by all parents thinking of sending their teen to a "therapeutic boarding school", especially one with ties to the Lichfield enterprises or WWASPS.

Here is a brief timeline of events at Ivy Ridge.

The commenter wrote:

I attended the Academy at Ivy Ridge (AIR)  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.

The writer was there when AIR was fraudulently claiming to be accredited, and left just before the riot.

She went on to enumerate some of the problems common at the Academy at Ivy Ridge (AIR).

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 that's not healthy)
4. medical care was consistently denied to us
5. I witnessed girls pee themselves because 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 education 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 accredited. 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.

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

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

[Joel Sax]

The sex ed part of this reminds me of a book I read in college about the failure of population control in India. The chief problem was that the small time Indian farmer could not be persuaded that birth control was a good thing. Farms needed big families is how he saw it or else he would end his day working like a donkey. The land got divided smaller and smaller, the number of people on the land increased, and yet there was no stopping the breeding of more farmers because they could not be made to see the value of small families.

[V]

I agree...I went to school there when I was 14 for 9 months and I am 20 almost 21 now and My husband has to wake me up from nightmares that I have from that school. I am so terrified of going back and I'm married and have a baby!

[Rebecca Buzenberg]

I also went to that school. October 2004-January 2005. I was sent there 4 months before my 18th birthday and the day I turned 18 I told them I wanted to leave and all I got was 20$ and a ride to the bus stop. I was homless in NY for 2 days until my parents came and got me. I still have nightmares about being there. The beatings "restraining" as they call it were horrible. I lived in fear every day I was there. It was the most emotionally damaging and tramatizing experience I have ever had. That school should be shut down and it's employess behind bars. I was not allowed to speak or go outdoors even once the entire time I was there.(outdoors also includes just looking out of windows)Ms. Cist(I think thats how you spell her name) should have a law suit filed against her for child abuse. I witnessed horrible things she would do to girls. I have at least one nightmare a week about that school and I am 22 years old now. I am terrified that I will wake up one day and still be in that prison.

[Giovanni Licavoli]

i also went to the academy at ivy ridge i went from 2004 to 2005 then my parents had to come get me cause i got kicked out i also went to eagle point and got kicked out of there for starting a riot but anyway i seen a
lot of bad things when i was at the academy at ivy ridge i seen staff beating kids i too got alot of bad memories from study hall to isolation to kids having sex with each other male on male it was just a screwed up place - Giovanni -

[Z. Nosevich]

Girls,
Your [most of you] were obviously not long enough at the school to benefit from the program.
To begin with, "good kids" are not getting into this program - only kids who were unmanageable and parents were trying everything to save their kids from drugs, sex, and gangs...
I was one of those parents, and, to be honest, you all "worked hard" to get there! Do not play innocent victims!
If parent are not able to deal with one child at home, do you think it's easy to manage such a big group of people?!
AIR technique is a simple reality check: you need to work hard for everything you have and not take things for granted!
It worked for my daughter and saved her from real jail, and I am thankful for all they did. The AIR made my daughter stronger more matures and taught her to appreciate life and everything you have.
Not too long ago she told me: I learned to love Ivy Ridge and she thanks me often for carrying enough to send her there.

[Brooke C]

I agree that AIR helped me get my life together, but it was definately not the right place for me. A simple boarding school where we would still be treated with respect and have our own space would have worked just fine; we had no respect at AIR. We were constantly talked down on.

I got my period the first month I was there and never had it again. They made us eat all of our food, regardless of whether we were full, didn't like it, or were simply not hungry. That's ridiculous. We weren't allowed tampons, face wash, or any medications we were on prior to enrolling at the academy. It was a cult and I am so happy to see that they have been shut down.

[karida dorsett]

i was there and yes it help me, but it made me almost go crazy as well it was rediculous i had staff drag me and choke me now you know thats not right

[Dewayne Beeler]

i was there for 2 1/2 years. i arrived at the doors the day after my 13th birthday. i was a child trying to be a grown up. i am now 19 and living on my own. if you want to know the part of AIR that helped me its as simple as this, lorraine smithers listened. she was my family rep while i was there. i had maybe 2 dorm parents who really tried to help, the rest were there because it was a job.i can tell you that what these other students are talking about is true. ive seen beatings both from staff and student. it was a school run by humans acting as humans. many of the cases that the students had were simply that they needed to be heard. this place could have been avoided

[Ali]

It was the most horrible experience of my life!

[Raina]

I worked at AIR for about a year. I was night watch, became a dorm parent, and then went back to night watch. I have seen many restraints in my time, but never ones where the student was beaten. I have seen many students come in, some drugged out, others sexed out, others abused, and most with either false or no self-esteem. Most left the program before being able to reap the full benefits, but many of these wayward teens did learn (often the hard way) that everything they had before was a privilege.

As a dorm parent, I have NEVER restricted bathroom time or allowed a girl to stew in her bloody panties all day. That's disgusting. I have seen a girl pee herself, but she often did that -- she was that messed up that she couldn't control herself.

Some of the rules seemed stupid, like the tampon thing or the face wash thing. Unfortunately, they have had students try and kill themselves with both items. No, the place wasn't that bad, but many students also had problems with depression.

I don't understand how ANY of the students could have ended up pregnant or in a shower with semen on the walls, as there are VERY strict separations from the opposite sex. It's closed down now, anyway.

One of the things that SHOULD have been brought to people's attention were the horrible way the staff was treated. In my time there I was attacked by a student and all I was offered was the opportunity to get a tetanus shot (she bit and scratched me). That's the only time I did anything violent to a student, because she attacked me trying to get my key. As it was, I only kicked her to get her off of me (she was on top of me). The dorm parent staff worked 18-36 hour days at minimum wage. We were offered 8 hours to sleep (in a dorm room right next to the girls we looked after) and were often woken up to deal with problems. With those kinds of hours, I burned out after 6 months of being a dorm parent and went back to night watch.

[Brandin Kenneth Sumrall]

I went there for 9 months and three days they told me I was lying about my asthma and denied me my inhalers and if I could not perform during P.E. I got punished. The water was nasty there were white chunks in it for some reason. So many that we could get it to spin around in the water bottle an look like a tornado........ I also experienced diarea for three years after I left....... So much more I don't even want to talk about.......I was 12 and everyone was like 16 or 17 for the majority................if I see a comment on this I will give u contact information I have no problem helping in a legal battle against them ......... I don't know what goes on now but these sickos need to be stopped!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Donovan]

Hi im officer leon of the columbus Police dept . i use to work at the academy as a dorm parent. i quite after 8 months because i didnt agree with how they were treating the kids. i try'd to treat them right but it was hard with george tulip looking over your shoulder. i try'd to help the kids who were going to be turning 18 on what they were going to do after AIR . i would talk to military recruiters and collages but when jason and george found out they threaten to fire me. the only way i could compare Ivy ridge to any thing is to a nazy Camp. the kid would have to do there school work on a computer and if they finish early they had to stare at the blank screen for hours with out looking away.

[Sarah Thomas]

I was there from 2004-2005? maybe dont really remember put that place behind me. I didnt agree with the way it was handled ever. I definitely remember being timed for showers and not having proper time to dry off, another contributing factor to the female stank, being force to eat food in 5-10 mins i went in at 120 lbs at my biggest was 250- now back down to 140, being timed for the bathroom not healthy and all medical problems were addressed by drink water. I think staff should be ashamed of themselves if they think this treatment was ok. Although i must say that there were some helpful staff that helped ,me through and so that comment is not directed to all staff. You know who u are, the ones who truly cared about making a difference in our lives and for that we thank you. the rest of u can eat one.