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Thread: Specialty boarding schools

  1. #1

    Specialty boarding schools

    I've got a son that is almost 16. He decided it was a good plan to flunk this year. I'm disgusted but not completely parents are completely freaked.

    Sometimes he mouths off and is disrespectful. He got drunk and puked once. A year ago he took my car to give a girl a ride and wrecked it. Yet I still don't think he's beyond redemption. (He's mostly nice to his mother LOL)

    All of that is what got me looking at the "specialty boarding schools". There are some little red flags when you look them up on google. There are all these recruiting sites that all lead back to a single group of schools run by WWASPS.1 Most of this group are in the US now because they've managed to get shut down in Costa Rica, Mexico and the Czech Republic. Shut down in Costa Rica-BIG RED FLAG!!!!

    For 40 k a year, they take your kid and give them behavior modification. Like, if they mouth off they have to lay down on a concrete floor face down. You would think they wouldn't mouth off the next time but one girl spent 18 months and 60k getting up and down off the floor.

    There's gotta be a better way. Help, I'm drowning but I'm not sending my kid to a gulag.,00.html,00.html

    "...I mean the wheelchair would be a thing in the past
    And us quads can talk about the past and laugh"-Professirx

  2. #2
    This place is where my sister put my niece. It is not a gulag. You can't trust the media to get it right. (perhaps you've heard this...before )

    If you saw what I posted on the "forget me not panties" the other day, thong underwear was just the tip of the iceberg. The neice wanted to run her own life at 15, but have no responsibilities, not go to school, stay out 'till the wee hours...

    She started out in the Baja Mexico school, but the authorities liberated the whole bunch. Seems the local officials don't like the heat. The niece is now in the Carolina Springs location. My sister visited there last week and it's not bad. It couldn't be that bad since the niece keeps getting into trouble with rule infractions. She just got signed up for another year and the niece was a bit despondent over this, but she could easily get out of it if she got her head into the program.

    And the money end of it is prorated. You don't pay once they are out. Some get out in a few months. Some are a bit stubborn.

  3. #3
    Yep, Mingo seems to be the same bunch. This is my 2nd stab at raising teenage boys and I'm willing to say that it's beyond me. But there was one of these closed down in upper state NY April 15. In their literature they point out that the people complaining are whining teens and I'm sure that's true to a degree. But I'm wondering if where there's smoke there's fire. Once I got below that first recruiting layer on Google I found a lot of smoke.

    Probably a non-issue. I sure don't have that kind of cash and I think I heard my parents choking from a distance when they saw the price.

    I wish your niece the best. I wouldn't be a teenager again for anything.

    The 1st link below seems to give both sides. You're right about the media, I recently had a little taste of that myself.


    [This message was edited by Betheny on 05-31-05 at 05:30 PM.]

  4. #4
    I wouldn't be a teenager again for anything.
    You got that right. I called the local school board and state accredition etc. They were on the up 'n up. But it is pricey for my taste as well.

    I might add ... there seems to be some variation between the different schools, but the basic program seems to be the same.

    Second time? What are 'ya thinking?!?

    Good luck

    [This message was edited by mingo on 05-31-05 at 05:44 PM.]

  5. #5

    I wouldn't send any child of mine to this kind of institution. I saw a documentary a couple of years ago about a similar place, and it was awful. I can't believe a parent would send a son or daughter to one. I suppose if the son or daughter just were beyond hope, and they could not do anything for them, it would be better than going to jail or becoming a drug addict or something.

    You're right, it's very difficult being a teenager in this world. It was lots of fun in my day .........the olden days!


  6. #6

    Both of our boys participated in Northwest Youth Corps, Basically it is for 14 to 19 year old coeds to work hard and earn some money and experience the lessons of teamwork in a backcounty environment. The crews do Forest Service contract work in groups of 8 or 10 comprised of guys and gals with 2 or more crew leaders. Both Isaac and Noah were crew members and later became Crew Leaders.

    They take them out into the forest for 5 or 6 weeks. And, YOU STAY THERE, and work an 8 hour day, make your own meals, take turns at all the chores, build camraderie. Depending on their worksite, they may stay in the whole time or hike out on weekends to a state park for a shower. This is not a boot camp with discipline or punishments. You can leave at anytime and the crew leader will hike out with you and buy you a bus ticket back to where you started in Eugene, OR.

    If you stay the course, you get paid a stipend. That is about $7 an hour, taxfree, which for 5 or 6 weeks is a lot of money for a 16 year old. No TV, no smoking, no discmans, just a good experience in the wonderful wilderness of Oregon. There are some "at risk" kids in the spring and fall programs as most likely they have dropped out of school. The summer groups tend to be more of a mix of kids whose moms/dads, like you are looking for some direction for their kids or kids who want some back country adventure.

    It is an outstanding program which our sons can attest to. Contact Noah if you want further endorsement and visit their website.

    Good luck,



    [This message was edited by john smith on 06-08-05 at 09:41 AM.]

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