Comments on: Boulder Creek Academy

By: Jordan LeFebvre

Jordan LeFebvre — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 10:20:53 +0000

Wow, this is very facinating to hear from so many familiar faces of past students that I went to school with while I was their lending their two cents at the drop of a hat. I was a former graduate of BCA in 08 I arrived on March 9th of 06 after completing a wilderness course in deucene Utah 2nd Nature. When I arrived the student capacity hadn’t really skyrocketed as it did in due time due to the reputation that the school seem to portray. There were alot of things I realized and observed throughout my stay at BCA. When it came time to get things started their was usually quite a bit of chaos. When it came to staff student relationships, the ratio between # of students to staff was like 15 to 1, metaphoricly speaking towards teams of students depicted towards the 2 to 3 staff on each team. A key fudamental fact is that the staff are not mind readers, and it’s no joke either being a member of the caMpus that the staff are consistently having their hands tied down due to soo many different oppositional challenges between students and involving students in general, the way that the staff see it is that if u feel u have an issue u will come to them, if they see it looks like u are having an issue they will ask u about it, but if udont want to aknowledge the situation then in all reality there is no use stickin around, one thing that I heard time and time again is that they are not there to hold ur hand, and if u arnt willing to help yourself then and deal with the situation then ur the one who suffers, plain and simple, another thing, alot of kids their had various issues wether it be social maturity, substance abuse, physical abuse, lack of self confidence, family issues, anger, etc.. Do to the enviroment being so controlled whether it be thru the discontinuation of self expression thru certain clothing, music, let alone the time that is allowed to be spent with any certain individual of the opposite sex no matter the circumstance. But I get it, I do.. Theraputically this is a time to be stripped from any
One thing that can mask how that individual truly is, and due to the fact that many of the students have had so many negative sexual encounters in the past it is deffinitly I guess u could say dangerous to the emotional status and growth of the individuals involved and possibly even damaging to the relationship with one another ther is in the process of growing. Medication is deffinitly a key factor in the academies regulations. There is always a label that is most certainly jumped upon and then noted as a key factor in the result of the reasoning for the childs behavior. I was on meds about 10 yrs starting when I was 10 and until me quitting them just recently. My issues didn’t come from a
Scientific hypothosis or psychological brain dysfunction. It had to do with the negativity of my upbrining and. Childhood. I amable to function alot more efficently without them, I have been holding down a very steady job for almost a year etc. This school doesn’t grant u the key to perfection nor a quick fix and neither do they claim to. One of it therapist’s up their at the time lended me a key word of advice, the workshops are what u put into it, it’s not there for any other reason then to give u keys to urself that lie dormant in your subconciousness that hold the keys to your issues of how and why they were started, relating back to childhood and family etc. Is there therapy?” yes there is therapy, therapy everywhere if u know how to find it, therapy doesn’t have to be a one on one session with an adult discussing y u are hating your life etc. There is self expression thru music, books, games, card games really were a big coping skill/ getaway from the daily drama cause kids could get together and be in their zone where they felt comfortable and feel sumwhat content and peace wihout all the extra B.S. I was a sucess over there only cause I wanted it, I wanted it for myself, and due to my self motivation I accomplished alot of tasksi never thought possible, such as competing in power lifting under the training of professional body builder Mike Davis and owner of Iron Mikes gym in bonners Ferry ID. Or pushing limits of
Physical strength one early morning and sawing thru a 2and a half foot thick tree trunk with a hand saw. Was it easy?” no took me almost 5-6 hrs srtaight nonstop if u knew me them this seems reasonable due to my former personality. As spider” said in his post about what they call a “program” is an isolation period that is basically self timed, the individual decide how long it takes to get real,evenby faking ur way, the time it takes thru the 21 months is a pretty difficult not to at least hear one metaphor that can’t be related to a reality based event. If u read my post and u like it, that’s great I’m only speaking upon my own behalf . As far as the ciriculum goes I did very well leaving my hometown with a 1.9 GPA to graduating HS with a 3.6 GPA , this boarding skool is not meant to prepare the child to re enter society again, 21 months is along time in that form of isolation so obviously precautions are put out there for transitional treatment it’s all a matter of following through. I wasn’t prepared by any means I didn’t go to
College, I don’t drive have a licence or have a car, I live back at home, I don’t need college to become the chef that I wanna be and I’m already building my career as we speak. I got tired of waiting for sumthing to fall in my lap so I took a chance and ran with it. Every child has specific needs and treatments, and as far as when parents go to
Scope the place out, let alone any place for that matter, the place is only is as safe and the students and kids make it for themselves. A key problem at BCA is the anarchy style of rebellion displayed by students towards the staff as a result and reaction to not be controllled in a way that could make the student feel like he or she is compromising his or her own self security stature. Hope this helps anyone who’s looking for it email me.

By: Richard

Richard — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 03:40:28 +0000

Ah, good catch former parent. Fixed. Thanks.

By: A former parent

A former parent — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 02:09:09 +0000

Thanks, Richard. If it helps anyone else, it was my pleasure. No need to post this, but at the very top of this thread, http://www.cedu.com is still listed as the website for BCA, which obviously isn’t the case anymore.

By: Richard

Richard — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 22:51:55 +0000

Thank you former parent. Your comment will help many and I appreciate you taking the time to have contributed it.

By: A former parent

A former parent — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 17:18:40 +0000

Some very interesting, but not all too surprising, posts above. Our son attended BCA when it was a CEDU entity, so I have no experience with most of the current staff or its relationship to the current owners, UHS.

I can say, however, I would be encouraged by the fact the new owners are a health care organization rather than what amounted to a venture capital firm before.

For the record, our son was asked to leave because he wasn’t progressing, so the comments about the place being a scam and only wanting our money were, in our experience, hogwash. Were the staff at times worried about the census (number of kids enrolled)? Absolutely – the fixed costs of running the place don’t go away after a class graduates. But, that is no different than me running my business. But, I found the staff there (a couple are still there; I just checked the website) very open and frank about the topic of costs.

The comments above from some former students mirror those of our son. To this day he says it was a waste of our money and was a scam. Those are on his bad days when he needs to complain about some bone headed decision he’s recently made and needs to place blame elsewhere. On his good days, he will admit he knows why we sent him there and realizes deep down it might have saved his life. The days he says one or the other, thankfully, balance out. But, frankly he doesn’t seem to dwell on the past much so the topic doesn’t come up too often.

He’s a good kid, still going through college on and off again. Mostly off again, but each semester brings a renewed sense of ‘this is when I get my act together’ kind of resolve.

But, the really good news? We talk on the phone every day, almost without exception. He calls for my advice and opinion as often as he does just to say hello. And that never happened before BCA.

By: Gabby

Gabby — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 19:02:53 +0000

Hi i’m a former student of BCA and i’d jut like to say that BCA has helped me out a lot. I graduated from BCA about two months ago. i’ve heard really bad stories about verbal abuse and stuff like that from some staff and students. But this was when the school was owned by cedu and went bankrupt and closed down in like 2005 or something. Now the school is watched very closely. While I was at BCA it was very safe and the staff were very kind and caring to the students. Every school has it’s pros and cons. i’ve seen lots of kids be very successful at BCA and i’ve seen some kids not do so well. BCA is not for everyone. That is why speaking with an educational consultant is important to do before you ship your kid off.

By: Richard

Richard — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 03:43:37 +0000

Dear Parent: My comment about cyber harasment and the law is a link to a radio show that I recommend you and everyone else posting here listen to.

By: parent

parent — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 03:35:16 +0000

To all posters and potential parents:

As I read all the statements above, I feel sad, and for many reasons.
1.) The students who report negative things, thank you for your sharing your feelings. However, I’m sad for your parents and you as it seems you still have some anger and you are blamming the program for being there. They did not call your family when you were out of control, failing your classes and struggling with your friends. Being a parent myself, we had good reason to send our son to a school like BCA.

I looked at BCA for my son. During the process, I asked to speak to other families. I was given four families to talk with, and I did. All of them gave me support and spoke highly of the school. They also shared that BCA was not perfect, but they too are not perfect and felt they couldn’t give their child what they needed anymore. I wanted to choose BCA for my son, but he was denied. If they just wanted money, they would have taken my son. They felt he needed a more secure placement, and I thank them for being honest. My son doesn’t get to go skiing, sailing, water rafting or go to Alaska like the kids at BCA do.
2.) For the parents who have had bad experiences: I have a son who attends a boarding school, not BCA. The school has many supporters and it has it’s fair share of families and students who are not. It also has a web site that students and families can write what they want. I know for a fact that many of what is written is not fact. It might be their perception, but it’s not truth either. We have seen many families depart unhappy for a veriety of reasons. Usually, their family system have caused many of the problems. Last year a parent gave their their child a cell phone during visits so she could call all her friends. When the staff found the phone, she received evening work projects. The family was angry and pulled her from my sons school. My point is, sometimes the failure of the school can be a result of the family. I’m not saying all schools are perfect, but I see a lot a pointing fingers here.

In closure, I know of a school that took one of it’s former students to court based on what he wrote on a “blog” They decided to defend their school.

Richard posted a comment above about cyber harassment and the law. Richard, can you tell me more?

Best,
Parent of a teen who may not understand why, for many years to come. I’m okay with that, as I know I have saved his life.

By: Sanford Shapiro

Sanford Shapiro — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 23:52:33 +0000

Shea, I’m glad you wrote in. This website is a place where people get to give their opinions and share their experiences (on subjects relating to kids and usually learning differences).

It’s cool that you’re working on how you express yourself as well as what you say. Right on.

For me, I know there are kids who don’t think they get much out of the school and those who feel like they got a lot. There are parents like the one who just wrote in who see a lot of good changes in their kids. While they don’t get to see and hear everything, you have to give them their due: what they see and feel is true for them.

Be well.

By: shea

shea — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 20:51:44 +0000

you don’t really have many ways to do drugs or drink at bca, so that statement doesn’t really say much.
I just feel sorry for all the kids there. They’re missing their high school years to sepnd at home and for a lot of people it’s the best time of their lives. I was there for two years, and I missed so much while I was at bca. What would be interesting is if parents would actually listen to what their kids say and take it from their prespective, because what the staff tell the parents is quite different from what actually goes on at bca. It’s not so much being negative or angry with the program, it’s about caring about friends, myself, and future students being treated unfairly and being manipulated. I’m sorry if I post to much Sanford, but i’m just expressing my opinion. I’m also trying hard to be more honest than irritated when i post.