New Leaf Academy
New Leaf Academy is a private therapeutic boarding school in Bend, Oregon, enrolling girls ages 10 to 15.[2] The school is accredited by the Northwest Association of Accredited Schools. It is a member of the National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs (NATSAP).[3]
| New Leaf Academy | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | |
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| Information | |
| Type | Private therapeutic boarding school |
| Opened | 1997 |
| NCES School ID | A9903539[1] |
| Executive Director | Craig Christiansen |
| Gender | All-girls |
| Age range | 10 - 14 at time of enrollment |
| Enrollment | 16[1] |
| Accreditations | NWAC, CARF |
| Website | www |
The school's program is intended to meet the special needs of younger girls experiencing emotional or behavioral problems. Girls attend year-round, typically for 12 to 48 months, before returning to regular schools. However, the school has a history of abuse and neglect of the children.
Over 100 graduates of the program have come forward with horrific stories about the way the girls were treated. According to these reports, the students were starved, forced into tortuous punishments (such as hours of physical work, days of solitary confinement etc.) and brutal "therapeutic" exercises. The students claimed they were forced to act out their physical/emotional abuse with other girls, constantly degraded by the adults and therapeutic advisors, and were made to lie to their parents. The place was described as a "battlefield" between the girls and staff, due to the constant favoritism of the staffers.
New Leaf Academy originally was located in North Carolina. In 2011, the school alongside other programs run by the company Aspen were legally shut down due to the severe physical and sexual abuse from the staffers and therapists. Aspen moved New Leaf to Oregon and gave new owners charge of the program.
History
New Leaf Academy of Oregon was founded in 1997 by Craig and Christy Christiansen.[3][4] In 2004, it was acquired by Aspen Education Group, which operated the school until 2011.[4] In March 2011, Aspen announced that it was restructuring and would close New Leaf Academy of Oregon as well as other schools and programs.[5] In June 2011, it was announced that the school's original owners, Craig and Christy Christiansen, were acquiring the school from Aspen and assuming responsibility for its continuing operation.[4]
North Carolina campus
A Hendersonville, North Carolina campus of New Leaf Academy was established in 2005 and operated until June 2010.[6][7][8] Aspen announced that The Talisman School would open on its campus in August 2010 to enroll youth with Asperger's and other autism spectrum disorders.[8] New Leaf's North Carolina director, Cat Jennings, planned to become head of Lake House Academy.[8] Twenty-seven students remaining at New Leaf were to be sent to New Leaf in Oregon and to Aspen's Bromley Brook School in Vermont.[8] In March 2011, Aspen announced that it was restructuring and would close New Leaf Academy in Oregon as well as Bromley Brook School in Vermont and other programs.[5]
References
- "Search for Private Schools – School Detail for New Leaf Academy". National Center for Education Statistics. Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved May 19, 2014.
- Oregon campus on Google Maps
- 2011 NATSAP Directory, National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs website, accessed August 19, 2011
- New Leaf Academy to Remain Open, Woodbury Reports, June 13, 2011
- Aspen Education Group To Restructure Programs, Aspen Education Group press release, published on Woodbury Reports website, March 24, 2011.
- Tom Croke, New Leaf Academy -- North Carolina, Family Light blog, accessed July 14, 2010
- Tom Croke, Enough, Already! -- Aspen Again, Family Light blog, May 2010. Accessed July 14, 2010
- Aspen Education Group Announces Program Conversion, Will Open Talisman School in August 2010, Aspen Education Group press release, May 17, 2010