Spring Creek Lodge Academy

Spring Creek Lodge Academy was a boarding school located in Thompson Falls, Montana.[1] The school, formerly known as Spring Creek Community, was first opened in the 1970s by Nancy and Steve Cawdrey.[2] In 1996, the school and the property were purchased by Cameron Pullan and Dan Peart and given the name Spring Creek Lodge Academy.[3][4] For several years the school was associated with the Utah-based World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools.[5][6] The school was opened as a place to address behavioral issues of young people from across the United States as well as motivate students for success.[7]

Its curriculum included a points and level system that rewarded compliance and punished noncompliance.[8] Extremely non-compliant individuals were often kept in solitary confinement[9] or transferred to a Mexican program known as High Impact, which was later closed by the Mexican Government due to allegations of child abuse.[10] At its peak enrollment, Spring Creek Lodge Academy housed over 500 students and employed about 200 individuals in various positions, making it the largest employer in Sanders County at that time.[11]

The school closed in 2009 after an extreme drop in enrollment, several lawsuits, licensing issues, and oversight controversy.[12] In 2010 the Montana-based Academy for National Native Leadership purchased the former Spring Creek facility and began to offer college classes at the school.[13]