Places for Struggling Teens™ Published by Woodbury Reports, Inc.™ “It is more important to get it right, than to get it first.” September 2008 - Issue #169 OPEN ACCESS By Lon Woodbury One of the major strengths of our network of private parent-choice residential schools and programs for struggling teens has been its innovation, creativity and ability to rapidly apply new insights and research toward helping children. This has resulted in a wide variety of approaches to helping children, each school or program dealing with problem areas in which they are especially strong. When parents decide their child needs residential placement, they now can choose from among many quality schools and programs to find the right match between a school or program’s strengths and their child’s needs. The resulting network of choices for parents and their children is vastly superior to the old hospital and RTC one-size-fits-all system that was all too common before this network came into existence. The growth of this network has been amazing. We are currently tracking about 650 private parent-choice residential schools and programs around the country, and even with the economy being in the doldrums, there are still a significant number of new start-ups seemingly every month. The growth of this dynamic network has been possible because in the past it has been relatively easy for a dedicated individual to open a program. In the past, all an educational visionary who wanted to establish a residential program needed to do was prepare some space and activities for the children, conform to minimal basic state licensing (perhaps just a foster home approval) and get the word out. Some very successful schools and programs started in this “bootstrap” manner allowed by open access. Essentially, anybody who had a desire could try. Deep financial pockets were helpful but not necessary. However, the screening out process starts immediately and never ends. Those who really didn’t know what they were doing rapidly learned there was much more to providing a program than just providing room and board for kids. These naïve startups consequently closed fairly rapidly, if they even ever opened. Others with no marketing contacts or knowledge never received any inquiries and gave up. Still others couldn’t gain the confidence of any parents or referring professionals and rapidly closed. Then too some didn’t have the monetary resources to withstand slow periods or charged too little for tuition so they also closed. Continued: Access/ pg 3 Inside... Essays: Visit Reports: Extended Insights: Luggage Checks / 5 Sycamore Canyon Academy / 12 Motivational Enhancement / 16 Empowering Young Adults Part VII / 7 Combating Addiction / 18 New Perspectives: Coach’s Corner: Camp Huntington / 14 Seen N’ Heard / 22 Coach Certification / 10 Sommerset / 15 A new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die out, and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it. ~ Max Planck [Essays and articles appearing in this publication are the opinions of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the policy of Woodbury Reports, Inc.,™ or StrugglingTeens.com.™ We urge our readers to conduct their own investigation of the products and services identified herein.] Lon Woodbury - Publisher - 208-267-5550 - Fax: 208-267-9127 - www.StrugglingTeens.com ™ Woodbury Reports™ is an information source to help Woodbury Reports, Inc. parents find the right school or program when their child has Pioneering the Referral Service behavioral/ emotional problems. We are specifically concerned for Schools & Programs. with children needing more intensive intervention than local resources or day programs can provide. The Parent Empowerment Handbook™ 2008/09 Our focus is on high quality and effective Emotional Growth A Self-published Directory of 100+ schools and and/ or Therapeutic schools and programs, which can include programs nationwide, screened for reputation, short- and long-term outdoor programs, family style living longevity and effectiveness. Includes Essays, arrangements, highly structured boarding schools, therapeutic Transport Professionals, Visit Reports, & boarding schools, RTCs or psychiatric hospitals. Educational Consultants. The Woodbury Reports, Inc.TM website award ™ An important goal of these schools and programs is to teach for Schools, Programs, The Woodbury Reports Newsletter self-discipline through consequences, so the child will learn to be & Consultants included A monthly publication designed for in the Parent more responsible for his/ her actions. How attitudes are changed Empowerment professionals working with children and and who is successful is at the focus of each issue of Reports. Handbook™ - 2008/09 young adults that focuses on Emotional Growth Schools and Programs. StrugglingTeens.com™ Over 30,000 pages WE THANK THE ADVERTISERS Website Design & Hosting Who make this newsletter possible!! Award Winning Sites Online Since 1995 Woodbury Reports, Inc™ accepts advertising from a Consultations variety of schools and programs; however, inclusion in Personalized help for Parents In Crisis: We offer Educational the Newsletter does not imply an endorsement of these Lon Woodbury, MA Consultations to help parents think schools or programs by WRI™ through the out-of-control behaviors their child is exhibiting and suggest appropriate placement options. All of our consultants have raised teenagers and helped Places for Struggling Teens™ is published monthly. One many parents professionally. We believe that parents should be in year subscriptions are $35 USD. Non-Continental US charge in a responsible manner, postal orders add $5 USD. Loi Eberle, MA and we believe in suggesting solutions rather than telling our Places for Struggling Teens™ is published by clients what they should do. Woodbury Reports, Inc.™ Judi Bessette, EdD Lon Woodbury, Publisher. Research Affiliate [email protected] Copyright © 2008, by Woodbury Reports, Inc.™ For More Information All Rights Reserved. Use of materials is allowed without Linda Zimmerman, LPCC Kristie Henley prior written approval if the proper author and publication [email protected] attribution accompanies the copy. Duplication or republication must include the following information: 208-267-5550 208-267-9127 fax PO Box 1107 WOODBURY REPORTS, INC.™ Bonners Ferry, ID 83805 PO Box 1107 • 7119 2nd Street www.strugglingteens.com Bonners Ferry, Idaho 83805 Larry Stednitz, PhD 208-267-5550 (p) “Some Children just need to be heard, not cured.” 208-267-9127 (f) Lon Woodbury, IECA, MA, CEP, is an educational consultant who has [email protected] worked in schools and programs for emotional growth, character education, www.strugglingteens.com and consulting for parents of struggling teens since 1984. Prior to that, he taught in public schools and was involved in public policy while working for the US Senate and the Executive Office of the President. Lon received his BS and MA degrees from the University of Idaho. His practice includes 1540-3718 a referral service for parents and professionals, and the publication of this Newsletter and the PARENT EMPOWERMENT HANDBOOK,™ a ISSN: 1540-3718 resource of Places for Struggling Teens.™ Woodbury Reports, Inc.: September 2008: #169 2 208-267-5550 www.strugglingteens.com ACCESS: Cont. from 1 Those schools and programs that survived for the most part were those individuals who had some experience working with struggling teens and either knew what was required or rapidly learned, had some experience and knowledge of how to market themselves, and were +HDOLQJ7KURXJK financially strong and sophisticated enough to pay the bills while getting established. Once established, the +HDOWK\5HODWLRQVKLSV founders needed to have the insight to modify their school or program to meet the actual needs of the students and parents, thus gaining a reputation that resulted in future enrollments. )RXQGHG LQ ,QWHU This is an ongoing screening process and many schools PRXQWDLQLVDORQJWHUP and programs that were initially successful floundered UHVLGHQWLDOSURJUDPRIIHULQJ and were forced to close down for many reasons. Even schools and programs that had been successful for KLJKO\LQWHJUDWHGWKHUDSHX years sometimes lose their edge, or made unwise WLFDQGHGXFDWLRQDOVHUYLFHV financial decisions, and either overextended IRU FKLOGUHQ DJHV DW themselves or were forced to close in the face of declining enrollments. DGPLVVLRQ7UHDWPHQWJLYHV WKHVHFKLOGUHQWKHHPRWLRQ The CEDU schools are a prime example of how even a DODQGHGXFDWLRQDOVNLOOVWR flourishing system of schools can flounder from a series of bad management decisions. This is healthy in EHVXFFHVVIXOLQWKHLUIDPLO\ that the inadequate are forced to go away, and those VFKRRODQGFRPPXQLW\2XU that survived were the ones that gained the confidence DFUHFDPSXVLQFOXGHV of parents and child-care professionals, usually IRXU IDPLO\VW\OH FRWWDJ because they provided quality services. HVIRUER\VDQGJLUOV These automatic and natural screening-out processes ,QWHUPRXQWDLQKDVEHHQ work to protect the students and parents from inferior WUHDWLQJ FKLOGUHQ ZLWK D schools and programs. It is not perfect, of course, and inferior schools and programs unfortunately do GHYHORSPHQWDO UHODWLRQDO manage to survive, but I have seen many poor PRGHOVLQFH programs go under because they were weak or lost their competitive edge. "DDSFEJUFECZ+$")0 .POUBOB4UBUF-JDFOTVSF /BUJPOBM"TTPDJBUJPOPG"DDSFEJUFE4DIPPMT One thing that happens when there