New Leaf Academy

Last updated
New Leaf Academy
NlaORlogo.jpg
Location
New Leaf Academy

Information
Type Private therapeutic boarding school
Opened1997
NCES School ID A9903539 [1]
Executive DirectorCraig Christiansen
Gender All-girls
Age range10 - 14 at time of enrollment
Enrollment16 [1]
Accreditations NWAC, CARF
Website www.newleafacademy.com

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]

Contents

In recent years, New Leaf Academy and its former North Carolina location have faced allegations of corporate misconduct and abuse of power. [4] In addition, former students have come forward with allegations of physical and emotional abuse at the hands of employees. [5]

History

New Leaf Academy of Oregon was founded in 1997 by Craig and Christy Christiansen. [3] [6] In 2004, it was acquired by Aspen Education Group, which operated the school until 2011. [6] In March 2011, Aspen announced that it was restructuring and would close New Leaf Academy of Oregon as well as other schools and programs. [7] 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. [6]

North Carolina campus

A Hendersonville, North Carolina campus of New Leaf Academy was established in 2005 and operated until June 2010. [8] [9] [10] 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. [10] New Leaf's North Carolina director, Cat Jennings, planned to become head of Lake House Academy. [10] 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. [10] 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. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green Mountain College</span>

Green Mountain College was a private liberal arts college in Poultney, Vermont, at the foot of the Taconic Mountains between the Green Mountains and Adirondacks. The college was affiliated with the United Methodist Church and offered a liberal arts undergraduate education with a focus on the environment, and some graduate degrees. For part of its history it was a women's college. It was founded in 1834 and closed at the end of the 2018–19 academic year.

Wellspring Academies was a pair of therapeutic boarding schools for overweight and obese children, teens, and young adults, both operated by Wellspring, a division of Aspen Education Group. It is said to be the first weight loss boarding school in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shortridge Academy</span> Private, boarding school in Milton, New Hampshire, United States

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aspen Education Group</span>

Aspen Education Group is an American company that provides controversial therapeutic interventions for adolescents and young adults, including wilderness therapy programs, residential treatment centers, therapeutic boarding schools, and weight loss programs, which have been accused of torture and abuse. Since November 2006, Aspen Education Group, with corporate offices located in Cerritos, California has been a division of Bain Capital's CRC Health.

Aspen Achievement Academy was a wilderness therapy program for adolescents, based in Loa, Utah.

The National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs (NATSAP) is a United States trade organization of therapeutic schools, residential treatment programs, wilderness programs, outdoor therapeutic programs, young adult programs, and home-based residential programs for adolescents and young adults with emotional and behavioral difficulties. It was formed in January 1999 by the founders of six programs within the so-called "troubled teen industry," and its board of directors consists of program owners and educational consultants. Ironically, all but one of those founding six programs have been shut down in the ensuing years for a variety of reasons, including child abuse, neglect, licensing violations, and successful class action lawsuits.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allynwood Academy</span> Private high school in Hancock, New York, United States

Allynwood Academy, formerly the Family Foundation School, was a private, co-educational, college preparatory, therapeutic boarding school located in Hancock, New York. The school was in operation from 1984 through 2014, when it closed due to declining enrollment amid a raft of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse allegations made by alumni in a grassroots "truth campaign." At least ten lawsuits have been brought by former students since 2019, in which plaintiffs claimed that strip searches, hard labor, isolation rooms, physical restraint, and sexual assault were rampant at the school in the 1990s and 2000s. Three of the lawsuits were settled in October 2021 for undisclosed sums. A front-page New York Times article in 2018 reported a pattern of at least one hundred deaths by overdose and suicide among alumni, the vast majority before age 40.

Oakley School was a coeducational therapeutic boarding school located in Oakley, Utah, enrolling students of high school age. The school announced its closure in May 2017. The school was established in 1998 as a transitional placement for students who had been released from the Island View residential treatment center. It was acquired by Aspen Education Group in 2004, along with Island View. Since August 2013, it has been "partnered with" InnerChange, LLC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oregon College of Art and Craft</span> Former art school in Portland, Oregon

Oregon College of Art and Craft (OCAC) was a private art college in Portland, Oregon. It granted Bachelor of Fine Arts and Master of Fine Arts degrees as well as art-focused certificates. The college offered an Artist-in-Residence program and provided continuing education in the arts to the local community. It was founded by Julia Christiansen Hoffman, a photographer, painter, sculptor, metal worker and weaver, out of her desire to foster the Arts and Crafts movement through classes and exhibitions. The college closed at the end of the spring 2019 semester.

Bromley Brook School was a therapeutic boarding school in Manchester Center, Vermont, for teenage girls who were not functioning at traditional schools. The school was owned and operated by the Aspen Education Group. Bromley Brook was mentioned in The New York Times.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carrington College (US)</span> Network of for-profit private colleges based in the U.S.

Carrington College is a network of for-profit private colleges with its headquarters in Sacramento, California and 17 locations throughout the Western United States. Established in 1967, it has a student enrollment of over 5,200 and 132,000 alumni.

A therapeutic boarding school is a residential school offering therapy for students with emotional or behavioral issues. The National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs listed 140 schools and programs as of 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Bachelor Academy</span> Private therapeutic boarding school in Prineville, Crook County, Oregon, United States

Mount Bachelor Academy was an Oregon private co-educational therapeutic boarding school providing help to families of adolescents experiencing emotional and behavioral disorders including, minor Depressive Disorder, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, Substance abuse, and ADHD as well as help for teenagers and families struggling with adoption issues. The typical student was between 14 and 18 years of age. The average length of stay was 14 to 16 months.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NorthStar Center</span>

NorthStar Center was a young adult therapeutic transition and relapse prevention program, located in Bend, Oregon, owned and operated by Aspen Education Group for young adults ages 1712 to 24 for treatment of substance abuse and addiction. In March 2011, Aspen announced that it would cease program operations in August 2011 as part of a restructuring of the company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diamond Ranch Academy</span> Therapeutic boarding school in Utah, US

The Diamond Ranch Academy was a therapeutic boarding school just outside the town of Hurricane, Utah. It admitted adolescents, 12–18, with various issues, including anger management issues and major depressive disorder. Diamond Ranch Academy was founded in Idaho falls in 1999 by Rob Dias and later moved to southern Utah, where it occupied a 200-acre (81 ha) ranch.

Sedona Sky Academy is a private therapeutic boarding school for adolescent girls, in Lake Montezuma, Arizona, United States. Sedona Sky Academy is located on the previous site of Copper Canyon Academy, which was established by Tammy Behrmann and her brother Darren Prince in 1998. They sold it to Aspen Education Group in 2002. In 2006, Aspen was acquired by CRC Health Group, Inc.

Cherokee Creek Boys School is an American therapeutic boarding school for boys located at 198 Cooper Road, Westminster, South Carolina, United States. Cherokee Creek has been fully accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) since 2005, and is licensed by the state of South Carolina. The school is also a member of the National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs (NATSAP).

Elevations RTC is a residential treatment center in Syracuse, Utah, for teens ages 13–18. The facility was formerly known as Island View Residential Treatment Center until 2014, when it was acquired by Syracuse RTC, LLC, which does business as Elevations RTC. The Elevations campus is shared with Seven Stars and ViewPoint Center.

Shepherd's Hill Academy (SHA) is an accredited and licensed Christian therapeutic boarding school located in Martin, Georgia, United States, that provides year-round residential care and a private school for grades 7 through 12.

References

  1. 1 2 "Search for Private Schools – School Detail for New Leaf Academy". National Center for Education Statistics . Institute of Education Sciences . Retrieved May 19, 2014.
  2. Oregon campus on Google Maps
  3. 1 2 2011 NATSAP Directory, National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs website, accessed August 19, 2011
  4. "HEAL REPORT: NEW LEAF ACADEMY" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on December 3, 2011. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  5. "I Survived New Leaf Academy". Tumblr. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  6. 1 2 3 New Leaf Academy to Remain Open, Woodbury Reports, June 13, 2011
  7. 1 2 Aspen Education Group To Restructure Programs, Aspen Education Group press release, published on Woodbury Reports website, March 24, 2011.
  8. Tom Croke, New Leaf Academy -- North Carolina, Family Light blog, accessed July 14, 2010
  9. Tom Croke, Enough, Already! -- Aspen Again, Family Light blog, May 2010. Accessed July 14, 2010
  10. 1 2 3 4 Aspen Education Group Announces Program Conversion, Will Open Talisman School in August 2010, Aspen Education Group press release, May 17, 2010

44°04′45″N121°14′21″W / 44.079108°N 121.239098°W / 44.079108; -121.239098