Video testimony about Academy of Ivy Ridge - Volume I

Academy at Ivy Ridge was founded in 2001. They used the curriculum invented by the WWASP organization. In 2005 they were forced to restructure because their high school diplomas was issued on a basis of a poor education quality. Melees among the students didn't improve anything. In 2009 they closed down without having contributed anything positive for the students who were forced to attend the school.

A former student visited deserted campus the former school. The building have been left empty for many years as its reputation in the local community has left it hard to sell. The suicide rate among former students who have passed through the WWASP curriculum is alarming high and rumors speak of the campuses widespread out over several states and countries as haunted places housing the lost souls of the teenagers abandoned by their families at the schools.

The student made a number of video testimonies. One can be seen below and other will be published in future blog-entries.



All rights to the videos go to the original author known as j0nas420


Sources:

• See In the Matter of the Academy at Ivy Ridge, Assurance of Discontinuance Pursuant to Executive Law Section 63, Subdivision 15 (Attorney General of the State of New York)
• School For Troubled Youth To Issue Tuition Refunds (Office of the Attorney General)
• Melee Keeps Spotlight on Hard Life at Academy (New York Times)
• Director: Ivy Ridge to close until fall (Watertown Daily News)

Former student about Chrysalis boarding school

I am a former student of chrysalis, and I have to point out the unprofessional review from Kenny Pannel's sister, Vicki. Talking about being professional? You should try it. Chrysalis is not a licensed program, and I would not recommend this school to anyone for legitimate reasons:

I was sexually abused three months prior to my arrival at Chrysalis, in the beginning they allowed me to walk during morning work out. Obviously if you are walking the same distance other girls are running it is going to take 2-3 times longer (maybe even more with an injury such as mine) regardless, when the other girls finished their run he piled them up in the van, and drove to us, not to pick us up, but to tell us we would have to walk home from the ending point. This was my FIRST MORNING at Chrysalis, and I was already terrified. Kenny treats his poor AMAZING wife better than his dogs. It was so frustrating to watch especially since my reason for attending Chrysalis was for dysfunctional relationships. It obvious what Kenny is in it for, money. They have a private jet, many different homes, and have a bunch of different cars (that are unnecessary to have such as a camero)

Its so disappointing and frustrating to know they are spending the money they are getting paid FROM OUR PARENTS on useless "toys" for themselves rather than paying their staff a decent amount.

The therapists there are basically Kenny and Mary's minions, and when I realized this program was really terrible I requested to be moved to a program that would focus more on my immediate needs (such as my severe PTSD problems I was dealing with)
Before I ran from the program I was doing extremely destructive things to myself (purging, harming myself) and they were oblivious to it all. Once I got home I had no urge to cause harm upon my body what so ever. I believe it was because I felt so controlled there by people that were not in it for the right reasons. I wasnt even allowed to talk to my father about how I felt like I needed to be in a more intensive care unit. Also it is required to attend an episcapalian church every sunday unless you are jewish, which I did NOT agree with since I am a firm atheist.

Also for the first 2 weeks I was there, I was not assigned a therapist because a new one was going to be hired and come. I needed serious help/guidance with the PTSD symptoms I was going through and I didn't have that opportunity for 2 weeks.

Circle is another topic I would like to cover. Basically circle is a time for girls and Mary and Kenny to emotionally/verbally abuse other girls. I remember being pin pointed several times in circle being attacked by just about everyone for over 45 minutes. That is just not right, feedback is meant to be positive construction, not abuse. It tore my character down to nothing. I have never felt so unloved, neglected, unwanted, hurt, and especially lonely. It was nothing but one awful experience after the next.

Mary and Kenny also are BIG with picking favorites, if they don't like you, well then you can just forget about it. They never seemed to find time to get to know any of the girls they didn't like immediately, instead focus and give special treatment to the girls they do.

My injury with my hip is now pretty much permanent because of the forced running they made me do (regardless of the chronic sharp pain in my hip)
It has been over a year now since I've left and my PTSD has vanished, I needed my REAL loving parents.

Please parents, listen to what your daughter has to say, regardless of their past doings. They may have cried wolf too many times before, but this cry is serious

Sources:

• The original testimony
• The school on the 1000 places You don't want to be as a teenager blog
• Factsheet about the program (Fornits Wiki)

Randy at Casa by the Sea (from: prisonplanet)

This testimony was found on the message board prisonplanet. All rights go to the original author

Memories of Casa by the Sea

I'm not sure if your organization publishes e-mails, but you have my permission to publish mine. Yes, my name is Ramey Smith. I read some of the articles on your web site and found a few about a place called Casa by the Sea in Ensenada, Mexico. I spent almost one year there, from January to November in 1999. On my first day at Casa, I was pulled off my bed, which was the top bunk, and fell to the concrete floor busting my face and nose . As I lay there bleeding, I thought these people are going to kill me.

I was in fear for my life at Casa, so I played along with the program the best I could . I made it to level four in the Bold Family. That is how they identified us. They put us in a group, gave it a name, and called it a "family." Anyway, I finally got out of there when my mother's terminal cancer got so bad my father pulled me from Casa by the Sea. I spent the last 2 1/2 months of my mothers life at her bed side.

In my opinion, WWASP are a bunch of criminals who manipulate parents. But they did teach me one valuable lesson which I can pass on to troubled youth. Watch out. Your parents can send you to a foreign prison over night and there is nothing you can do about it. You have two choices. You can resist and get beat up, or you can play along until you get out.

I'm glad they finally closed down Casa by the Sea. That place was crazy. Sometimes I actually started to think I was going crazy.

WWASP does have a wonderful program for brain washing or pain washing children to make them behave. But I'll tell you what. It doesn't last. I ran in to one of the upper level kids that graduated from the program. We were at a Taco Cabana at like 2:30 am and he and some other kids came stumbling in drunk. He didn't change. Not for long, at least.

Like in Mexico, where Room Restriction (R&R) consisted of lying on your face, chin pressed on the hard tile floor, and your hands behind your back. They might as well have hog tied us because if you didn't hold that position on your own for 4 to 6 to 12 hours, they had plenty of un-educated idiots to make you wish you had. I heard so many times kids screaming for help, screaming to there parents, screaming for mommy or daddy, screaming out to God to help them. What could we do? If we tried to help, we would be in the same boat. We'd lose our few privileges, get demoted to Level One and spend 2 to 4 weeks in R&R with our chins on the floor.

I wish we had been strong enough and organized enough to take that place over by force. I remember thinking about it all the time when I began my captivity there. We out-numbered the staff by at least 20 or 30 of us to 1 staff member. I would have enjoyed hog tying those bastards up and letting them enjoy some Room Restriction, and feed them rotten fish and other horrible things like they fed us. I won't even go into how bad the food was. Well, that's why they wouldn't let us talk without permission, or speak English. They knew if we had gotten organized, we would have overrun the place.

I had dreams about it after I left that godforsaken crap hole. I would wake up in the middle of the night and run into the hallway of my house for formation.

I learned a lot of Spanish while I was in Mexico because I had no choice. But I still can't stand it. I had a dream of going back there one day and liberating all the children whose parents are paying top dollar to have them victimized.

I could rant and rave about that hell hole for days, but I've said enough for now. If you post this letter on your website I'd like to leave my e-mail address so other victims of Casa by the Sea can contact me. If anyone was at Casa from January 1999 to November 1999, I'd love to here from you. My e-mail is Fucxstixs316@hotmail.com

God bless everyone who went through the trials and tribulations of Casa by the Sea. Like my friend Michael Perry.

I hope this helps someone.



Sources:

• The original testimony (Prison Planet)
• Factsheet about the facility (Fornits Wiki)