Global InformationSpring Creek Lodge Academy information
| Spring Creek Lodge Academy | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
 | |
75 Spring Creek Road Thompson Falls , Montana | |
| Coordinates | 47°46′16″N 115°27′28″W / 47.771°N 115.4577°W |
| Information | |
| Established | 1997 |
| Closed | 2009 |
| Age | 14 to 18 |
| Accreditation | Northwest Accreditation Commission |
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] For several years the school was associated with the Utah-based World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools.[4][5] 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.[1]
Spring Creek Lodge Academy has been repeatedly criticized by Montana-based and national news organizations for its lack of governmental oversight, child abuse and neglect, and conditions which the New York Times has called "physically and psychologically brutal."[6][7] Spring Creek staff used highly controversial means of subduing children, including the use of solitary confinement in a small building called "The Hobbit."[8] A 2021 article in The Missoulian stated "[t]roubled programs like Spring Creek Lodge, which kept children in locked sheds as a form of punishment, have seen owners move from one program to the next in Sanders County."[9] According to a 2003 New York Times article, which came out while the program was still operating, "the program and its staff have been accused of sexual abuse, physical violence and psychological duress."[10] Survivors of the program have gone on to write about the horrors of the experience.[11][12]
In 2019 The Missoulian published a series of articles about the troubled teen industry, specifically addressing the lack of oversight at Spring Creek, abuses committed by staff, and the suicide of a 16 year old girl while in the program.[7] Before her suicide, the girl had been punished by being forced to carry a bucket of rocks, according to depositions by the school’s owners and staff.[13]
Accusations against Spring Creek, as well as similar "troubled teen" programs in western Montana, have been rampant, and have led state legislators to propose various forms of action.[14] According to Rep. Ellie Hill Smith, who attempted to bring a bill regulating these programs before the Montana Legislature in 2017, "[t]he Montana Family Foundation kills it every time. They say people have a right to religious education. I say to them, 'I don't have a problem with that. What I have a problem with is religious education or group homes that don't have to comply with state laws like the rest of our schools.'''[14]
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.[1] Spring Creek Lodge Academy was also the largest of WWASP affiliated programs.[15]
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.[16]
- ^ a b c Doran, Jamie (January 14, 2009). "Spring Creek Closes Its Doors". Clark Fork Valley Press/Mineral Independent.
- ^ "News and Views: Making a Difference". Woodbury Reports. February 1997.
- ^ Rau, Anna (2006). "Who is Watching the Kids?". Montana PBS. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
- ^ Szalavitz, Maia (2006). Help At Any Cost: How the Troubled Teen Industry Costs Parents and Hurts Kids. New York, NY: Riverhead Press. pp. 172, 247, 257, 314. ISBN 1-59448-910-6.
- ^ Independent Staff (June 29, 2006). "Leaving WWASPS' Nest". Missoula Independent.
- ^ Weiner, Tim (2003-09-06). "Program to Help Youths Has Troubles of Its Own (Published 2003)". The New York Times. Retrieved 2023-08-10.
- ^ a b "Troubled kids, troubled system". The Missoulian. 2019-01-21. Retrieved 2023-08-10.
- ^ Weiner, Tim (2003-09-06). "Program to Help Youths Has Troubles of Its Own (Published 2003)". The New York Times. Retrieved 2023-08-13.
- ^ Larson, Seaborn (2021-09-23). "Embattled therapeutic boarding school shutters in northwest MT". The Missoulian. Retrieved 2023-08-13.
- ^ "Program to Help Youths Has Troubles of Its Own (Published 2003)". The New York Times. 2003-09-06. Retrieved 2023-08-13.
Here at the company's largest affiliate, Spring Creek Lodge, the program and its staff have been accused of sexual abuse, physical violence and psychological duress.
- ^ Magill, Jenny (2021-10-17). "Jade's Story". BREAKING CODE SILENCE. Retrieved 2023-08-13.
- ^ "Spring Creek Lodge". WWASP Survivors. Retrieved 2023-08-13.
- ^ "Students Recall Special Schools Run Like Jails (Published 2013)". The New York Times. 2013-07-24. Retrieved 2023-08-13.
In May, a lawsuit against a World Wide-related company was resolved for $3 million without the company admitting liability — nine years after a 16-year-old girl hanged herself in a bathroom stall at a facility in Montana called Spring Creek Lodge Academy, which has since closed.
- ^ a b lucy.tompkins@gmail.com, LUCY TOMPKINS (2019-01-21). "'Fox guards henhouse' in Montana programs for troubled teens". The Missoulian. Retrieved 2023-08-13.
- ^ Weiner, Tim (2003-09-06). "Program to Help Youths Has Troubles of Its Own". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-03-25.
- ^ Switalski, Danielle (May 19, 2010). "College Set to Open in TFalls: Leadership Academy to Occupy Spring Creek Campus". Clark Fork Valley Press/Mineral Independent.