Spring Ridge Academy
Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox school/short descriptionScript error: No such module "Infobox".Template:Template otherScript error: No such module "Check for clobbered parameters".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Spring Ridge Academy, was a behavioral health residential facility for female adolescents 13-17 years old. In 2023, Spring Ridge Academy announced on their website they had permanently closed.[1]
Background
The campus was originally a house with a barn attached and only had one student.[2] By the end, it was capable of housing up to 76 girls with a facility that included classrooms, medical areas, labs, and athletic fields and courts.[2] Spring Ridge Academy was operated by Suzanne Courtney (Executive Director) at its time of closure.[3]
Programming
Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
Spring Ridge Academy described itself as a "clinical therapeutic program with a college preparatory academic curriculum".[4]
The program included four phases that each student completed at their own pace.[4] The program's average length of stay was 14 to 18 months.[4]
Parents or guardians who had their child admitted to Spring Ridge paid tuition and fees. Medical insurance may have covered part of the costs.
Controversy
In 2021, the parent of a former resident filed a lawsuit against Spring Ridge Academy, alleging causes of action for negligence and fraud, amongst other things.[5][6][7] The mother claims that the troubled teen program used non-evidence-based treatment practices on her daughter and misrepresented the tactics the program used before she enrolled her child there.[5][6] In a large group awareness training workshop, for example, girls at Spring Ridge Academy were allegedly instructed to beat their chairs with rolled-up towels containing their anger while other students screamed at them.[6]
In 2024, Spring Ridge Academy lost the fraud court case in Phoenix federal court, with the Jury awarding $2.5 million in punitive damages.[8]
Other former students have claimed that the workshops at the center of the lawsuit are "abusive" and "shame-based."[7] Former students say they had to participate in attack therapy as well.[7]
Spring Ridge Academy has also been accused of using conversion therapy.[9]
Other alumni have come forward alleging abuse as part of the Breaking Code Silence movement, describing the academy as a cult and as being exploitative of families.[10] One Spring Ridge Academy alumnus was also featured in a Lifetime movie special Beyond the Headlines: Cruel Instruction, talking about the allegations of abuse in the troubled teen industry and the PTSD and anxiety that many survivors continue to live with.[11]Script error: No such module "Unsubst". Spring Ridge Academy issued several in response to the lifeline movie.[12][13][14]
References
<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b c Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b c Cite error: Script error: No such module "Namespace detect".Script error: No such module "Namespace detect".
- ↑ a b c Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
External links
- Script error: No such module "Official website".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". (Spring Ridge Academy)
- Official website (New Day Rising)
- NCES website
Template:Education in Yavapai County, Arizona Template:Authority control
- Pages with script errors
- Pages with reference errors
- Schools in Yavapai County, Arizona
- Boarding schools in Arizona
- Girls' schools in Arizona
- Alternative schools in the United States
- 1997 establishments in Arizona
- Private high schools in Arizona
- Residential treatment centers
- Therapeutic boarding schools in the United States
- Troubled teen programs