White River Academy

My son was quickly moving and directing his energies into the wrong direction in life. There was no question about where he was heading. Through Starguides and White River Acaddmy, pulling him out of the world is allowing him to get his feet under him to better equip and direct him in a better direction. We are excited about what god is doing in his life and the change we are seeing take place. Dr. Dan is an incredible therapist who has a system that actually works. My son will tell you, I am where I need to be. Thank you Dr. Dan.....

White River Academy does not deserve to be called a school at all. The Web site tells us parents that it is a therapeutic caring place for young boys to become men. $7000 a month is tuition a month. The boys are not allowed to speak without raising there hands, when they are new, they can only talk to the 2 buddies they are assigned to. The hand book states that that their hair will be assessed and may get a haircut, however they leave the part out that they will have their head shaved , and this will happen, every 4 weeks. My son witnessed another boy get slammed to the ground and restrained just because he didn't want to have his head shaved.
The video's that they e mail to u as parents are to view and become brainwashed. They tell us to ignore our children's cry to be rescued, and to ignore the fact that they feed these growing teenage boys, food that is filled with Greece, and fat that gives them all acne. Parents are a asured, that their teen age boy is being fed healthy, nutritious meals. Well I challenge you to go spend a Saturday at white River Academy. Ask to see the boys beds, and to see the kitchen. Have a meal from the kitchen.

The boys beds are roll aways that have less of a mattress then an inmate in prison. These boys are crying themselves to sleep every night praying that their parents come for them.
Theses boys are also hoping they don't have to go to the restroom in the middle of the night. Because they are not allowed to ask to use the restroom until after 1AM.
And the staff can and will say no if they fill like it. These growing boys are forced to eat every last slimy bit of food on their plates, 3 times a day. If they don't they are punished. This punishment is sitting in front of a room, that they call a class room, but is more of a group holding cell. The boy in trouble has to sit in a chair in front of the room facing a wall for at least 2 days. If he is lucky he gets a book.
On some days the staff makes the boys just sit in the class rooms, all day hours on end, not allowed to talk , not allowed to laugh , make facial expressions, or even pass notes to each other. They sit and some may have a book, others pencil and paper, but no talking. They raise their hand to talk, to use the restroom, and to walk more then 10 feet. They have black lines drawn on the floor in the hall ways about every 10 feet. The boys must stop at the lines, raise there hands and ask permission to walk bye.
They pay no attention to a child's individual needs, their was a child clearly having an alergic reaction to food he was alergic too, he raised his hand to let the staff know he was swelling up. The staff responded to the boy that he was fine. The boy raised his hand a second time, and this time the boy could not speak. At this time the staff finale took action.
The staff is not in uniform, they do not have name tags on, and not certified to even care, teach or give care to teenagers that need extra care, extra patience, and understanding. I fear fore these boys still in this facility. They are at risk for many behavioral health issues, including PTSD. These children are isolated, and silenced beyond any scope that can be recognized unless you are able see it with your own
eyes.
This facility is killing these young boys spirts and their souls. There are many other programs and bording facilities out their. Don't bring or have your child transfered to White RIVER Academy in Delta Utah. This is no school, and is not therapeutic, do your research, visit the facility. Their is no horses, barns, no river, just an old small building they try to call a scool. Look closely at the pictures of the boys online, notice the thin white t- shirts, notice how thin and frail the boys look.

White River Academy has some kind and dedicated staff however their academic program has serious problems. Our son has a high IQ and was always ahead at previous schools despite behavior issues. During his 14 months at WRA they only had him complete 2 high school credits dispite our constant expression of concern. We finally pulled him and at the new school, within 10 months he had approx 14 H/S credits completed. We heard other parents had expressed similar concerns on parent weekends. Our son also told us that the school told the boys not to talk about what went on there and that he had felt he was being encouraged toward the Mormon faith. He said there was only a few courses to choose from. Just be aware, thats all. At the time, they had a policy of keeping a kid from doing school work when he acted up. Long after our son stopped acting up, he was still not getting anything done and they were defensive about his school accomplishments. I did not feel they abused him physically or mentally and they may have helped him a little emotionally. I'm sure you can find a better shool out there with wasting thousands with no school credits.
Again I'll say they had some caring people, but I don't know who is running the school that their academics were so poor. My son has been gone a year now from WRA and is a success story. He's come so far at the new school and we welcome him back to our lives. Hang in their parents. It can happen. Do try to pick the right school. Start with some with actual accreditation and licensing even if you have to pay a bit more and many aren't more expensive.

This place is a corrupt scam where the management takes money from parents and does a sub standard job attempting to rehabilitate children. The facilities are bare, cramped, and staff is degrading. White River Academy is a sham and the people who work there should be ashamed.

White River is a great place to send your son. while every child is different, they are an accredited school, and students get a structured life along with a great education... There is no proselyting at Whit River Academy and the Boys are free to worship how they may and if they want. It has been our experience with WRA that they are very sensitive to the faiths of others and cater to the needs of such in as far as is acceptable. They are a great school and will treat you and your son with the utmost respect and care. If you are looking for a great place to help your son grow into a man and take some responsibility for his actions and his life then White River Academy is the School for you!

My son had an excellent time at the academy. Before he went, he wouldn't even study or go to class. The teachers sat down with him individually and taught him how to study. Now, he asks when he needs help and works hard. Not only did he get to complete a lot of classes, he wants to go to college now. My son? College? It's awesome! He never cared before!!!!



Well, yeah, with two teachers, not every subject is taught. But, it was easy for my son to fill in the rest when he got home. It's like that at many academy's, but White River has some pretty good teachers now. I heard that one has formal child development education (Master's?) and the other wrote patents and was a business executive or politician for like 10 years. My son loved the stock game! I think they've added a lot of classes since, besides second language classes. Come on, don't expect a boys home teacher to speak five languages. I'm impressed they're good enough to carry so many subjects so well. They did a great job!!!!!



My son said that the program works for any student who wants to learn. He worked hard, and a lot. Most of the afternoon was spent at P.E. of doing community service. He even got to do a fundraiser and service project.



He also said he never realized how hard it was to help people change until he went there. "It was like being a parent." The boys are responsible for helping others with their problems and they can't quit. I think he understands what it's like to be me now.



For parents out there wondering about this school, if you've ever wanted your son to understand what it's been like to get something through his head, send him to White River Academy, because he'll get a big healthy dose of what it's like.



Great school with a lot of people who really care about the students and their lives.