Hidden Lake Academy

Hidden Lake Academy (HLA) is a therapeutic boarding school in Dahlonega, Georgia. HLA is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS).

History

According to the school's website, Hidden Lake Academy was founded in 1994 by Dr. Len Buccellato to fill the need for a specialty school to fill the gap between services of residential treatment centers and traditional boarding schools. Hidden Lake Academy is a member of the NATSAP.^[1]

Program

The teenagers, who are enrolled by their parents, arrive at all times during the school year and are expected to stay for 15 to 18 months. They typically have struggled with homework, depression, anger management, drug misuse/abuse, eating disorders. Almost all of the students are automatically diagnosed with Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) upon arrival. Some of the teenagers are from outside the United States. The population of teenagers in the past has often ranged from about 100 to 200 students, but stood at about 57 as of August 2007.^[2] As of May 2006, the peer group retention rate stood, according to then-Senior Admissions Coordinator Clark Poole, at 40%^[3]. In 2007 it was reported that the school had suffered a large drop in enrollment and, according to the school's defense lawyer Letitia McDonald "is teetering for lack of a better word."^[4] The school boasts a 100% college acceptance rate for those who apply. The staff insist that most of the students attend small colleges or boarding schools in order to maintain supervision of the troubled teen, although a few attend larger universities or go back to ordinary high schools. All communications between Students and parents are monitored. Students are supervised for their weekly phone calls. Weekly letters to parents are often a requirement, and students who refuse to write letters home are punished. The letters are all screened by counselors and if there is anything negative mentioned about the school the letters are returned to the students to be re-written with positive comments. Books are also screened, students are not allowed to possess any literature which contains sex or drug references, anything from the "beat" generation, and Any literature on alternative religion outside the top five (Christianity, buddhism, judaism, hindusim, and Islam). Some modern Philosophic books are also often deemed "dangerous" if they deviate from the school's norm of thought, and are often banned. Magazines, newspapers, and journals are also screened, and any inappropriate articles are cut out.

Peer groups

Peer groups, the school's method of group therapy, start with about 10 students and 1 counselor. Like other institutions that modify behaviors, HLA students pass through different levels. Each peer group progresses through different steps of the program together, regardless of individual progress, although students who lag behind are often dropped to a lower peer group, and therefore spend more time at the program. These steps are known as Elements: Earth, Water, Fire, Wind, and Galaxy. In the past, the program has ranged from 18-28 months; their website now states that their programs now run 15-18 months. Often counselors convince parents near the end of the program that their kids are "not done yet", and must stay more time. This is often based on arbitrary reasons as it has been reported^{[attribution needed]} that counselors receive bonuses for keeping kids in the program. These "postgraduates" used to have their own level - Universe - but are now simply dropped into newer peergroups.

Criticism

2006 Petition for Lawsuit

On September 11, 2006 three plaintiffs filed a petition for a federal class action lawsuit (Civil action No. 2:06-CV-0146-WCO) against HLA and Len Buccellato on behalf of parents of students who attended the school since January 1, 2000.^[5] The plaintiffs alleged that Hidden Lake Academy "employed a number of uncertified teachers and unqualified counseling staff; did not employ at times any licensed learning disability specialist or a registered or properly licensed nurse; allowed unlicensed staff such as secretaries to dispense to students prescription medication; enrolled a number court-ordered, violent and severely disturbed children; and overbilled families for a number of items and incidental charges, among other things." Hidden Lake Academy responded by saying that it was the result of parents who, after withdrawing their children, were unhappy with not being able to get a refund for the school's tuition.^[6] Len Buccellato responded with a letter to parents and consultants stating that "the feelings of the staff at the meetings we have had have ranged from pain as deep as mine to absolute rage that anyone could say those things in light of the countless numbers of students and families we have worked with whose lives have been put back on a positive and productive track...we have been advised by counsel not to comment on the specific allegations at this point and to allow our attorneys respond to the allegations in due course." A front page article about the lawsuit appeared in the local newspaper, the Dahlonega Nugget, on September 21, 2006.^[6] Various letters to the editor were later published in response to his article. Diane Stephenson, a local laywoman highly involved in the Unitarian Universalist Church, wrote of Hidden Lake Academy's various contributions to the local community.^[7] Reverend Barry Bailey, who often visits the school to teach students about Native American spirituality, wrote a letter about how "[the article]...conveniently forgot that Hidden Lake is a last chance boarding academy that offers objectively-defined teenagers an alternative to prison. Such a school is inherent with risks and the possibility of violence and retaliation."^[8] Headmaster Charles Cates also responded to the article, mentioning that Hidden Lake Academy is "considered the premier institute in this area and has a high success rate...[and the lawsuit] apparently relies on erroneous information provided by disgruntled ex-employees."^[9] Clarke Poole also sent a letter to the editor.^[10] Poole was once the Senior Admissions Coordinator at HLA. Though he is not a psychotherapist, he became concerned about the admission of students whom he felt to be dangerous and voiced his concerns to his colleagues. He felt that his "concerns were dismissed and I was routinely admonished for raising them. In February 2006, when I was denied a meeting with school management to address issues of grave concern related to the safety of students, it was ethically incumbent upon me to resign."^[10] In his letter to the Nugget, besides outlining his record of involvement with the school, he also attempted to dispel rumors that he was the Admissions Director (as opposed to the Coordinator) and that he was involved with the lawsuit. Hidden Lake Academy replied to the lawsuit, requesting that it be dismissed by the court and filed a counterclaim claiming that the plaintiffs should be obligated to reimburse the school for losses incurred by its involvement in the lawsuit.^[11] The hearing to determine if the case qualifies as a class action lawsuit was held on January 31, 2007. On August 15, 2007, Federal Judge William O'Kelley ruled against the plaintiffs by denying the petition for class action (Civil Action No. 2:06-CV-0146-WCO).

References