Abundant Life Academy

We trusted the school based on conversations with counselors. There was a significant disconnect in our conversations and the realities of the school.
There are key questions to ask when dealing with a «Therapeutic School»: How many full time licensed therapists do you have on staff; How much time do they spend with the students; What are the milestones and when should they occur; What is the schools association with local MD’s; Can the school get appointments with the local MD’s; who owns the school; What other schools, programs, services, websites, publishing companies are owned either directly or indirectly; What is staff turnover, what are the staff credentials; What is the State definition of «Therapeutic School»; what other schools or programs have the owner (s) or those running the school are or were associated with; why did the corporate name change; have there been complaints or legal actions against the school or the key personnel. How many students leave the program early over the last 12 months; why did they leave. Describe the payment process.
How do you talk to a counselor about the program — is it through an 800 Number or a local number, are the representatives agents or employees of the school, are the counselors local to the school or spread out across the country.
All of these are critical topics and questions that any caring parent should understand. Many comments, review sites, and websites are owned by a small group of individuals who run multiple schools and programs.

We put our son in this school for 5 months. We were sold on the website, testimonies, and smooth talk. Unfortunately, the staff turn over was ridiculous. The school didn’t work the «program» as they describe then again the staff seemed to be in constant flux. We started out with a lot of hope and ended up being really let down. Our perception is the director sits in his office and let’s the minimum wage staff deal with the kids. The school promotes that they build character, integrity, responsibility with the kids but they don’t have either integrity or character.
This was a waste of money, time and mental and emotional energy. Don’t be fooled by the smooth talk.
Jim