Runnymede?

[ArmchairTurnip]

Just wondering if anyone in this community knows anything about this boarding school in Missouri.  I have a cousin who is considering it for his kid.  The website looks idyllic, but there are Quiverish tinges here and there: something in the Resources about "encouraging the young men to keep a cheerful countenance", pictures of fundie-looking girls in prairie dresses from church functions on their attached blog, a lot of men on the advisory board whose wives homeschool their ten children.  Etc. etc. etc.  I did a Google search, but apart from their testimonials page it's crickets.  

Here's the broken link:  www.runny medeschool.com

 

[IronicallyMaeve]

Their curriculum page is all of two paragraphs...

 

Edit: The MONTHLY tuition is 3000! THREE THOUSAND! 

[Catey]

Sounds more like a working farm with about 8 students than an actual school

 

Quote

The days begin early at Runnymede School. Early morning chores often involve feeding farm animals, milking the cow, or preparing the breakfast. Individual Bible study time follows this and then school begins at 8:00. Every day the boys discuss a Proverb before beginning their schoolwork. School is finished by 3:00. After school, the boys participate in Physical Fitness. This includes running, general fitness exercises, push-ups, pull-ups, etc. The boys are tested in their fitness skills periodically. After PE, the boys work around the farm, work on special projects they are involved in, or particular work hours they need to accomplish. Evenings after dinner are supervised free time. The boys play sports, take a quick hike, read, swim, have individual counseling sessions, write letters, or have their phone calls with family.

Their Facebook sounds even worse, ice cream rewards and levels...

https://www.facebook.com/RunnymedeSchoolForBoys/timeline

[WhiteRun]

If they weren't called Runnymede school I would of assumed they were a summer camp. So much of the "education" revolves around the bible. 
When asked if they accept boys on behavioural medication: 

Quote

We do accept boys who are currently on medications prescribed to correct behavior problems. However, we do request that we be allowed-with your permission-to wean him off medications as soon as we deem possible.

What the actual fuck? I would feel so uncomfortable sending any boy here if they expect permission to pull him off his meds. Plus I'd like to know what measures they take to deem medication no longer necessary. 

[ladyamylynn]

Honestly this place looks like a real shit show. I get the creepiest vibe off every single staff member. Has anybody else here read Jesus Land by Julia Scheeres? That's the impression I'm getting. 

[RosyDaisy]

This sounds like a Jesus bootcamp for "troubled" boys. Disgusting.

[Imagine20]

There are no sports or clubs, just work and discipline. I wonder if they get referrals from state agencies such as hard to place young men with "behavior" issues.  The weeping off medication mentioned up thread is scary. 

"Our goal is to provide the structure and discipline that will help your son “put off” bad habits and behaviors, while they “put on” new productive, Godly behaviors... "

[Pianokeeper]

Soooo... it's essentially a school for fundies or fundie-lite parents who, for whatever reason, are not so into homeschooling their darling blessings any more -- yet have the money to throw at other people to handle it "correctly" and Biblically...?  Charming!

[hoipolloi]

This is absolutely NOT a school but another one of those residential facilities for "troubled" kids and/or for fundie parents who can't "control" their sons. The FAQs make that very clear as does the section on "Does My Boy Need Help?".

ETA: @ArmchairTurnip I sure wouldn't send any kid of mine to this place. It looks bogus as hell and thought of these fundie assholes "weaning" a kid of his meds is downright scary.

And the WTF is this?

Quote

While your struggling son is at Runnymede School, our staff spends time with counseling you on pertinent issues regarding your parenting so that you can gain the skills necessary to make your son’s return home successful. We offer book recommendations as well as weekly phone calls to advise and counsel.

 

 

 

[meda]

Definately fundy and quiverfull. Look at the staff page, the "teacher" is the paster here:

http://www.christthekingkirk.com

they are a CREC church, openly QF.

[picklepizzas]

Sounds like the place josh was supposedly sent to for "help" 

[ArmchairTurnip]

See, these are my thoughts exactly.  And the guy who runs the place gives me the screaming meemies just from his picture.  He's got that ex-military look about him - friendly as long as you don't look at the eyes.

Sadly, I have absolutely no influence over what happens to my cousin's kid.

[ViolaSebastian]

To add, the whole emphasis on teaching the kids "masculine" character traits suggested to me that it may be in the business of gay conversion therapy. 

[Mercer]

As a person who works in residential mental healthcare for teens, this place raises a ton of red flags for me. I don't think I could possibly list all the things I see wrong, but some highlights...

Their admission criteria are very unfocused. They are willing to accept children with anything from major mental health disorders or developmental concerns to the parents just not thinking the child is Christian enough or standard teenage disobedience. It is difficult for me to imagine how one program could adequately serve all those children.

There is no mention of the children or parents receiving counseling from a licensed therapist, only that they will be counseled by staff. Glancing over the staff list, I don't see anyone with a masters level education in mental health counseling or anyone with an MSW. 

Limiting family contact is considered a rights violation in my state. The child must be free to call their parents as often as they want/need to. It may not be a violation in Missouri, I have no idea of their regs, but basically: it's a problem. Once a week phone conversations and having to earn visits does not seem to me to be adequate to reinforce the family bond and to work on the transition home.

No steps are listed between filling out the online application form and packing the child up. There should be some sort of transition/acclimation process to help the child adjust to placement.

The intention to pull kids from their medications is very scary to me. Kids will often come into the program where I work on excessive medications which can be reduced to improve their quality of life, but the goal is always to get the right balance of medications to maximize benefit to the child, not necessarily to be medication-free. For some kids, medication is always going to be necessary, and a blanket intention to withdraw those medications from every child is irresponsible. This is particularly the case since the program accepts clients with issues like bipolar disorder and ADD/ADHD, and all the farm work in the world isn't going to fix a child's brain chemistry without appropriate meds.

I would also question who makes the decision to remove the child from meds. With our program, the decision to discontinue a med is ultimately always made by an MD. Other staff will give our input from observing the child's behavior and monitoring side effects, but it is the doctor who always has the final say on what meds the child needs to take. The way that the Runnymede program is described, it sounds like staff just decide that in-house, and I don't see a licensed psychiatrist or medical doctor on their staff list. 

All of the books and publications listed on their Resources page are religious texts. I would expect the reading list for a religious program to include some of that that, but the lack of any of the standard resources for mental health or anything evidence-based about behavior is troubling to me.

Their answer to whether the child will be safe is pretty much "Oh, of course!" but without any of the specifics necessary to determine that. For example, how exactly is their supervision structured? Do they use physical restraints or seclusion under any circumstances? How are issues between residents addressed? What type of consequences are given for negative behavior? Etc. An "attitude of caring" really isn't enough here. 

This one is a little more subjective, but at least in my state using a level system is no longer considered best practice. An individually tailored program of behavioral goals is strongly preferred. Their structure reads as very outdated to me.

And so on and so on. Programs like this are scary to me, because they have the potential to do more harm than good.

[sawasdee]

Can anyone just set up this type of programme, without any licensing or oversight from the state? It seems to me that it would be extremely dangerous to have unqualified people responsible for the care of children with psychiatric needs, without any qualified supervision. It opens the door to all kinds of abuse, and would almost qualify as reckless action on the part of such bodies as those that oversee education, mental health, and the welfare of children. There appear to be so many ways for children to be misused and/or abused,because of a fear of protective legislation, or any kind of government intervention.

I've not phrased what I am trying to say very well - it's late at night and I should be in bed - but I hope my meaning is understandable!

[Black Aliss]

13 hours ago, IronicallyMaeve said:

Their curriculum page is all of two paragraphs...

 

Edit: The MONTHLY tuition is 3000! THREE THOUSAND! 

In many cases paid for out of the family's local school district budget. All a half-ways decent attorney needs to do is show that the district is not capable of handling a child's educational needs and the kid can get a free-ride to a private boarding school that purports to do just that.

[Mercer]

3 minutes ago, sawasdee said:

Can anyone just set up this type of programme, without any licensing or oversight from the state? It seems to me that it would be extremely dangerous to have unqualified people responsible for the care of children with psychiatric needs, without any qualified supervision. It opens the door to all kinds of abuse, and would almost qualify as reckless action on the part of such bodies as those that oversee education, mental health, and the welfare of children. There appear to be so many ways for children to be misused and/or abused,because of a fear of protective legislation, or any kind of government intervention.

I've not phrased what I am trying to say very well - it's late at night and I should be in bed - but I hope my meaning is understandable!

I understand your question, Sawasdee. The answer is in theory no they can't, but in practice a lot of these shady programs get around the rules by exploiting loopholes in the licensing process, by claiming to be "schools" when they are functioning as mental health/behavioral group homes, by seeking out religious exemptions, or by pushing parents to make the desired decision so they can claim to the state it wasn't staff. (I suspect the latter is how they are working the medication thing; a parent has the right to withdraw meds, so they're pressuring the parents to consent to what the staff want.) It also depends a lot on what state you're in. Highly regulated states like my own will see less of that than states with looser accreditation guidelines or less careful oversight.

[Black Aliss]

For an idea of just how wrong something like this can go, http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/01/21/463846093/in-final-report-experts-identify-remains-at-notorious-reform-school

[sawasdee]

Thanks, @Mercer and @Black Aliss - the fear of government runs deep in some, even to the detriment of their own children.

And the horrors of that boys' home - I have no words.

[GenerationCedarchip]

I think I'd feel uneasy sending a child to a therapeutic program that lists so many Doug Wilson books as resources.

[hoipolloi]

@Mercer. I also looked for any evidence of accreditation or participation in some accredited counseling program but there's nothing there.

Although they display the logo of the American Association of Christian Schools Runnymede is NOT among the accredited ones.

[IronicallyMaeve]

I messaged them on FB about accreditation and they said: "We are members of American Association of Christian Schools, Missouri Association of Christian Schools" 

[refugee]

13 hours ago, RosyDaisy said:

This sounds like a Jesus bootcamp for "troubled" boys. Disgusting.

Exactly my thoughts.

A long time ago boys were sent to military school to get straightened out. Now the "Jesus bootcamp" seems to be in vogue. My dad believed in lots of hard work for raging teen boy hormones, so he'd have my brothers chop lots and lots of wood for our winter woodpile, and he had them run races around the outside of the house, and paint the whole house and garage every summer. He also put them in sports to work off some of the energy.

A distant relative had a dairy farm, and they took in troubled boys and worked them hard. I don't think they bathed them in the bible, though; they never seemed overtly religious to me. I remember some of the stories they could tell, though... I don't remember if they had any success stories, or if they just kept the boys out of the overcrowded juvenile system for a time. 

Do some of these programs actually work? Or are they as awful as my instincts tell me?

[Mercer]

In my experience, kids will tend to get into more trouble if they're bored, so keeping them busy will generally result in more positive behavior than just leaving them at loose ends. (Though they should be kept busy with activities related to their interests as well as age-appropriate chores and/or a job, not used as constant unpaid labor.) Kids who have been lacking in positive adult attention will generally benefit from having a stable role model, even if that role model isn't providing anything specifically geared toward mental health. 

That said, I don't personally believe that a child with serious mental health problems will show true long-term improvement without intervention from a mental health professional using evidence-based practices. Negative behavior may diminish for a time, but if the underlying issues aren't addressed, the problems will tend to cycle back around or manifest in different but still damaging ways.

I would never, ever, ever recommend sending a child to one of these programs with no mental health accreditation, untrained staff, and little accountability to the state. Even if the people are well intentioned, to me it is not worth the risk. These programs can do way more harm than good if the staff don't know what they're doing.

[Imagine20]

For some reason this school reminds me of this story:

http://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/militant-says-foster-children-were-pulled-from-his-home-lavoy-finicum-burns-oregon/