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Legislature in 2017, "he
Montana Family Foundation kills it every time. They say people have a right to religious education. I say to them, 'I don't have a problem with that. What I have a problem with is religious education or group homes that don't have to comply with state laws like the rest of our schools.'''
137:. The school, formerly known as Spring Creek Community, was first opened in the 1970s by Nancy and Steve Cawdrey. In 1996, the school and the property were purchased by Cameron Pullan and Dan Peart and given the name Spring Creek Lodge Academy. For several years the school was associated with the Utah-based
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voiced opposition to the initiatives put forth by the
Montana government aimed at implementing regulations pertaining to adolescent programs. According to former state Rep. Ellie Hill Smith, the lobbying of these groups, along with The Montana Family Foundation, has been largely successful in keeping
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Following the suicide of a 16 year old girl at Spring Creek Lodge
Academy in 2004, her mother filed a lawsuit asserting that Spring Creek Lodge Academy's ownership and WWASP was responsible for her daughter's death. Before her suicide, the girl had been punished by being forced to carry a bucket of
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published a series of articles about the troubled teen industry, specifically addressing the lack of oversight at Spring Creek, abuses committed by staff, and the suicide of a 16 year old girl while in the program. Before her suicide, the girl had been punished by being forced to carry a bucket of
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Accusations against Spring Creek, as well as similar "troubled teen" programs in western
Montana, have been rampant, and have led state legislators to propose various forms of action. According to Rep. Ellie Hill Smith, who attempted to bring a bill regulating these programs before the Montana
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Spring Creek Lodge
Academy has been repeatedly criticized by Montana-based and national news organizations for its lack of governmental oversight, child abuse and neglect, and conditions which the New York Times has called "physically and psychologically brutal." Spring Creek staff used highly
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In May, a lawsuit against a World Wide-related company was resolved for $ 3 million without the company admitting liability — nine years after a 16-year-old girl hanged herself in a bathroom stall at a facility in
Montana called Spring Creek Lodge Academy, which has since
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article, which came out while the program was still operating, "the program and its staff have been accused of sexual abuse, physical violence and psychological duress." Survivors of the program have gone on to write about the horrors of the experience.
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stated "roubled programs like Spring Creek Lodge, which kept children in locked sheds as a form of punishment, have seen owners move from one program to the next in
Sanders County." According to a 2003
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documentary titled "Who's
Watching the Kids?" which was highly critical of the program's treatment of the children under its watch, and showed interviews from a number of traumatized former attendees.
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At its peak enrollment, Spring Creek Lodge
Academy housed over 500 students and employed about 200 individuals in various positions, making it the largest employer in
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Its curriculum included a points and level system that rewarded compliance and punished noncompliance. Some non-compliant children were kept in solitary confinement.
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Here at the company's largest affiliate, Spring Creek Lodge, the program and its staff have been accused of sexual abuse, physical violence and psychological duress.
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In 2010, the
Montana-based Academy for National Native Leadership purchased the former Spring Creek facility and began to offer college classes at the school.
141:. The school was opened as a place to address behavioral issues of young people from across the United States as well as motivate students for success.
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controversial means of subduing children, including the use of solitary confinement in a small building called "The Hobbit." A 2021 article in
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rocks, according to depositions by the school’s owners and staff. In the end, Spring Creek Lodge Academy settled the lawsuit for $ 3 Million.
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at that time. Spring Creek Lodge Academy was also the largest of WWASP affiliated programs.
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634:"College Set to Open in TFalls: Leadership Academy to Occupy Spring Creek Campus"
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Help At Any Cost: How the Troubled Teen Industry Costs Parents and Hurts Kids
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On September 14, 2006, Spring Creek Lodge academy was featured in a
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rocks, according to depositions by the school’s owners and staff.
537:"Students Recall Special Schools Run Like Jails (Published 2013)"
453:"Program to Help Youths Has Troubles of Its Own (Published 2003)"
404:"Program to Help Youths Has Troubles of Its Own (Published 2003)"
351:"Program to Help Youths Has Troubles of Its Own (Published 2003)"
429:"Embattled therapeutic boarding school shutters in northwest MT"
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576:"'Fox guards henhouse' in Montana programs for troubled teens"
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World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools
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these programs unregulated by Montana's state agencies.
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World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools
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In the year 2007, Spring Creek Lodge Academy and the
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601:"Program to Help Youths Has Troubles of Its Own"
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700:"Article clipped from Missoula Independent"
638:Clark Fork Valley Press/Mineral Independent
237:Clark Fork Valley Press/Mineral Independent
305:. New York, NY: Riverhead Press. pp.
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251:"News and Views: Making a Difference"
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632:Switalski, Danielle (May 19, 2010).
330:Independent Staff (June 29, 2006).
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751:Schools in Sanders County, Montana
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123:Northwest Accreditation Commission
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231:Doran, Jamie (January 14, 2009).
133:was a boarding school located in
16:School in Thompson Falls, Montana
378:"Troubled kids, troubled system"
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233:"Spring Creek Closes Its Doors"
652:"Newman v. Scottsdale Ins. Co"
574:, LUCY TOMPKINS (2019-01-21).
427:Larson, Seaborn (2021-09-23).
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482:Magill, Jenny (2021-10-17).
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731:Boarding schools in Montana
275:"Who is Watching the Kids?"
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736:Defunct schools in Montana
676:"Who's Watching the Kids?"
599:Weiner, Tim (2003-09-06).
402:Weiner, Tim (2003-09-06).
349:Weiner, Tim (2003-09-06).
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131:Spring Creek Lodge Academy
22:Spring Creek Lodge Academy
706:. 2007-02-15. pp. A8
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299:Szalavitz, Maia (2006).
746:Thompson Falls, Montana
135:Thompson Falls, Montana
756:Troubled teen programs
332:"Leaving WWASPS' Nest"
488:BREAKING CODE SILENCE
704:Missoula Independent
508:"Spring Creek Lodge"
336:Missoula Independent
37:75 Spring Creek Road
74:47.771°N 115.4577°W
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605:The New York Times
542:The New York Times
458:The New York Times
408:The New York Times
355:The New York Times
307:172, 247, 257, 314
273:Rau, Anna (2006).
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284:29 November
279:Montana PBS
199:Montana PBS
95:Established
90:Information
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65:115°27′28″W
52:Coordinates
725:Categories
710:2023-08-11
685:2023-07-26
661:2023-08-10
656:Justia Law
618:2023-03-25
585:2023-08-13
549:2023-08-13
517:2023-08-13
493:2023-08-13
465:2023-08-13
438:2023-08-13
413:2023-08-13
388:2023-08-10
360:2023-08-10
213:References
181:Curriculum
62:47°46′16″N
613:0362-4331
158:In 2019
555:closed.
189:History
45:Montana
27:Address
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103:Closed
609:ISSN
311:ISBN
286:2011
106:2009
98:1997
111:Age
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