CEDU

CEDU Educational Services, Inc., known simply as CEDU (pronounced see-doo), was founded in 1967 by Mel Wasserman. The company owned and operated several therapeutic boarding schools, group homes,[1] Wilderness Programs,[2] and behavior modification programs in California and Idaho. The company's schools have faced numerous allegations of abuse.

CEDU Educational Services Inc.
Location
United States
Information
TypePrivate therapeutic boarding schools
Motto"See Yourself As You Are and Do Something About It"
Opened1967
Closed2005

Origins

CEDU origins[3] go back to Synanon,[4] a cult founded in Santa Monica, California in 1958 by Charles E. Dederich.[4][5] According to an account in Santa Monica's Evening Outlook of January 23, 1959 in an article by R. D. Fox, Synanon stands for Sins Anonymous.[6]

According to Maia Szalavitz, author of Help at Any Cost: How the Troubled-Teen Industry Cons Parents and Hurts Kids, "Synanon sold itself as a cure for hardcore heroin addicts who could help each other by ‘breaking’ new initiates with isolation, humiliation, hard labor, and sleep deprivation."[7]

The troubled teen industry today largely consists of Synanon and CEDU spin-offs.[8]

Program

The average time a teenager spent at a CEDU program before graduating was 2½ years. The programs were year-round. CEDU had its own therapeutic language, derived from Synanon. Three times a week for three to four hours teenagers would attend "raps," psychology group sessions led by untrained staff.[9] based on Synanon's "the game."[10] Students and staff were incentivized to "indict" students for minor rule infractions in the name of emotional growth. This is commonly referred to as attack therapy where screaming is appropriate and expected.

In addition to raps, in order to advance in the CEDU program, every three months a student would have to participate in a workshop known as a "propheet." The propheets were based on Synanon's "trip." They would last anywhere from 24 hours to several days at a time. The propheets were led by unlicensed staff. They employed sleep-deprivation, humiliation, exposure to large variations in temperature, guided imagery, loud and repetitive music, regression therapy, and forced emoting.

During intake, which occurred upon a teenager's arrival to a CEDU program, they were made to sign a contract consenting to follow CEDU's "agreements." The three most emphasized agreements were no sex, no drugs, and no violence. Violators would be sent to Ascent Wilderness Program located in Ruby Ridge, Idaho, which was CEDU's version of a six-week boot camp.

CEDU's Timeline

Original CEDU period (1967–1985)

The original CEDU program did not believe in use of medicine.

Expansion (1982–1990)

In 1982, a small group of students known as the "original seven" and staff, including founding headmaster Dan Earle,[11] left the Running Springs, California campus for Bonners Ferry, Idaho to open Rocky Mountain Academy (RMA). RMA's curriculum and philosophy were identical to the original school, CEDU Running Springs. In 1989, CEDU expanded tuition sources to allow payment from school districts, Insurance companies, and started an endowment fund to allow scholarships. On rare occasions staff and students were transferred between schools. The staff generally transferred campuses for promotions, while students were transferred because the staff felt a "fresh start" was the best (and usually last) option for the student. Rocky Mountain Academy was one of the largest employers in Boundary County, Idaho during the period, diversifying its timber and agriculture economy. In 1992, CEDU expanded with the opening of three programs: CEDU Middle School, a program for 9.5 - 13.5 years olds on the CEDU Running Springs, CA, campus; Ascent, a 41 day wilderness camp in Ruby Ridge, Idaho, where many children were sent prior to enrollment before a second CEDU program, and CEDU Education, which provided teen transport services to all CEDU programs, safe housing, as well as in home enrollment.

CEDU Education - Brown Schools (1998–2005)

CEDU Education was sold to Brown Schools in 1998 for $72,000,000, but the curriculum and philosophy remained the same.

Closure

Brown Schools operated 11 boarding schools and educational facilities in California, Idaho, Texas, Vermont, and Florida. Upon closure, several CEDU employees reported to Lake Arrowhead Mountain News that pending litigation against CEDU for abuse and violation of rights as well as citations against the schools contributed to the downfall.[12] In March 2005 Brown Schools declared bankruptcy. The same year, Universal Health Services bid $13.5 million for the Brown School properties in bankruptcy.[13]

Idaho Educational Services

Universal Health Services Inc.,[14] a public company focused on hospitals and behavioral health centers, subsequently reopened three of the former CEDU facilities: Boulder Creek Academy (located on the former Rocky Mountain Academy property), Northwest Academy, and Ascent Wilderness Program whose name they later changed to Caribou Ridge Intervention. These operate under the new name of Idaho Educational Services. Each program is overseen by individual directors.[15]

In the news

July 15, 1994 - A male client from Texas hanged himself with a belt from a pipe of an overhead sprinkler system in one of the dormitories of Lower Camelot at Rocky Mountain Academy in Bonners Ferry, Idaho.[16][17]

July 28, 1994 - The plot of CEDU employee and white supremacist to kidnap students attending Rocky Mountain Academy including the children of celebrities Barbara Walters and Clint Eastwood revealed.[18]

June 27, 1996 - John C. D'Abreo files a lawsuit [19] against CEDU in Monterey County claiming he was physically and emotionally abused at Ascent and Northwest Academy.

November 1996 - Former Rocky Mountain Academy staff and owner of Boundarylines Crisis Intervention Richard "Rowdy" Armstrong is accused of drugging, raping and sodomizing former Rocky Mountain Academy staff and Boundarylines Crisis Intervention co-worker Twila Stephenson.[20]

January 1997 - Five people injured in riot[21] at Northwest Academy in Ruby Ridge, Idaho.

March 31, 1998 - Marsha and Ronald Accomazzo file a lawsuit against CEDU. Their son was enrolled at Ascent and Rocky Mountain Academy. Their son was injured in the Northwest Academy riot.[22]

March 31, 1998 - Nancy Dark files charges against CEDU.[23] Her son was enrolled at Boulder Creek Academy, Ascent, and the Northwest Academy. He was injured in the Northwest Academy riot.[24]

April 1, 1998 - CEDU is sued for fraud, racketeering, and battery.[25]

April 5, 2000 - Dianne and Robert Reibstein file a lawsuit against CEDU for neglect and abuse.[26] Their son was at Ascent and Rocky Mountain Academy.[27]

2002 - CEDU Educational Services, Inc. pays court settlement to minor child on charges of abuse.

October 13, 2002 - An article titled "When Rich Kids Go Bad" is published by Forbes magazine. Leigh Horowitz along with several other anonymous CEDU clients are interviewed.[28]

January 14, 2004 - An article about Boulder Creek Academy titled "The Last Resort" is published by the Chicago Tribune. Several CEDU clients and parents are interviewed.[29]

June 25, 2018 - Running My Anger: The Legacy of the CEDU Cult,[30] an account of what it was like to undergo the therapeutic process in CEDU in Idaho and California is published on Medium.

May 26, 2020 - Adam Eget, an actor and comedian known for his work with Norm Macdonald, talked about his experiences with CEDU on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast.[31] Eget described CEDU as an abusive cult, and talks about multiple examples of child endangerment he saw as a client attending a CEDU School.

June 3, 2020 - The Lost Kids, a six episode podcast about the disappearance of Daniel Yuen from CEDU's Running Springs, California campus is released.[32] Hosted by Josh Bloch, Universal Content Productions (UCP).

September 14, 2020 - This Is Paris, a documentary that reveals the time Paris Hilton spent at CEDU School, Ascent Wilderness Program, Cascade School, and Provo Canyon School premieres on YouTube.[33] As a result of the documentary, Breaking Code Silence [34] got national attention,[35] and several CEDU clients submitted video testimonials about their own CEDU experience.

January 17, 2021 - The Los Angeles Times publishes an article where CEDU client Rachel Uchitel describes allegedly having to dig a grave with a spoon and then being forced to lay in it.[36]

January 18, 2022 - This Will Be Funny Later, a memoir by Roseanne Barr's daughter Jenny Pentland, is published. In it she describes the time she spent at Rocky Mountain Academy, Boulder Creek Academy, and Ascent along with several other troubled teen programs.[37]

See also

References
  1. Anonymous, Medium (March 3, 2022). "Running My Anger: The Legacy of the CEDU Cult". Medium. Retrieved April 17, 2022.
  2. "The ASCENT Therapeutic Wilderness Program". January 20, 1997. Archived from the original on January 20, 1997. Retrieved April 17, 2022.
  3. Bloch, Josh (June 2, 2020). "Lots of Tough and Almost No Love". The Lost Kids (Podcast). Universal Content Productions (UCP).
  4. "The History of Synanon and Charles Dederich". www.paulmorantz.com. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
  5. Gelder, Lawrence Van (March 4, 1997). "Charles Dederich, 83, Synanon Founder, Dies". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
  6. Fager, Wes (2000). "Where did it come from? Synanon Church and the medical basis for the $traights, or Hoopla in Lake Havasu".
  7. Szalavitz, Maia (February 16, 2006). Help at Any Cost: How the Troubled-Teen Industry Cons Parents and Hurts Kids. Riverhead Books.
  8. Rosen, Kenneth (January 12, 2021). Troubled: The Failed Promise of America’s Behavioral Treatment Programs. Little A.
  9. Bloch, Josh (June 1, 2020). "Tell it All". The Lost Kids (Podcast). Universal Content Productions (UCP).
  10. Bloch, Josh (June 1, 2020). "The Game". The Lost Kids (Podcast). Universal Content Productions (UCP).
  11. "IDSOS Search Results; ( R.M.A., INC. ... ROCKY MOUNTAIN ACADEMY, INC. )". Idaho Secretary of State. Idaho Secretary of State. March 14, 2016. Retrieved March 14, 2016.
  12. CEDU School Declares Bankruptcy Archived April 29, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, Lake Arrowhead Mountain News, March 31, 2005.
  13. "A Business Built On the Troubles Of Teenagers; Schools Are Popping Up to Deal With Drug and Behavior Issues". The New York Times. August 17, 2005.
  14. "Universal Health Services Inc". The New York Times.
  15. "ASCENT PREPS FOR GRAND-OPENING".
  16. Keating, Kevin (July 19, 1994). "Boy Hangs Himself in Dormitory". The Spokesman-Review.
  17. "Spokesman-Review excerpt". Archived from the original on September 16, 2008. Retrieved October 9, 2008.
  18. "1986 Kidnap Plot Revealed". The Register-Guard.
  19. Titone, Julie (July 11, 1996). "Teen Sues North Idaho Therapy Camps Family Says Boy Was Abused". The Spokesman-Review.
  20. Keating, Kevin. "Woman Sues Ex-Boss, Alleging Sexual Assault Lawsuit Claims Man Drugged, Raped and Sodomized Woman". The Spokesman-Review.
  21. Keating, Kevin. "Parents, Authorities Trying To Get To Bottom Of Riot No Charges Filed After Violent Outbreak At Academy For Troubled Teens". The Spokesman-Review.
  22. "Accomazzo v. CEDU Educational Services". FindLaw. December 28, 2000.
  23. "Lewis v. CEDU Educational Services". FindLaw. December 28, 2000.
  24. "Lewis v. CEDU Educational Services". Leagle. December 28, 2000.
  25. Keating, Kevin (April 1, 1998). "Suit Says Schools For Troubled Teens Set Stage For Abuse State Report Says Allegations By Former Students Are Valid". The Spokesman-Review.
  26. "Reibstein v. CEDU/Rocky Mountain Academy". Casetext. December 20, 2000.
  27. "Dianne Reibstein, Robert Reibstein, and David Phillips v. CEDU/Rocky Mountain Academy" (PDF). Eastern District of Pennsylvania, United States District Court. December 20, 2000.
  28. Brown, Erika (October 13, 2002). "When Rich Kids Go Bad". Forbes.
  29. Rubin, Bonnie Miller (January 14, 2004). "The Last Resort". Chicago Tribune.
  30. Safran, David (June 25, 2018). "Running My Anger: The Legacy of the CEDU Cult". Medium.
  31. Adam Eget Survived Three Years in an Abusive Cult. YouTube. Archived from the original on December 11, 2021.
  32. Bloch, Josh (June 3, 2020). "The Lost Kids". Universal Content Productions (UCP).
  33. Dean, Alexandra (September 14, 2020). "This Is Paris". The Intellectual Property Corporation (IPC).
  34. "Breaking Code Silence".
  35. "Breaking Code Silence Red Duck Tape Campaign".
  36. Kaufman, Amy (January 17, 2021). "Will Rachel Uchitel Ever be Able to Leave the Word 'Mistress' Behind Her?". Los Angeles Times.
  37. Pentland, Jenny (January 18, 2022). This Will Be Funny Later: A Memoir. HarperCollins Publishers.
  • Surviving Cedu, a 2008 documentary by Liam Scheff, featuring a closing segment with cult expert Paul Morantz.
  • The Discarded Ones: A Novel Based on a True Story, the definitive 2012 book about life at CEDU. The story is set in 1983 and told through the eyes of a new student.
  • Whiteout, a memoir written in 2018 by Lathrop Lybrook about her experience at Rocky Mountain Academy, Ascent, and North Idaho Behavioral Health from September 30, 1998, to December 13, 1999.
  • Running My Anger: The Legacy of the CEDU Cult, an anonymous account of what it was like to live through CEDU in Idaho and California. Medium Anonymous discusses the current documentaries on CEDU, Rocky Mountain Academy, and articles on trauma and how they relate to them as a survivor of CEDU.
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