From an unhappy former Hyde parent

I don't know where to begin. So happy our son is out of that place!! The arrogance, verbal abuse, poor supervision, and the most dysfunctional cast of characters that they call a staff. If your child has a mental health issue, substance abuse issue, learning disability, or just low self esteem, they will not improve here. The campus is rife with drugs - prescription and otherwise and some students are prone to violent outbursts. They idea of discipline is forced labor and humiliation through meetings with faculty where they verbally abuse, embarrass, and degrade students. The FLC meetings are a joke, not to mention they expect you to go to parent group meetings in your area. They aren't concerned with the fact that you have other children, a job, or other important commitments. My parent group leader divulged very personal graphic issues of her strained marriage in our first meeting!! Its a cult atmosphere and the staff does not take criticism well at all. This idea of accountability does not apply to them. These children are suffering at the hands of grossly under-qualified "teachers". Most are Hyde grads themselves who have no real world experience. They go to college and come right back home. Students' issues go untreated because they are told they are just lazy and need to work hard to overcome them. There is no qualified psychiatric care anywhere on campus. At FLC' meetings, arrogant unfeeling facilitators humiliate you and tell you that you are not sharing enough. Not having much to share I made the mistake of asking if I should make something up to satisfy them. FLC's are not younger sibling friendly. The things that some poor families have gone through are not for your 12 year old's ears. They sell you a wonderful happy "we can fix your child" story when you're at your lowest point. So desperate you'll sign that contract and next thing you know you are out $45k for nothing!! No refunds my friends. Once you've signed on the dotted line, that's it whether your child is there 9 days or 9 months. Once you've signed the caring supportive staff that just finished selling you a load, will then proceed to verbally abuse you as well and tell you that you've done a poor job of raising your child. Then there are the scandals on campus that they are quite adept at sweeping under the carpet. A male teacher using pot and allegedly having inappropriate contact with female students, a teacher's loaning out a summer home where an under age drinking party occurred, and a student selling his dad's oxycodone!! Yes, the very few painful months we were involved in that place felt like a lifetime, what a hellish period in our lives!! I could go on forever with more stories but I'm sure you get my point that its not a safe, nurturing place for your troubled teen to sort out their issues!!

(Fornits)