Hyde School Survivors

Hyde likes to change its narrative about its intentions and student body as an institution depending on who its recruiters are talking to.  If Hyde School is "not for troubled teens" like the owners and surrogates of Hyde like to sometimes claim, why have they had thousands of "troubled" teens attend their institution for 55 years? And why are they still to this day on sites like Troubled Teen Directory, Family Sanity, Our Troubled Teen, and numerous education consultant websites, right next to residential treatment centers (RTC's), wilderness programs, therapeutic boarding schools, etc.? As stated below on an #educationconsultant website: " Hyde Schools... do not offer any integrated clinical services, since they view the problems of youth as ones of character, rather than as psychological or psychiatric. " Hyde has always actively recruited "troubled" kids with a wide range of diagnoses and issues, while purposely never offering any evidenc

TW: Rape, victim blaming  Penelope's story: I was a senior at Hyde during 2020. One night I snuck into the boys' dorm to hang out with my two friends. I was drunk already and wanted something to do other than sit in my room. I walked across campus without being seen and got to Emero Dorm. When I got there, one of the guys started coming on to me, but I didn't give much thought to it. I started blacking out from the alcohol, so we went into one of the guy's rooms so that I could drink some water, eat something, and sit down. I don't remember much, but the guys decided to take turns having sex with me. After both of them were done, I lay alone in the bed in a drunken stupor. A third guy from the dorm came into the room and tried to talk me into having sex with him as well. I said "no" repeatedly and screamed. I slept there that night and woke up to a lot of pain and bruising on and around my vagina. My throat hurt because I had also been choked.  A few days

Reposted from an amazing blogger Tuesday, April 23, 2013 The Gym - The Most Depressing Place in America ...When I was about fifteen, I stopped going and found myself gaining weight at an alarming rate. I'd been taking ADHD medications since I was eight and was often told that I was in danger of serious weight gain. My mother had heard that a friend of hers got a trainer for her overweight son at the gym of the Pikesville Hilton who helped him lose quite a bit of weight. I went to the gym, and that's where I met Kathleen. Kathleen was twenty-one, a petite blonde shikse from Glen Burnie, whom for reasons I could not fathom worked at the Pikesville Hilton. She constantly wreaked of cigarette smoke and had a giant, multicolored tattoo on the small on her back. She was constantly telling me how much she couldn't stand the other trainers. Half-hour sessions turned into two hours as she regaled me with stories of her ex-boyfriends and how much her girl-friends slept around. I was

Reader response/Letters to the Editor, Maine Times 1992 Joe Gauld still loose? I was interested to read Diane L Potter’s letter . I hadn’t seen the article she was referring to and was very surprised to find that Joe Gauld is not in an institution. As the father of a student at Hyde School in the mid-80s, I have an insider’s perspective. Ms. Potter’s letter covers some very valid points but she doesn’t know the half of it!  When my wife first checked out Hyde school Timothy Wilson was in charge but when we brought our daughter there to start school Mr. Wilson was gone and Joe Gauld was in full charge. What a difference! Joe claims the school is not for kids with behavior problems, yet most of the students I’ve seen were there in a desperation situation. The next step for most of them was either running away from home or reform school or jail. That is the only reason the parents and students put up with what they did. One of Joe’s fun little games is what he calls a “Family Learning Cen

Our family has now been affiliated with Hyde for several years.  It has taken us some time to figure out Hyde's true colors.  We started Hyde in earnest.  We were not in a true state of crisis, although we had some concerns about our child's path.  Our child enrolled in Summer Challenge which, overall, seemed to be a rather benign experience (with the exception of a couple of group seminars where, clearly, the group facilitators were in over their heads when a couple of parents disclosed some incredibly powerful, sensitive, and provocative information in front of their children and the rest of us -- it was painful to watch and hear the staff's inept handling of the situations). Our child then started Hyde in September of that year.  Initially we bought into the program and attended all meetings (regional, FLCs) faithfully.  We gave it our best shot as we embraced Hyde's core message about character, attitude, and values.  Slowly, we began to realize how toxic Hyde is, h

An anonymous submission by a survivor of Hyde: I attended the Hyde Woodstock Campus for two years and graduated. I came to Hyde because my therapist recommended it due to another client who attended Hyde School. Before I went, I was in a residential facility for a year due to suicide attempt, self-harm, and alcohol and drug abuse. I was a victim of sexual abuse and physical abuse by a family member. During summer challenge, we were doing an activity and I shared this abuse. My discovery group turned on me and told me all I did was pity myself. I was told by two staff members that I took myself too seriously, I was too sensitive, and I live in a perpetual state of self-pity. I will never forget those words or forgive those who uttered them. Although now I believe in not dwelling in trauma, at that age I was not able to understand why anyone would say this to me. I was humiliated. I was belittled. After summer challenge, I started my junior year. I hitched a ride with another family and

"Slap May Be Just What Child Needs" by Hyde School founder and then-headmaster Joe Gauld. Originally published in Maine Sunday Telegram's column "Courage to Grow", July 8th, 1973, which later was published into a book. ______________________________________________________________ Should you ever slap a kid? How about a man teacher slapping a girl student? I think the place of such "physical" education in American childrearing is badly misunderstood. Most people who hit kids do it for the wrong reasons - like out of their own frustrations. Most people who don't hit kids, don't do it for the wrong reasons - like out of mistaken compassion. "Spanking", at best, has a mixed acceptance in our society, but slapping a kid is definitely out. As one educator recently said to me: "If I had to hit a kid to get the message across, I would consider myself a failure." Yet, with this seemingly "Christian" attitude in raising kid