Completing the program at the Academy was the proudest moment of my life so far. I struggled and it was hard but I had to trust in the things they were teaching me, and for the first time in my life I felt like I wasnt carrying the weight of the things I couldnt navigate on my own.

If it weren’t for this program our child would be lost somewhere in this world and our family would be broken.This program saved the life of our child and strengthened our family. Yes these programs are expensive and I feel grateful to have had the opportunity to afford this type of program for our child. The program takes commitment from the parents and from the child inside the program to have success. A lot of people criticize these programs. However if you can commit as a family to your child graduating from this program they will leave with the tools that they need to excel in their lives. That was our experience. Not many kids can graduate from these programs due to cost or family breakdown and doubt. It is a very difficult commitment for everyone and from my experience those that criticize this program are often the ones that never make it to the end. No program is perfect but the staff at the Academy and sisters is excellent. They are loving and care about the success of their students. The food is healthy, I ate there many times! The facility is Nestled in nature and gives kids an opportunity to find themselves. The therapeutic staff are excellent and well trained. The programs relationship with BHS is a great opportunity to practice recovery while also attending public high school and is unique for these programs and the Academy at sisters does it well. No program is perfect but the Academy at Sisters works hard for hard working children and families. I recommend this program for families with struggling girls.

I’ve spent the last year debating on whether or not to post this review, but something that the Academy at Sisters takes such pride in is accountability and today I feel like holding them accountable for the things they dont tell the public. I’m just hoping to provide parents questioning whether or not this program would be helpful for their child with a truthful, transparent perspective. Remember to never just read the good reviews!The first thing I can say is that this place is extremely overpriced. The Academy rakes in ten thousand dollars from each student PER MONTH, but we have absolutely no idea where the money is going. It most certainly isn’t going towards the Costco freezer food we had for dinner almost every night, even though the Academy claims were fed by a nutritionist. I’m also sure that the staff are not paid nearly enough for what they have to deal with since the resident monitors come and go fairly quickly.There was about a three month period where a peer and I would find hair in our food during every single meal. We would see the staff making our food not wearing hair nets or even hair ties, which is funny because students are required to wear their hair up during meals. Even though this peer and I brought the issue to the administration multiple times, it was still never addressed in a professional manner.Stealing is a HUGE issue here. The Academy claims they have a no stealing policy, but they do absolutely nothing about it when it actually happens. On my second day at the Academy, a pair of my leggings went missing along with half of my underwear. Within that week they were found in one of my peers dresser drawers by another student and the administration never addressed the issue. Girls sneak into the kitchen at night to steal food because we aren’t given enough snacks throughout the day. The same girl that stole my leggings also stole one of my peers and I’s clothes about five months later and sold them to the local consignment store. The staff refused to take us to the store in order to buy our clothes back, and I was still never reimbursed for the items she stole. Not to mention the most iconic stealing incident ever- two girls stole the master key to the office, everybodys money, and the Academys Toyota Rav 4 and ran away in the middle of the night.The school system here is also messy. I spent the first semester of my senior year at the Academy and I was taking the same classes as an eighth grader, meanwhile I was also having to begin applying to colleges. There is no qualified college counselor working at the Academy, and the counselors that my parents hired for me through J Bar J told me that I would not get into any of the colleges I had selected to apply to, and that I shouldnt even bother. Two months later I got into my dream school.It’s also extremely difficult to switch therapists if you aren’t feeling a good connection with the one you’re initially assigned to. The same goes for treatment coordinators. Students are encouraged to advocate for themselves in the program however are most often shut down because they aren’t the ones writing the checks.At one point in my stay, I had a staff member physically grab me by the arm and pull me back because I tried to walk away from her while she was talking to me. I was extremely upset by this as one should be, because the Academy is a hands-off facility. I reported it to the administration as well as my parents and received nothing but a lousy apology from her a month later.The amount of manual labor the students have to do in this program is also extremely questionable. You have two girls washing every single dish (including the staffs dishes and all of the pots and pans used for making the meal) three times a day, and the girls are forced to scrub the sinks, toilets and showers every single morning.Even though I was miserable here 6 out of 7 days of the week, I am forever grateful for the friendships I made during this extremely traumatic experience. Please don’t delete this review because I will repost it.

I am a former graduate of the academy. It is impossible to put into words how grateful I am to all of the staff that helped me become who I am today. All of the lessons on compassion, empathy, forgiveness, accountability, and so much more I benefit from everyday. Since graduating I have been able to maintain healthy relationships with my peers and family. I was given the tools to cope with almost anything that comes my way and I am still in contact with many of the people who worked at and attended the academy with me. It was a different journey for all of us, and without the lessons and support I received I know I wouldn’t have graduated high school let alone be terms away from finishing my bachelors degree and on to start my masters. There are no words that completely grasp the gratitude I feel for the staff at the academy who gave me the tools to achieve the life and future I have been blessed enough to grow towards. Life is a learning experience, thank you for giving me the confidence, coping mechanisms, and other tools to be able to chase my dreams and succeed in this life I am living.

I went here for a couple months before I got pulled out. It’s way too crowded, while I was there it was 20 girls in a very small house. Seems like they were cramming us in there for the money. I have no idea where anyone’s money goes because it’s not spent on us. The therapeutic side of the academy did not help me at all and is a very messy program. Save yourself thousands of dollars and don’t send your child here.

Hi! I’m a former academy student and had nothing short of a life changing experience there. Sounds cheesy I know, but the academy was/is such a safe haven for me and somewhere that I hold so close to my heart. I spent roughly around 3 1/2 years there... by choice. I graduated after just about 18 months but chose to stay being that I was doing so well socially and academically, and most importantly was doing so well improving my family relationships. Although initially (Or ever) you aren’t pumped about attending an all girls boarding school facing The reality of some hard subjects, this is where I was able to start my life over and really start from scratch at a place where no one knew me and I could really work on who I wanted to be away from all of the distractions, which ultimately set me up to be a successful adult living in California now. I owe so much of that to the academy but really I know I did the hard work to get me here along with them :)

I came to the academy in 2016 and when I went there I was severely depressed, anxious and struggling to get by in a toxic and unhealthy household. Since I have gone, I have become a better person, learned to regulate myself and create healthy boundaries with my family. Ive graduated high school a year early and even am going to college because of their help, and the kindness I received from the staff was remarkable. The academy deeply cares for all of the students, unlike what many one star reviews say (many have not even gone). Put trust into this school, because it is an amazing place where your kid can grow and start new.

If you are considering sending your child away, you are most likely in a desperate situation, as we were. We had our daughter go to the Academy for nearly 1 year and 9 months. We would do it again if we had to. If it werent for the this group of caring individuals, I am not sure where she would be today. I do not see how it would leave anyone traumatized. The staff is there to care, teach and nurture, not enable, it is up to the child to do the work. My daughter was, naturally, miserable at first, but it wasnt long after she started turning around. It was her will that allowed that. There is also cooperation and participation expected of the parents as well. If there is neither of that, nothing will work. This was back in 2008-2010. My daughter still had some learning to do even after she left, but she is now a thriving, happy, healthy person attending college, working and able to cope with every day life circumstances. Some of the same staff is still there, we (including our daughter) personally keep in touch with some of them. We are so grateful to have our family back together, full of laughter and a deep loving relationship.

The Academy is a great resource for girls to re-group and find their way. Staff are insightful, diligent and caring. They provide the right combination of tough-love and structure for young women to open a new chapter of their lives. I have seen remarkable results coming out of the Academy. If you are even considering this alternative, go talk with them and see the facility.

Do NOT send your kid here. they not only harassed me, but gave me weeks of silence because I told them I wasnt in the best place mentally and needed help. 85% of the kids enrolled dont end up graduating because of the level of incompetence of the staff. they dont care about the students well being. Even if this place is your last resort, by no means should your child have to go through spending time at this academy. if I could give them no stars I would.

Without the academy I dont know who I would be today. The academy allowed me to be me and let my color show. Just know parents most the bad reviews are fake. If these bad things really did happen the place would be shut down :).The staff at the academy was nothing but warm and welcoming. I felt nothing but love there. the school system is fantastic for youth who need to catch up on credits or even to graduated early.

The Academy at Sisters is a great place for troubled-teens. I attended there and it was a great learning experience and came out a better person. The staff are caring and very insightful in helping students. I do not regret my stay there, it was worth my time. Highly reccommended

This place saved my life . I came to the academy at sisters traumatized from being a victim of kidnapping and rape . I did not talk for two months due to the things I went threw. The staff at the academy at sisters where very patient with me and really helped me realize I was a victim. They got me out of this brain wash state of mind and really helped me use tools and coping skills To help me when I’m feeling triggered or upset. I left the program when I was 18 but I still till this day use all the coping skills and positive thinking technics they showed me . I had my ups and downs there but they where always by my side . Because of them I have a great realtionshop with my mom . And I’ll be getting married . Due to all the stuff I’ve been threw people never thought I would find someone or be in a relationship ever again . But thanks to this place they are the reason I found someone and took healthy risks . I could not have thanks these people enough .

My review keeps being deletedFirst, I would like to say that I am grateful for all the friends on FB that I get to see grow up and become who they were meant to be. Its awesome to see the changes over the years and remember who they were. It creates a bittersweet nostalgia.The most beneficial lesson taught was the mistaken beliefs.I attended the academy at sisters in 1999. It was not my choice, I was handcuffed and escorted to Oregon with no warning...there, I learned that I couldnt even talk to my family for a month, and I couldnt talk to my friends for probably a year. I refused to get out of the car, so they put me in a holding house for a couple weeks, then I was sent to a 3 week survival camp called suws. What happened mentally to me was that the programs broke me down. They put me in a position that I knew I couldnt control my life. All I could do was put one foot in front of the other and work through their program... it was the only way for me to have any hope of getting out of there... just pretend to be who they wanted you to be.All of the real friends and relationships I had were ripped away and never regained. After I graduated the program, I was left with nothing real in my life... it didnt give me coping skills, it created an emptiness. I believe that if I would have just been left alone and continued my life, my behavior would not have downward spiraled like it did afterwards... because I would have had friends and family relationships that were not ripped away.Now that I am a mother of of a teenager, I understand the feeling of not being able to control your child and the desire to find someone or something that can. I urge you to find something else that your child is engaged in. If they dont want to go... find something else. Change is only real when the child wants to change.... they only want to change at these places because you are withholding their relationships and freedom. So they learn to be who you want them to be.... its not real, and it takes decadeS to regain grounding of their own.

Do NOT send your daughters here. 10 years later and I am starting therapy again just to work through all the trauma. For the parent who reviewed and said she does not see how it would leave anyone traumatized, did you live there? No, okay then shut your mouth because you didnt live it so you have no right to comment.Some of the staff were very emotionally abusive. I wish I would have started a lawsuit but it is past the statue of limitations so I cant. One of the girls accidentally wet the bed and her punishment was to wear a diaper 24/7 for several months. Humiliation like that is abusive. Certain staff would tell her to shut up when she would try to talk and tell her that she was annoying, they treated her horribly. These staff are getting paid to care for us, I dont care how annoying they might think someone is, if you are getting paid to care for her, you need to treat her with respect.For me personally I had a lot of not great things happen. I spent several days on house restriction and not able to talk to anyone and had to sit away from the group facing the wall. Point cards ran our lives which unfortunately caused a lot of us to suffer from anxiety. They only focused on the negatives and not the positives. There were several times I got docked points for things I couldnt control. My chore was irrigation and sometimes blow outs would happen randomly and theres nothing you can do to prevent it. So I had to choose if I wanted to get docked on my school point card for having to leave and fix it or just not fix it and get docked on my regular point card for not fixing it. When I was in the pathways program, there were several occasions that we didnt have any food. The staff wouldnt take us grocery shopping because they didnt have enough people. We didnt have any money and couldnt leave the house. My mom had to order food for my roommate and I and have it delivered on several occasions. I really should have called the police or cps. When your parents are paying over $4,000 a month, one would expect that we would be fed but I guess that is not a priority. I started struggling with an eating disorder while in pathways (which has never happened before that point) so I called to reach out to my case manager the day that she was suppose to come back to work. She didnt come in so I talked to another case manager about it. The next day I repeated the same process since my case manager didnt come in to work that day either. By the time my case manager came back she told me I was withholding information from her and I was in trouble. Even though I reached out for help to other case managers and actively tried to get ahold of my case manager so I could talk to her about it, it was me withholding information. About two weeks before I turned 18 (I had every intention of leaving on my birthday) Rick, who no longer works there told me that he was going to get custody of me beyond my 18th birthday and keep me there for as long as he saw fit even though I had already been there two and a half years. When it came time for me to leave, he told my dad that I wouldnt make it on my own and I needed the academy to survive. Bottom line, this place is a business. They want to keep people there as long as they can so they can make the most money.A lot of the girls on that lovely video on their website are not doing that well, a handful of them are back on drugs and served time in jail or prison. A lot of them got pregnant shortly after they got home and being a teen parent is not really something to be proud of.For all the fellow students on here, I am wishing you the best of luck working through the pain you feel from this place.

I went there and while I learned somethings. I didnt learn how to deal with life

100% My choice to attend this school. WORST CHOICE EVER! Most uncaring, unqualified staff, when I said I was feeling suicidal one of the staff told me to suck it up and stop being a baby. Most unsupportive school ever, please dont send your children here. Traumatized my family and I for a long time.