Darrington Academy Survey
 
Name: Courtney Hall
 
Do you wish to grant further testimony to investigators?
Sure if it helps
 
Age and year of admittance:
I am 17 I was admitted in 2007
 
How long was your stay at D.A.?
Exactly one year
 
How long have you been back home?
About nine months
 
Before the program did you have a serious drug problem?
Yes I did, I smoked weed, did a lot of pills, drank alcohol, and did cocaine
 
Did you have a daily habit?
smoking weed and cigarettes
 
Before the program were you admitted to any other residential treatment, for instance a mental hospital?
Yes I was in a mental hospital for suicidal attempts for one week
 
Before the program did you have a criminal record or spend time in Juvenile Hall?
Yes I spent a total of 2 months in a juvenile hall before Darrington
 
Where you court ordered, or did your parents choose to send you to D.A.?
I was court ordered
 
Was there a medical admissions process?
I am not sure
 
Were your medical records considered before you were admitted into D.A.?
No
 
Did you sign yourself in (give consent) to receive “treatment” at D.A.?
I think we were forced to sign something like that, we got in a lot of trouble if we didnt..
 
How much was your tuition?
Way too much.. I am uncertain of the exact amount
 
Do you think you were given a “proper” education at D.A.?
No
 
In your opinion were the teachers, good teachers? Did they have degrees and certifications?
Yes they had degrees and stuff, but they didn’t really help me at all
 
How many school credits did you earn?
I earned 3 credits
 
Did you receive a diploma from D.A.?
No I didnt
 
Was a certified medical professional available to students at their request?
When the “nurse” felt like it was important enough then we could see her. I got really sick and threw up 3x in one day.. and she told me to lay down for 30 minutes.
 
Were proper check ups, dental cleaning, and medication observation appointments held regularly?
No, we couldnt go to the dentist until level 3. My medication ran out at one point and I went for 3 weeks without my medication or even a check up.
 
If you got sick were you given adequate treatment and rest?
No, a friend of mine was having cold sweats, was completely pale, her lips matched her face… And the nurse said she would get over it, and didnt do anything
 
Were you ever refused medical care because staff said that you were “faking it”?
Yes that happened a lot
 
Was a medical service offered for drug detox or drug rehabilitation?
No it was not
 
Was there any kind of “Drug Education” available for students who had used drugs in the past?
No just a group where we talked about our feelings
 
What is the name of your case manager? What was their role in your program?
I didnt have a case manager
 
Was group therapy considered to be of a confrontational nature?
Yes. We got “feedback” which was our peers telling us what was wrong or right about what we said
 
Do you feel you were forced to confess to things you did not do in order to progress in the program?
Yes, if I didnt tell them everything about my past I would not move forward
 
Were students encouraged to accept that they were alcoholics or drug addicts?
No
 
Was this required to advance in the program?
No
 
Were students encouraged to follow a 12 step program (the AA doctrine) in order to earn levels and graduate D.A?
I dont think so
 
Were students encouraged to accept a “higher power” contingent to their recovery?
Yes
 
In your opinion, How was the food quality? Was it prepared properly?
No the food was not healthy, it was a lot of fatty foods
 
Did you ever go hungry? Were you given proper portions? Was food ever withheld as a punishment?
No, we had to eat a certain amount of it though. I use to be anorexic so eating was hard and I had to eat 80% of my food or I would have gotten in trouble
 
Did you gain a lot of weight? were you forced to eat more than you were able to eat?
Yes I gained 25 pounds while there. And I ate more then I can eat everyday
 
Please describe the “Fear Factor” games, including what was in the “Fear Factor” food. How did you feel about this?
The FearFactor games were little things that the staff did to have fun. There was pig feet, sardines, raw eggs.. etc. I felt like it was ok, it was the students choice to participate or not, id they didnt want to they didnt have to
 
Were upper levels or any level students asked to babysit the staff’s children, or taken to the staff’s house for any extended period of time?
No upper levels didnt babysit, and yes me and two of my friends went to Mr. Darringtons house for a couple hours. We got BurgerKing, and got to play games, it was a lot of fun.
 
Where you aware of anyone being restrained and isolated from the group?
Yes, people got restrained and put into intervention all the time
 
What reasons were these people restrained? (please describe actual events)
Mostly girls were restrained if we physically hit, kicked, or punched another person. Or tryed to run away.
The only time someone got restrained for something that wasnt right was my friend Mika refused to get off her bed, so men were brought into our dorms and she was dragged off the bed and restrained
 
Where stress positions utilized? Were there more time in isolation given if the student would move or shift weight?
Yes, we had to sit in the room in indian style on the floor with our face in the corner of the room, and if we moved we would have to spend longer in there.
 
(Please describe the rules and structure that would pertain to a level 1 student.)
Only talk to level 3 and up
top bunks
 
 
Was contact with your parents limited? Where your letters (to and from) intercepted? Were your letters opened, read, crossed out or cut?
Contact was extremely limited. We wrote our parents one time a week (Sundays). letters were read before being sent out or given to us. Some letters were not given to us at all.
 
How long before you were able to speak to your parents on the phone? Were your phone calls monitored?
We had to be a level 3, so it was 6 months before I even heard my own mothers voice. We had to read off a paper to our parents, we couldnt just free talk. Our Family reps sat next to us to make sure we didnt say anything we werent supose to
 
If you felt you were being abused, was there anyway you could get to a phone and have a private conversation with your parents, child services or an officer of the law?
No, we couldnt get a phone, write a letter or do anything. If we even mentioned anything like abuse they would hang up the phone or cross it out of the letter and we got in a lot of trouble
 
If you wanted to leave were you discouraged to tell your parents how you felt? Were you afraid that you would be punished if you were to describe any incidents of abuse to your parents?
We could not tell our parents we wanted to leave it was a consequence. And no abuse happened to me personally
 
Were there other students (upper levels) assigned to watch over you? what was their role? did they give you consequences? were they allowed to restrain you or monitor the isolation area.
Yes upper levels had to watch over us. They informed the chaperone if anyone was misbehaving or said anything against the rules. They could restrain us if the chaperone couldnt get to us. And they did watch the intervention
 
Were you allowed to speak, stand, eat, go to the bathroom and do other normal activities of your free will?
no, we could only speak when we raised our hand and got permission, or during leisure we could talk to our peers. standing, sitting, eating, going to the bathroom, all of those we had to ask permission and if the chaperone said no we were out of luck
 
How often were you allowed to speak freely? and to whom? were you not allowed to speak with others in your group?
Everyday for 30 minutes we could talk to our friends if our levels added up to 4 or higher. We had to talk in groups of 3 no more and no less
 
Did you have to walk in line? How often? Were there consequences if you did not line up properly?
We walked in lines everywhere we went. If we didnt line up in time and the right way we got a consequence
 
Would you be given a consequence if you forgot something? (for instance, your water bottle, a pen or a book)
Yes we lost 25 points for it which is about 2 days of hard work
 
Were your personal items inspected by other students? (upper levels?) with or without your presence?
Yes, our bins were checked to make sure everything was folded right, and they went threw our stuff to check for anything against the rules
 
(Please describe the rules and structure that would pertain to a level 4 student.)
No lines
get makeup
get to wear their hair down
get tennis shoes
get jewelry
get to speak at free will
got to go off grounds with their families
got to see the boys
 
 
What were the requirements in order to progress in the level system? Was approval from the other upper levels required?
Yes we had to have certain requirments and be approved by the upper levels to go up a level
 
What kind of staff responsibilities were upper levels given?
watching lower levels, giving consequences, doing errands for the staff
 
Did upper levels have to “baby sit” the lower levels? How often?
No there was always staff present
 
Were you expected to dole out punishments (consequences)?
Yes if you were a level 3 or a bunk leader, if you didnt refer consequences you lost your level and got in trouble
 
Were the rules upper levels enforced specific to the rule book or were the definitions of those rules assumed? (or sort of passed down as a tradition, basically could you give a consequence for “neglect” for any number of things)
The rules were made up as they went accourding to the staff
 
Did an upper level have to power to influence a child being taken to the isolation room? Were upper levels required to watch or participate in restraint?
no they didnt
 
Were upper levels required to give visiting parents a glowing testimonial of their experience in the program, or make testimonial videos or letters?
YES, upper levels had to act happy, give all great information about the school to our parents all the time.
 
What would happen if a student mentioned anything bad about the program in front of a parent? Were students afraid of punishment if they told the truth?
a student would get into a lot of trouble for mentioning anything bad about the school to their parents. I was scared to tell my parents the truth yes.
 
How easily could an upper level get dropped (start the program over)? What infractions would make an upper level drop and what level did they usually go back to?
upper levels got dropped very easily and very often. The staff made it a requirment to drop every upper level at least once. most dropped down to level 3
 
What is your opinion on the effectiveness of the method of Behavior Modification that was used at D.A.?
The behavior modification was not affective for me personally. I still do a lot of the same things I use to. The only thing that has changed is Darrington helped with my relationship with my parents so it had one positive outcome
 
Considering long term effects, do you think the program has an effect on your life today? Positive or negative?
Positive
 
Do you believe that the program acting within the means of “Tough Love” was appropriate treatment for you in your adolescence?
I would have to say yes. I was at a stage where if people did not give me tough love, I wouldnt have listened and I wouldnt be where I am today.. About to graduate highschool, great terms with my parents, and happy. I was suicidal, I had no goals, since Darrington my life is a lot different and I am forever grateful. Yes somethings that went on there were not right, but it changed my life
 
Do you believe that the staff and junior staff usually acted within the US standards for health, safety and well being of the students?
usually yes, sometimes not at all. It depened on which staff it was and their mood