CEDU

CEDU Educational Services Inc
"See Yourself As You Are and Do Something About It"
Location
United States
Information
Type	Private therapeutic boarding schools
Opened	1967
Closed	2005

CEDU Educational Services, Inc., known simply as CEDU (pronounced see-doo), was founded in 1967 by Mel Wasserman and his wife Brigitta. The company owned and operated several therapeutic boarding schools and behavior modification programs in California and Idaho.

History

Original CEDU period (1967–1985)

The average time a student spent at a CEDU school was 2½ years. The school year was year-round. The original CEDU program did not believe in use of psychological medicine. Every week students would attend group therapy sessions called Raps. In this CEDU period, Raps were designed for fellow students and staff to confront addictions, pain, abuse and emotional turmoil in the one's life. Rap's were a safe place to talk about your own problems without feeling judged or discriminated against for one's personal belief. And, if needed the staff and former classmates were there to ensure it was safe to cry, release any pain that would potentially stop one from moving forward in their life. The bonds that were formed from the experiential experiences both in and outdoor were designed to challenge and build the individual from the inside out.

Expansion (1982–1990)

In 1982, a small group of students and staff, including founding headmaster Dan Earle, left the Running Springs 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. On rare occasions staff and students were transferred between schools. The staff generally transferred campuses for promotions, students were transferred because the staff felt a "fresh start" was the best (and usually last) option for the student.^[1][2][3] Rocky Mountain Academy was one of the largest employers in Boundary County during the period, diversifying its timber and agriculture economy.^[4]

Around 1990 the facilities began to accept that some of the teenagers could need medications.

CEDU Education - Brown Schools (1998–2005)

CEDU Education was sold to Brown Schools while it was at its peak in the market; all the schools were full and everything was going well. Two years into its ownership by Brown Schools, the staff turnover was extremely high, no one with any time or stability in the company was left, and CEDU Education went backwards.^[5] Former employees watched helplessly as the Brown Schools made management decision after management decision inconsistent with the CEDU philosophy of education and inconsistent with what was effective in helping struggling teens.^[6]

Closure

Brown Schools operated 11 boarding schools and educational facilities in California, Idaho, Texas, Vermont, and Florida. Facilities in Austin, Texas and San Marcos, Texas were sold to Psychiatric Solutions Inc. in 2003.^[8] CEDU closed in early 2005 due to financial problems.^[8][9] Several CEDU employees reported to Lake Arrowhead Mountain News, however, that pending litigation against CEDU for abuse and violation of rights as well as citations against the schools contributed to the downfall.^[10] In March, 2005 Brown Schools declared bankruptcy, in part because of legal costs related to lawsuits filed by the families of several former students. The same year, Universal Health Services bid $13.5 million for the Brown School properties in bankruptcy.^[11]

Idaho Educational Services

Universal Health Services Inc.,^[12] a public company focused on hospitals and behavioral health centers, subsequently reopened three of the former CEDU facilities: Ascent, Boulder Creek (located on the former Rocky Mountain Academy property) and Northwest Academy. These operate under the new name of Idaho Educational Services. Each program is overseen by individual directors.^[13]

Influence

The history of CEDU is largely the history of the development of parent-choice, private-pay residential programs. A significant number of the schools in the Emotional Growth/Therapeutic schools industry were developed or strongly influenced by people who were originally inspired by their CEDU experience.^[14]

Celebrity and CEDU

The first facility was located in California — not far from Hollywood. The busy life of the persons in the entertainment industry meant that some of the known celebrities had less time for their children and outsourced the upbringing to CEDU. In relationship with the closure of the facility as local newspapers stated:^[15]

In the news

1993: A 17-year-old boy disappeared from the Campus. He was never found.^[16]

1994: A 14-year-old boy disappeared from the Campus. The family believes that he was abducted. He has not been found.^[17]

July 1994 - Jon A. committed suicide in one of the dormitories of lower Camelot at Rocky Mountain Academy.^[18]

1997 - Five persons were injured in a riot at Northwest Academy.^[19]

2002 - CEDU Educational Services, Inc. pays settlement to former client on charges of abuse.^[19]

2004 - Parents search for their son who ran away from CEDU Running Springs.^[20]

2009 - A police investigation is conducted into the unsupervised presence of the convicted killer James Lee Crummel on the CEDU Running Springs Campus in connection with the two disappearances in 1990s.^[21]

2012 - The first book about CEDU is published by Waxlight Press. The Discarded Ones:A Novel Based on a True Story by James Tipper marks the first detailed account of life at the school in literature.^[22]

See also

Notes and references

External links

• 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.