{"id":9664,"date":"2022-03-11T16:24:21","date_gmt":"2022-03-12T00:24:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.breakingcodesilence.org\/?p=9664"},"modified":"2022-03-12T23:36:22","modified_gmt":"2022-03-13T07:36:22","slug":"maple-lake-academy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.breakingcodesilence.org\/maple-lake-academy\/","title":{"rendered":"Maple Lake Academy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Maple Lake Academy<\/b> (2005-present) Spanish Fork, UT<\/span><\/h1>\n

Residential Treatment Center<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

History and Background Information<\/b><\/h2>\n

Maple Lake Academy is a behavior-modification program that opened in July of 2005. It is marketed as a Residential Treatment Center for troubled teenagers aged 12-18. Maple Lake Academy states that students who enroll at the school must have a diagnosis\/traits of a learning disability (Learning Disability (LD), Learning Disability-Not Otherwise Specified (LDNOS), Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified (PDDNOS), Nonverbal Learning Disorder (NLD), Asperger\u2019s Disorder, or High Functioning Autism) in conjunction with emotional\/behavioral issues (such as Depression, Anxiety, OCD, ODD, Social Phobia, Bipolar Disorder, etc). The average length of stay is reported to be between 18-24 months, and the program has a maximum enrollment of 30. The program’s tuition is reported to be over $10,000 per month.<\/span><\/p>\n

Maple Lake Academy was originally opened as an all-girls program in 2005. The girls’ program is located on a farm at <\/span>6155 S 2400 W, Spanish Fork, UT 84660<\/span><\/a>. The boys’ program, Maple Lake Academy for Boys, opened in 2011. MLA for Boys is located less than 2 miles away, at <\/span>6612 South 3200 West, Benjamin, UT 84660<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Maple Lake Academy has been a member of <\/span>NATSAP<\/span><\/a> since 2007. It was also “accredited” by the <\/span>Northwest Association of Accredited Schools (NAAS)<\/span><\/a>, but it is important to note that neither the United States Department of Education nor the Council for Higher Education Accreditation recognizes the Northwest Association of Accredited Schools as an accrediting agency for institutions of higher education. In fact, NAAS is most well-known for in the public for the State of New York not accepting the diplomas given by the <\/span>Academy at Ivy Ridge<\/span><\/a>, which was a confirmedly abusive <\/span>WWASP<\/span><\/a> program which was also accredited by NAAS. NAAS has “accredited” many notoriously abusive behavior-modification programs, including <\/span>many<\/span><\/i> WWASP programs.<\/span><\/p>\n

Founders and Notable Staff<\/b><\/h2>\n

Patti Hollenbeck-Dial<\/b> is the Co-Founder of Maple Lake Academy. She currently works as the Admissions and Clinical Manager of MLA. She previously worked at an unnamed RTC.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nichol Holwege<\/b> is the Co-Founder and Program Manager of Maple Lake Academy. She previously worked at the same unnamed RTC as Patti.<\/span><\/p>\n

Karen Nicki<\/b> worked as a Psychologist at MLA. She previously worked at <\/span>Outback Therapeutic Expeditions<\/span><\/a>, a reportedly abusive <\/span>Aspen Education Group<\/span><\/a> program.<\/span><\/p>\n

Deanne Shields<\/b> worked as the Special Education Coordinator at MLA. She previously worked at the confirmedly abusive <\/span>Provo Canyon School<\/span><\/a>, which is widely regarded as the birthplace of the notorious <\/span>WWASP<\/span><\/a> organization.<\/span><\/p>\n

Program Structure<\/b><\/h2>\n

Maple Lake Academy reports that it does not use a Level System. MLA states on their website that “a Level system can be very frustrating and detrimental to our students. At Maple Lake we have a fluid Light system that allows our students to develop new skill sets as they learn and grow and not be \u201cpunished\u201d during the growth process.” However, survivors have reported that this “Light System” is identical in practice to the typical Level System used by many behavior-modification programs. The phases of MLA’s “Light System” are reported to be:<\/span><\/p>\n