Best Boarding School Independence Near Me

Jada Jackson: Helped me get my life back on track.

Sabian Lippard: I attended Shelterwood for about 10 months, and i can say that what they do when they 'break you down' is put you in a really depressive state and discipline you for every tiny thing that goes wrong. When it was time for me to leave, I didnt have enough room to put all of my personal and valuable belongings in my suitcase and the staff promised to have it shipped to me. The whole summer has gone by, and every week when i call them they assure me that it is being taken care of, along with some library books that they told me they would return. Not only did Shelterwood donate all of my personal belongings to the goodwill (all of my clothes, pictures, letters, expensive toiletries etc....) but they 'lost' my library books, and I am now in national collections for $284. If you want to make your child depressed, and throw away money this is the place.

Deriq trammell: You are a good hearted perso!

Shelterwood Doulos: I have loved working with the staff. Hard working and sacrificial, these people are incredible.

Kathleen Balma: I was a teen in Shelterwood in 1989-90, before it was a boarding school. (We attended public school during the day and were at Shelterwood the rest of the time.) Though mine is a mixed review, I personally would not recommend it unless you have tried everything else and are just trying to keep your kid alive while you look for a better solution to whatever ails your family. It's better to have an indoctrinated kid than a dead kid, so do what you have to do, by all means. Strengths of the program are as follows: a person is much more likely to heal in a homey setting surrounded by natural beauty than they will in, say, a locked institution. Many of us kids had been to other types of facilities prior to our stay at Shelterwood and we could appreciate the regular exposure we got to the great outdoors, and were grateful to be residing in an actual house instead of a hospital ward or other institutionalized setting. Also, the fact of being hugged by people was great. I never had to go without a hug the whole time I was at Shelterwood, and you just don't get that kind of TLC in a secular or institutional facility, so for me it was almost worth all the zealotry and fanaticism of the place just to be able to smell fresh air, take walks in the woods, and get a hug from a caring-and-appropriate adult whenever I needed it. I say almost, because there were a myriad of ethical issues, too. Some of the biggest ones have already been addressed by other reviewers: the profiteering at the expense of desperate parents, the philosophy of "breaking the spirit so as to be renewed in the Lord" (a ghastly metaphor that should send off all kinds of alarm bells), and the fact that the staff of Big Sisters and Brothers are not screened well enough, so that your kid might end up sharing a room with the most caring and benevolent adult caregiver in the world, or might end up with someone who has anger management problems worse than any of the kids' and thinks that pushing and shoving your child or jerking them out of their seat by a shirt collar is an appropriate response to, say, the kid's grumpy refusal to eat breakfast. Or your kid might end up sharing a room with a white supremacist who is asked to leave midway through the year after it is discovered that he is teaching your child that black people are members of a cursed and inferior race.It was also painfully clear to all of us residents that there were some kids who really did not need to be in such an extreme environment at all, but who were kept there indefinitely because their parents were wealthy and gullible. I think that many of the people working for Shelterwood are well-intentioned, lovable fools, frankly, but the road to hell is paved with good intentions, as they say, and this proved to be especially true at Shelterwood. The counselors were also a mixed crew, with some really out for the best interest of the family and others more interested in lining their pockets. So, ultimately, I understand why some alumns are saying, "This place saved my life," while others are saying, "This place did more harm than good." Lastly, while I wouldn't use the word "brainwashing" to describe the methods used here, the word "indoctrination" fits perfectly. Now if you are wondering how I turned out, I can tell you this: Shelterwood may very well have keep me alive during a scary and vulnerable time in my life, but it also left me with twice as much baggage as I had when I got there and drained my college fund, too. My parents ended up pulling me out of there and putting me into a fine arts school, where I went beyond mere survival and began to truly thrive. The scariest part was this, though: I did need an advocate to ensure I got medical care at Shelterwood the few times I needed it, and my diabetic roommate was regularly accused of faking low blood sugar for extra snacks, despite the fact that she had a machine to prove her need was real. I used to hoard my snacks for the girl so she wouldn't go into a diabetic coma in the night when the head of house refused to believe her blood test results!

Liz M: Our daughter attended Shelterwood as a 15 year old and it changed our lives forever. Our ‘rebellious’ teen was really a hurting, lost little girl who needed someone (besides us) to show her that she is something special- a daughter of The King who is worth more than rubies! The Staff at Shelterwood and our counselor, Jeremy did just that. We just celebrated her 18th birthday and let me tell you, she is an amazing young woman! She is on-track, growing and reaching for her future with hope and confidence, deepening her relationship with her Heavenly Father.Shelterwood staff, from the House Directors to the school faculty, from the amazing counselors to the grounds keepers, love the Lord and love to help teens thrive and that’s just what they did for us! Our family has found hope and peace (as much as a family of 6 can find!) after a very turbulent time and are happy to recommend Shelterwood as a beacon of hope for your family as well.Blessings!Emma’s Mom and Dad

Savannah Hillerman: What originally seemed a good idea to my parents, has now been blatantly identified as a brainwashing community geared towards breaking teenagers down so that Shelterwood can "build them up" to be the "perfect child". Sending your children to a concentration camp such as this and teaching them that there is only ONE right way and that any other path is wrong, is unethical and immoral on so many levels. I have seen more lives ruined by this place than any other, my own included until I took the initiative as an adult to reverse the damaging effects that Shelterwood had on me.They claim to have a "five year overall success rate"... Well, I can honestly say, five years later, that as I look at all of the girls who shared a house with me during my stay there, that if pregnancy, drug addiction, pornography, and prison are considered success, then I would say their statement holds truth. However that is not the case. It is merely a thinly veiled attempt at reducing whatever if any, humanity that is left within these children. Religion as reform is a farce. Once upon a time there was a point when a program such as this might actually be considered successful, that time was a little period known affectionately as the Dark Ages.

Mrs Bauman: We feel very blessed to be part of the school! So thankful this place is available for my son. He is learning so much and loves going to school.

Eric English: CPRS is a fantastic school and has been such a great blessing to our family. The small class sizes and low student to teacher ratio allows for a lot of direction instructional opportunity. Standardized test scores (ACT) for the school have always exceeded state and federal averages and equal or exceed other local schools in the area. Tuition is lower than virtually every other private school in the KC metro area, due in large part to the substantial amount of financial donations from a wide community of school supporters (and they have tuition assistance opportunities for those who can't afford to pay it all). The curriculum is wide and varied with rigorous educational coursework, many sports programs, an excellent fine arts department, elementary to high school foreign language, a service club, top notch religious instruction and worship opportunities, and the list just goes on. It's a safe and family friendly environment with a loving staff, good facilities, and fantastic families. I can't recommend it highly enough...

Anna Marie: Excellence in education!

Lori Smart: Excellent school! Education is superior and the community within the school is just as a school should be! Our son loves the school, the teachers and has good friends! I highly recommend this school!

Rita Schowengerdt: To address the review by Nate.We are not the same school. Solid Rock Christian Academy closed in 2007. We purchased their furniture and supplies and started the current school. It is under new ownership. Previous owners are not involved with our current school. We have been Family Christian Academy for 10 years with no issues or connections to Solid Rock Christian Academy.

Crystal Hoag: Great school! You have 2 choices when you experience Jesus....lean into Him and let Him love you OR resist Him and walk away. The teachers here definitely lean into Jesus! My children feel loved and wanted and that has played a huge role in the positive changes I have seen in them.

jeep 360: Its very bad😄😄😄😄