Thayer Learning Center
Encyclopedia
The Thayer Learning Center or TLC was a military based, Christian boarding school
boot camp for troubled teens in Kidder, Missouri
from 2002 to 2009. The program enrolled over 100 students and costs run up to $4000 a month. The program stated that it "...changes, reunites, and restores hope to families across the nation." There has been some controversy in past years. The center is one of many facilities for troubled teens listed on the watch list on the International Survivors Action Committee (ISAC
) website. Its specific site is here.
The facility closed in September 2009 In October 2009 it was announced that John and Willa Bundy, of St. George, Utah
had sold the grounds to Lakota John (also of St. George) for the White Buffalo Academy which is to focus on Native American
education.
The campus was formerly Thayer College and a public school. Thayer College was founded in 1871 and closed in 1876. It reopened in 1877 as the Kidder Institute and operated under the auspices of the Congregational Church
of Missouri. The building was used as a public school from 1934 to 1981.
, an accredited distance-learning program.
, according to his autopsy. The Caldwell County, Missouri
coroner said at the time that the autopsy concluded that the death was an accident and said Reyes could have been bitten before he arrived at the camp.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO), the investigative arm of Congress, studied the Reyes death in late 2007 for a report released to the House of Representatives. The GAO report said Reyes had more than 30 cuts and bruises on his body when he died. The staff had interpreted Reyes’ symptoms – including falling down frequently, complaining of muscle soreness, vomiting and involuntarily urinating and defecating on himself – as rebellion.
After complaining of illness, Reyes was forced to the ground and held there on several occasions, according to the report. On one occasion, he had a 20-pound sandbag tied around his neck when he was too sick to exercise.
Reyes was placed in the “sick bay” the morning of the day he died, where a staff member checked on him mid-afternoon and found he had no pulse. The staff then called 911 and Reyes was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
A state investigation found that Reyes might have survived if he had earlier medical attention and that records at the camp may have been falsified. No criminal charges were ever filed, though Reyes’ parents filed a wrongful death suit that was settled out of court for about $1 million, according to the GAO .
In late October 2007, Rep. George Miller (California politician), D-Calif. announced the GAO had referred the case to the FBI, stating, "In light of the seriousness of this case, in which neglect, if not outright abuse, likely contributed to the death of a child, I urge the FBI to treat this referral with urgency."
Despite the allegations by 2009 Thayer Learning Center had never been charged nor found to have committed any wrongdoing.
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
boot camp for troubled teens in Kidder, Missouri
Kidder, Missouri
Kidder is a city in Caldwell County, Missouri, United States. The population was 271 at the 2000 census.The city was laid out in 1860 by H.B. Kidder of the Kidder Land Company in Boston, which was seeking to encourage non-slave owning European immigrants to settle along the Hannibal and St...
from 2002 to 2009. The program enrolled over 100 students and costs run up to $4000 a month. The program stated that it "...changes, reunites, and restores hope to families across the nation." There has been some controversy in past years. The center is one of many facilities for troubled teens listed on the watch list on the International Survivors Action Committee (ISAC
ISAC
internet Speech Audio Codec is a wideband speech codec, developed by Global IP Solutions . It is suitable for VoIP applications and streaming audio. The encoded blocks have to be encapsulated in a suitable protocol for transport, eg. RTP.It is one of the codecs used by AIM Triton, the Gizmo5, QQ,...
) website. Its specific site is here.
The facility closed in September 2009 In October 2009 it was announced that John and Willa Bundy, of St. George, Utah
St. George, Utah
St. George is a city located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Utah, and the county seat of Washington County, Utah. It is the principal city of and is included in the St. George, Utah, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city is 119 miles northeast of Las Vegas, Nevada, and 303 miles ...
had sold the grounds to Lakota John (also of St. George) for the White Buffalo Academy which is to focus on Native American
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
education.
The campus was formerly Thayer College and a public school. Thayer College was founded in 1871 and closed in 1876. It reopened in 1877 as the Kidder Institute and operated under the auspices of the Congregational Church
Congregational church
Congregational churches are Protestant Christian churches practicing Congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs....
of Missouri. The building was used as a public school from 1934 to 1981.
Program Information
The TLC offered a year-long program, and summer programs of four, eight, and twelve weeks in the summer for teenagers from the ages of thirteen to seventeen. A typical student, as described on Thayer Learning Center's website, is:- Acting defiant, disrespectful and disobedient to authority figures at home and/or in school
- Doing poorly, refusing to attend, or failing in school
- Experimenting with drugs, alcohol, sex, and other risky behaviors
- Having some minor legal troubles, shoplifting, taking the family car etc.
- Struggling with or showing signs of ADDADD* A.D.D. , a song on System of a Down's album Steal This Album!* A.D.D. , the first studio album by Blake Lewis, the runner-up on the sixth season of American Idol...
/ADHD or ODDOddOdd is an adjective denoting the quality of being unpaired, occasional, strange or unusual, or a person who is viewed as eccentric.Odd may also refer to:In mathematics, the term odd is used in several senses related to even:...
Academics
Of the two phases of the TLC, only the second permits a student to participate in schooling. This is because TLC wants children to view education as a privilege. Thayer Learning Center employs several certified teachers and the children also have access to tutors. The self-directed study is done through Penn Foster High SchoolPenn Foster High School
Penn Foster High School is a U.S. for-profit distance education high school. The school was founded in 1890, and was known as "International Correspondence Schools", or "ICS". The school is regionally and nationally accredited. It is headquartered in Scranton, Pennsylvania...
, an accredited distance-learning program.
Motto
From TLC's website:
It is mastery of these simple things in life that brings true success in life:
- Spiritual Identity
- Physical Fitness
- Good Nutrition
- Time Management
- Financial Management
- Goal Setting
- Service to others
Controversy
On November 3, 2004 an event took place which has sparked investigations and allegations of abuse concerning TLC's treatment of cadets. Roberto Reyes, of Santa Rosa, California, had been at Thayer Learning Center for less than a week when he died after being bitten by a spiderSpider
Spiders are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, and chelicerae with fangs that inject venom. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all other groups of organisms...
, according to his autopsy. The Caldwell County, Missouri
Caldwell County, Missouri
Caldwell County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri. , the population was 8,969. Its county seat is Kingston. The county was organized in 1836 as a haven for the Mormons, who had been previously driven from Jackson County, Missouri in November of 1833 and had been refugees in...
coroner said at the time that the autopsy concluded that the death was an accident and said Reyes could have been bitten before he arrived at the camp.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO), the investigative arm of Congress, studied the Reyes death in late 2007 for a report released to the House of Representatives. The GAO report said Reyes had more than 30 cuts and bruises on his body when he died. The staff had interpreted Reyes’ symptoms – including falling down frequently, complaining of muscle soreness, vomiting and involuntarily urinating and defecating on himself – as rebellion.
After complaining of illness, Reyes was forced to the ground and held there on several occasions, according to the report. On one occasion, he had a 20-pound sandbag tied around his neck when he was too sick to exercise.
Reyes was placed in the “sick bay” the morning of the day he died, where a staff member checked on him mid-afternoon and found he had no pulse. The staff then called 911 and Reyes was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
A state investigation found that Reyes might have survived if he had earlier medical attention and that records at the camp may have been falsified. No criminal charges were ever filed, though Reyes’ parents filed a wrongful death suit that was settled out of court for about $1 million, according to the GAO .
In late October 2007, Rep. George Miller (California politician), D-Calif. announced the GAO had referred the case to the FBI, stating, "In light of the seriousness of this case, in which neglect, if not outright abuse, likely contributed to the death of a child, I urge the FBI to treat this referral with urgency."
Despite the allegations by 2009 Thayer Learning Center had never been charged nor found to have committed any wrongdoing.
Further reading
- BBB Review of Thayer Learning Center
- The Trouble with Troubled Teen Programs
- Missouri Department of Social Services Investigative Repor