IamA Mark Terrell, CEO of Crosswinds, a boarding school in the Dominican Republic providing a cross-cultural experience for troubled teens. AMA!

Good Morning Mr. Terrell, I am a former student of Escuela Caribe, from 2003-2004. While there I personally saw things that still anger me to this day. ie forcing a teen with a severe food issue to eat so much food, he would lose bowel control, and then degrade him for it. Kids sent there just because they were gay, and worst of all in my opinion, tell kids they were going to hell because they hadn't accepted Christ and had no desire to be Christians. Do you condone these actions? and what have you done to change the culture down there? Also are you still using the draconian point system that is just another form of what communist regimes look like? All it did was create a system of people playing the systems game, and turning on each other to get that extra point. I currently work in Intelligence and this is exactly how North Korea is run. Thank you for your time and consideration.

First of all, thank you for writing in and I'm very sorry for what you experienced and what the others that you mentioned also experienced. In my opinion that is true abuse. No child or student deserves to be treated that way and as a parent, I would be angry as well. Crosswinds and our program are nothing like the program that previously existed in the Dominican Republic. Here are just a few examples. 1) Time-outs and seclusion rooms have been closed down and are now apartments 2) Gay conversion therapy has never been nor ever will be something that Crosswinds participates in. 3) Licensed counselors are on staff to work specifically with both students and parents. We believe that it is not just the child's issue. 4) The ability for children to communicate freely with their parents is made available 5) Abusive discipline has been eliminated

But do you still use the point system? And will there ever be a public apology, or public reprimand for past administrations wrong doings, specifically stating the wrong actions, and steps taken to correct those?

We do not use a point system, we use a completely different level system that does not include points. Unfortunately, I have no authority to make those from the past apologize for their wrongdoings.

Also, I just read your websites response. Do you know if anyone from the past administration will face any consequences, such as Redwine, Webster, Grant, or any of the many associated with the past program?

I do not know if any of the past administration are facing formal consequences for their behavior. I have been surprised that it has not happened.

As a formerly abused captive of this exact kind of program, I speak on behalf of everyone when I say answer the fucking questions, Terrell.

We are trying to.

Have any of the children at your school been sent there because they are gay and their parents won't accept it? Do you attempt to perform sexual orientation "conversion" therapy as some "troubled teens" schools do?

Absolutely not. Crosswinds has never accepted nor will ever accept a student with the purpose performing conversion therapy to keep them from being gay or changing them from being gay.

By 'troubled teens' do you mean you brainwash kids into blaming all of their problems on their 'wrong' substance habits, while simultaneously proscribing alternate drug dependencies on them instead?

First of all we are not in the business of brainwashing the students that we work with. In fact if that was our goal it would not be a long term solution to having them experience lasting change. We work with our students to help them understand not only the cause and effect of what they did and the consequences of those actions, but to help them understand what they were feeling, and thinking at the time so that they might find the skills to not repeat those things that caused them to be where they are. We realize that we won't be with them when they go home and we need to help them gain the skills and talents to deal with the issues that they will face not only when they go home, but where ever they may be for the rest of their lives.

First of all we are not in the business of brainwashing the students that we work with.

Ahh, salesmen...

We work with our students to help them understand not only the cause and effect of what they did and the consequences of those actions, but to help them understand what they were feeling, and thinking at the time so that they might find the skills to not repeat those things that caused them to be where they are.

Lol... so you don't brainwash your students, you just inform them of the only socially acceptable interpretation of their behavior should they wish to continue interacting with the family who sold them out to you- also known as the disfellowship approach to substance abuse- Accept our interpretation or live on the street like the rest of the "drug addict" untermensche.

I find your evasiveness on asserting whether or not you proscribe addictions to other pharmaceuticals as 'treatment' to be most telling.

I'm sorry to be combative, but I frankly find your whole industry to be a damn near genocidal fad of a nationalized autoimmune disorder which is tearing my country apart. Adherence to politically convenient scapegoats is nothing to be proud of, and participating in and/or enriching yourself via the nationally socialized scapegoating of particular entheogenic folk habits is simply immoral.

I was not trying to be evasive. We do not prescribe other medication or pharmaceuticals as treatment. In fact we have seen students come to us who have in my mind been so over medicated that they seem to be almost zombie like. We have many times worked with professionals to reduce or eliminate all medications when possible. Some in our industry feel as if they mask the problem that they have been successful. We want to help the student find ways to deal with the issues without the help of outside medications.

Hi Mark,

This AMA is very interesting to me as I lived in the Caribbean while serving in the Peace Corps, as well as that I have worked- and currently work with troubled youth in settings such as wilderness therapy and residential therapy.

What are the socioeconomic demographics of your clients? When I worked in wilderness therapy most of our clients came from very wealthy families who had many resources and who also had an interest in their childs life and well being. The wilderness therapy program was extremely expensive (as I imagine yours is looking at your beautiful facilities) so the families could afford to help their children.

I currently work in residential therapy with youth who are extremely poor and have been abused and have been in and out of the foster care program most of their lives. Most of these youth have little to no family support other than DHS or their caseworkers.

In my experience I have noticed that the youth with families supporting their therapy tend to be much more successful in making life changes and changing their behavior so that they can be productive members of society. The youth who have no family support tend to fall back into habits of drugs, gangs, and violence at a much higher rate than youth with positive resources.

How successful are your clients after they leave your program? Do you feel that their home life outside of your program has a large impact on that?

Thank you for your questions. Concerning the socioeconomic demographics of our clients--most of our clients come middle-class families, which is one of the reasons why we have attempted to keep the cost of our program as low as we have. Your comment on the importance of supportive parents is absolutely correct. A loving and caring family is the number one factor of success of success of children after our program, which is one of the many reasons why we work with the whole family, and not just the child.

What specific criteria do you use to decide whether any youth actually counts as "troubled" or not? Has any teenager ever been sent because of their sexual preference, or reasons related to parental disapproval of similar choices that are ultimately up to the youth? And have you identified any cases at all where the problems with the child were due to cases of parental neglect or abuse?

How can you justify continuing to employ anyone at all who participated in blatantly abusive practices?

Under the "structure and discipline" section of your website, as well as in the handbook for parents about the "level" system, there are no specifics about what consequences are applied beyond "loss of privileges". While you state that "punishments will not harm the dignity or well-being of any child", those are extremely relative statements that do not guarantee what actions will or will not be taken. Considering the abusive past of this very facility, which defined things like "clean living quarters" and "human contact" as privileges, you owe it to parents and students to be very specific about what will and will not happen - so can you provide a link to a document that lists exactly what actions will and will not be taken?

Also - in terms of your organization, are you for-profit or non-profit, and where does your financial backing come from and go to?

Crosswinds has never participated in nor will ever participate in gay conversion therapy. We do find many times that the issues that our students are dealing with are closely connected to issues with their parents. We believe that the solution comes when the entire family is involved in the therapeutic process. Crosswinds has no one employed who has ever been accused of or participated in blatantly abusive practices. If we had evidence of such, those staff would be terminated immediately.

In response to your questions about our level system, I think that is a great and fair request. Let me look further into what document we have that would address your concerns.

We are non-profit 501(c)3 organization and our entire budget is funded privately through donations and services rendered.

Do you have advice for parents so they can avoid having to send their kids to one of your facilities?

Absolutely. Our number one goal at Crosswinds is for families to never have children reach the point where they come to the our school in the Dominican Republic. My best advice would be for the entire family to find someone that they could work with professionally. Many times a child is in trouble and all of the effort is spent on working with him/her when the problem is actually much larger. When a family works together and the child understands that "we as a family are in this together" we've seen great success. My second suggestion is that problems don't go away, so deal with them right away. Many times parents wait too long to get the help their children need because they're embarrassed. The problem never gets smaller, so get the help you need.

Looks like you're a Christian boarding school. Do you force students in your program into accepting Christianity?

We do not force students to accept Christ into their lives. In fact we believe that is the worst thing that we could ever do. There are many programs that believe that it is their responsibility to make a child a Christian and in fact the success of the student is based on whether or not they act like they have a faith. That is not what we are looking for and believe that "prison conversions" rarely last and are made for all of the wrong reasons. It is due to our faith that we do what we do and believe that Jesus Christ never forced those he talked with to accept what he beleived. He spent time with them, built relationships with them and told them what he believed. Some believed and then others didn't. Accepting Christ is a personal decision and not one that we are responsible for.

Are teens often sent there based on a court order. Also is internet anything along those lines permitted, such as computers. Also how is the education you provide? What is your number one priority there, education based on school, or what is culturally acceptable?

Our number one priority is for students to return to the United States with an education that allowed them to keep up, catch up, or get ahead of level they were at before they came.

All great questions. First of all, Crosswinds was created to work solely with children and families that are not currently in the court system. Our students have limited access to the Internet for obvious reasons. We have an accredited school that has a curriculum that is able to work with students at any grade level they find themselves at K-12. For example, if we have a 17 year old who reads at the 4th grade level we can accommodate them.

How are students disciplined at your school?

Great question: First of all we have a positive level system that allows students to recieve more and more freedom and opportunities that they grow into. Very much like the new driver may be able to drive back and forth to school and after awhile is able to drive to the mall and then eventually have friends in the car. Each step is a new freedom that is gained when it has been shown that you can handle the freedom that you have been given. It is our goal to find the things that you are doing right rather than finding the things that you are doing wrong. When a mistake is made and when disipline is necessary a freedom or privilege is removed. Very much like the parent who takes away the privilidge of driving when observed speeding or running through a red light. Not the end of the world but a great reminder of what happens in life.

How is pulling a teen away from their family positive? How do you keep the family involved?

Great question: In fact it is our number one goal to keep the teen and their parent together and never have to come to CMA. We are one of the only programs in the country that tries to not have children come to their residential program. Our number one goal is to find a way to work with the entire family in the home and in many cases the teen never needs to leave and come to CMA. The only time that it is necessary is when all of our in home work has been exhausted and there needs to be a break. Sometimes this is necessary because the teen is becoming violent, the teen is putting themselves in a dangerous situation, or the parent is begining to become violent themselves. When a child comes to CMA we believe that there is as much work that needs to happen in the home as with the child who now resides at CMA. We are working with the parents on a weekly basis with a counselor that has been assigned to them. We expect the parents to be as committed to dealing with the issues as we do the child. This is a family isssue not just a child issue.

Are there a lot of problems like fighting between students? Seems like putting a bunch of bad students together would have some negatives.

I can see how you might think that. Most of our students are not bad kids and fighting has not been a problem that we have experienced a lot at our campus. Many times it has been helpful for our students to realize that they are not the only ones facing some of the things that they are working on. To see that they are not alone is incredibly helpful in giving them hope.

I've heard that you don't allow any unmonitored communication btwn your students and their parents is that true?

That is not correct. In fact one of the benefits of hearing some of the concerns from past students allowed us to address this issue. We allow each of our students unmonitored communication with their parents each week. There are times that it is important for us to be a part of the communication process not because of what the student tells the parent but the messages that come to the students from the parents. Many times parents are using the child against another parents, or are sending mixed messages that a child/student can't handle on their own. In these situation we need to be present. However we do believe that it is important to learn from the mistakes of the past and have allowed them time alone with their parents.

What kind of "experience" do you guys offer troubled teens? How does this help them?

Cross cultural, it's like experiencing cultures but everyone is cross at you.

Not sure how to answer your question, but it made me laugh.

Ahkay lets try this one, how do you guys do cross cultural experiences? and why?

Thanks for the new question. I believe that cross cultural experiences happen when ever you are in a culture that is different than the one that you are normally in. For instance I would have a cross cultural experience if I spent time in downtown Chicago in the projects. The language, the food, the smells, the activity are all different and allow me to compare and contrast my own culture with the one that I am experiencing. Each time I do so I find things that I want to adopt and things that I begin to appreciate about my own life that many times I have taken for granted. I believe that those students that come to CMA have this same experience. Doing community service within the community allows them to see the joy that those that have very little have and may cause them to realize that real joy is not about what you have but about what you make in life. The pace of life is very different and one of the things I enjoy is seeing our students actually play board games. Some of them have never had the time to even play a board game with another individual and have to learn to win or lose with a person and not a machine. These are just a few of the cross cultural experiences that came to my mind.

Thats a far wider definition of cross cultural than i've ever encountered, but i get where your coming from. Do you find it tricky to implement these experiences?

Not really. We are not forcing our students to be cross cultural, but being in a different culture allows them that opportunity naturally. One of the things that I believe helps in this area is that all of our students are virtually unplugged from technology. No cell phones, limited access to computers, no head phones etc. It allows them to see and hear things that they may have walked by simply becuase they were so distracted by the "noise" in their lives.

We offer an opportunity for teens that come to CMA to have a fresh start. Whether that is with their parents, in school or in life itself. We have a fully accredited school that will allow students to catch up, keep up and even get ahead. We have a staff of counselors who are working not only with the student but with the parents to identify issues that need to be addressed and to create solutions that will help them as they move forward in life. In addition all of our students spend a tremendous amount of time in the community doing community service which many times is a life changing event. These are a few of the types of experiences that are valuable in helping troubled teens.

Thank you all so much for your questions. I really appreciate the opportunity for open dialogue. I am signing off for now but will hopefully have another chance to do this sometime in the future.

First of all, thank you for writing in and I'm very sorry for what you experienced and what the others that you mentioned also experienced. In my opinion that is true abuse. No child or student deserves to be treated that way and as a parent, I would be angry as well. Crosswinds and our program are nothing like the program that previously existed in the Dominican Republic. Here are just a few examples. 1) Time-outs and seclusion rooms have been closed down and are now apartments 2) Gay conversion therapy has never been nor ever will be something that Crosswinds participates in. 3) Licensed counselors are on staff to work specifically with both students and parents. We believe that it is not just the child's issue. 4) The ability for children to communicate freely with their parents is made available 5) Abusive discipline has been eliminated

Thanks for your questions. I will be checking back periodically to answer your other questions.

One of the comments that is often made is that Crosswinds has many of the same employees that New Horizons/Escuela Caribe had in 2006 when the movie "kidnapped for Christ was made"

I hate when the word "many" is used because it gives an impression that in this case is completly inaccuarte. In 2006 New Horizons had over 100 staff on payroll, today we have two staff that were there in 2006. I would say the word many in this situation is misleading and inaccurate.