Our Hospital-Ship

We want to take the time to properly thank each and every staff member at Carolina Springs Academy.  Thank you, not only for simply taking care of our daughter, but also for being the life support for our family.  Thanks to you, the wounds we have had for years are starting to heal and our broken hearts are mending.  Our daughter is thousands of miles from home, yet she is alive and safe in your unselfish and loving arms.  You are the hospital-ship we needed in place of the Cruise-liner we thought we wanted.  You are each surgeons, doctors and nurses in place of room service and maids.  Thank you for allowing us to rest.  Thank you for allowing our vital signs to stabilize.  Thank you for clearing our vision.  We are committed to being an active part of the team, to not just tread water in our life-preservers, to get on the ship and fully participate in the recovery of this family with the tools we have gathered from the Discovery and Focus seminars.  You are now a part of our family and will be held in the highest esteem for the rest of our lives.Our heartfelt regards,

Douglas and Dina Beach

Saving your child is not easy

  I sent my daughter to CSA in August of 2005.  It was 10 days before her 15th birthday.  It was the most heartwrenching day of my life.  Knowing I was saving her life didn’t seem to diminish the pain at the time.  I have been so fortunate in that she never “hated” me for it, nor screamed, threatened, refused to cooperate etc.  We are going on her being there for 1 1/2 years and the end is in sight!  She will be coming home soon!  I cannot say enough wonderful things about the school, the program, and the staff.  They are phenomenal!  They love the kids and want only the best for them.  They cheer them on, and hold them when they cry because they are so lonesome for home.

     After sending her to CSA I had heard about the sites that have ‘horror” stories of graduate students or students who were pulled.  First of all, no one sends their child to a school such as this because they missed curfew a few times.  The parents who send their kids here are desperate.  We have no way to keep our kids, hence our selves safe anymore.  Some parents have to have the child “escorted” to the school.  Which means, the child is woken up at 3 am ( if they didn’t sneak out that night) by a team of 2-3 officers. They are equipped with handcuffs and leg shakles if necessary to bring them to the school.  This is not a sight for the faint of heart, but for a parent desperate to save a child’s life. 

     Once the child gets to the school, miracles generally don’t happen overnight.  They still will try and lie, manipulate, break your heart, do anything to get out of there.  If mom and pop think 1 month at a school “like this” is all it takes to “turn them around”, they are wrong.  The problems didn’t come overnight, and won’t be gone overnight.  Little missy or mister dishonest at home doesn’t suddenly turn honest in a weeks time.  We parents may hear that they are chained to the beds, little or no food, whatever will make us run and save our precious little one.  Unfortunately, the only one who can truly help them is the staff at school.   Us as parents can take the seminars, and create support groups with other parents who are in the same boat.  It is a remarkable program, and it works if we can follow the program.  I know I will have a daughter who will come home and have the tools she needs to make good healthy choices for herself.  I will have the tools to support her in making good strong choices.  It is the best program around!  Mary

Thanks Carolina Springs Academy

Dear CSA Staff,

By accepting and working with our son we compare you to angels from heaven.  You have opened up your hearts to boys and girls who have lost their way and made poor choices.  You nurture and teach them selflessly without complaint and with positive vision.  We know what a difficult job this can be, and we are grateful for people such as yourselves who make such a difference in the lives of beautiful young men and women.

We love you for all you do,

Dorothy Waldron

W. Jeffrey Waldron

Thanks to Staff at CSA

To all the staff at CSA,

Thank you for all you do.  I want you to know how grateful I am for all you do.  I know in my heart how much you love our children.   I know that you work very hard to ensure the safety of our kids.  Your training and dedication to the kids could not be accomplished without a heart full of love!  You have my deepest appreciation for all that you do.  I am so grateful to each and every one of you.

With all my love,

Susan L. Smith

Positive Choices Shape lives

Carolina Springs Academy is focused on helping teens to obtain the necessary tools to having lasting success in their lives.  They are taught how to make positive choices that will help to shape them into people who will contribute in a productive way to the world around them.  

Daughters Learning Tools for Life

          We would like to thank you for keeping my children Andrea and Rachel safe and teaching them the tools they require to learn how to make better choices in their lives.  I know there is no better place for them to be than to be at home in their own house, sleeping in their own beds every night and being with their family.  However, making the choices like they have made has made this impossible for them.  Being at CSA has given us a sense of security.  We know they are safe and they are learning every day.  This level of comfort for us had not been possible before CSA.

            Sending Andrea and Rachel to CSA has also changed our lives.  We are also learning every day especially when we use the tools we have learned in Discovery and now in Focus.  We have also inherited a new family consisting of 42 Focus graduates.  Together we are learning to prepare ourselves and our families for when our children come home after their graduation ready to move on and go to college.  We are extremely grateful that CSA and their program exists to help our children learn new tools to help them make better choices.  The world is tough enough however they will be ready for it after they graduate.

Thanking you in advance,

Carlos and Angelina Fornelos

Activities at CSA

Students at CSA have had lots of opportunities to get festive and celebrate the holidays.  Among the list are parades, gingerbread houses, dorm room decorating, cookie decorating, and singing at local churches.  Pictures are currently posted at www.carolinasprings.com for parents and guardians to view on our Secure Parent Login.  This allows parents to see pictures of their child while giving their child privacy in a password protected portion of the site. 

TO BE OR NOT

Have you ever had the ever-so-slight feeling that you’re going through life with blinders on?  Thinking you were truly aware of yourself, of your surrounding and yes, quite conscious of the choices you’re making?  Believing that because of the fact that you’ve admitted to some of the issues in your life, you have indeed been “healed” and that work on yourself is pretty much done?  Truly believing you have dealt with all those inner fears that sit in the driver’s seat of your subconcious and guide your actions, thoughts and reactions on an every day basis, affecting you and your family in so many different ways and on so many different levels.  If this sounds all too familiar to the way you’ve been thinking up to now, then think again my friend….you have you to get with “The Program.”

I first went through the Discovery Seminar a little over a month ago and was not quite sure what to expect.  Nevertheless, I figured I would attend with an open mind and see what happens.  The worse that could happen is that I get nothing out if it but still fulfill my duty as a family member and sibling to my little brother, right? (my little brother is currently flourishing into an incredible young man at Tranquility Bay).  Well, I won’t try to sugar-coat it for  you…the days were long and the expectations wer high.  Were there were times that I wanted to just say “give me a break with all of this?” yes, absolutely! But the thought that my little brother was going through the seminar as well kept me going, at least initially.  My journey at Discvoery began because of my brother and i thought that I was being a good and dedicated sister.  However, I soon began to realize this process was not about him at all, but rather, it was about me.  I gained an invaluable amount of knowledge about myself and the choices I was making consciously and unkconsciously.  The seminar is named Discovery for a reason - it was only the beginning and there was no question in my mind that I would be a part of the upcoming Focus.  My personal experience and breakthroughs, coupled with an impactful, dedicated coach and an incredibly dedicated service team made the decision a no-brainer.  I had only touched the surface and the thought of getting to uncover more of who I was under all those layers of iimage that had been built over the years was just too thought provoking.  There was no option for me - I had to go for it!

I graduated from FOCUS this past weekend and I have spent the rest of the week letting it all sink in, little by little, piece by piece.  The goggles of life I had been wearing for so many years have finally been lifted by the only person who was capable of removing them - that person being none other than me.  Oh, sure, the temptation to blame others for whatever unhappiness, misfortunes and or unwillingness to take risks and make choices were right for me was far too great - so  took it.  It was so much easier to give into temptation because that way, I didn’t have to be completely accountable for the results of the choices I was making in my life…or so I thought.  Through my encounters at Discovery and Focus, I have experienced a feeling of freedom on so many levels it is almost unexplainable - you simply need to experience it for yourself.  The personal and emotional breakthroughs that can occur if you have an open heart and mind are immeasureable, and you never knew that you were so capable of so many things and so unaware of others.

Now, I’ve made a lot of reference to my own personal expereinces and how positive the seminars were for me.  yet, I would be remiss to not mention how these life-changing events have also helped us to move forward as a family.

Discovery and Focus have provided our family a new opportunity to open up the lines of communication.  No more excuses or guilt.  No more of the infamous “You don’t understand me!” or “i just can’t relate to my kid.”  When you and your child graduate from these seminars, really take the time to congradulate yourselves because you’ve also just learned to speak a new language!  This new language is one which speaks of awareness, open communication and common ground, the latter being the key for the family to start anew.  You and your child will be learning to speak with each other for the first time in a way that closes the parental and gender gaps.  It will bring you both to understanding of what it means to truly listen, a skill which I also consider to be a discipline adn which many of you will only be experiencing for the first time in your lives.  These seminars are not about race, gender, geography, culture or creed.  They are not meant to leave you with “something to go home and  think about”…quite the contrary.  You are being given the opportunity to be your own coach in that day-to-day seminar which we refer to as life.  In other words, you are being invited and challenged to take the reigns!  They will provide you with the basic tools but it is ultimately up to you to put them in practice.  It won’t always be easy and you might be tempted to ease back into your comfort zone when times get rough.  Just remember that the immediate gratification is no gratification.  It will take time and some personal sacrifies, but the payoff is a healthier, more balanced and joyful life.  I challenge you to be the brave,  open your hearts and not be afraid to GO FOR THE GUSTO once you are there.  I will make you this promise:  If you choose to challenge your fears and challenge yourself through the process and there after, thre will be NO SUCH THINGS AS REGRETS EVER AGAIN.  Can you imagine that?  If the thought of it appeals to you, then give yourself the opportunity to be free and be who you are….

KAREN A.

BROTHER EDWARD A.

ATTENDED CAROLINA SPRINGS ACADEMY

CURRENTLY ENROLLED TRANQUILITY BAY

THE JOURNEY

Words, ANGRY Words,

Shatter like bricks through a plate-glass

Window.

 

Each word a body blow,

An assault on the senses.

ATTACK; DEFEND;

COUNTER-ATTACK

Then Repeat…

The Door Slams Shut.

He’s gone again,

No doubt to some of his so-called “Friends”

whom we’ve never met.

Why can’t he see?

Is it really just me?

Why won’t he understand?

 

His life’s in his hand.

Lies and deceit,

hopeless despair.

The old friends call no more.

He’s never at home,

seems only to roam

in a drug-induced haze.

Fired from his job,

now school is a joke.

The POLICE called last night,

a parent’s worst fright.

The pattern seems clear,

it’s the outcome we fear.

 

The marriage bed has gone cold,

each had withdrawn to a safe place.

In survival mode.

Deep down in the trenches.

Where can we go?

Even the experts don’t know!

But what of this place,

A school far away?

It seems out last change

To save a life gone astray.

 

A 14-hour drive,

Through the endless, black night.

Lord, give us the strength,

To keep fighting the fight,

And entrust to these strangers

This most precious life.

 

The ride ends far too quickly!

How can we let go?

The parting pain is SO GREAT!

Like childbirth, yet worse,

With no hugs, no more words.

We release him to their care.

 

Yet through the grief and the tears,

A spark of hope emerges,

Reflected in the eyes of the staff.

Theirs is no mere job;

It’s a CALLING.

To change young lives forever,

Is truly their life’s mission.

The heart already knows what the mind

Cannot face,

God has truly brought us to a far better place!

 

Returning home,

Back to the reality of a silent house,

A child’s empty room.

Yet a room overflowing with sorrow and

Bitter confusion of the lost.

How could we have been so blind,

To have missed the sign?

 

We are breathing again,

Alive, but not awake.

Others question our plan,

As just another mistake.

In moments of weariness doubt creeps back in.

Again comes the refrain,

Now we know he is safe,

We can sleep free of pain.

 

The Family Rep is our lifeline,

Our new best found friend.

Dan’s an angel from heaven.

How can one so young, be so wise?

His words bring comfort,

But also a challenge!

You mean we have work to do?

A tough-love commitment letter.

He coached us through,

But the words almost seemed to author

Themselves.

 

The written word

Is our only link.

Letters become a lost art re-discovered.

Writing brings calm and clarity.

Our words echo support and encouragement.

His are cries of anguish,

Pleas for mercy,

Nightmare images.

How could we abandon him?

The silence is deafening.

 

Now on to Discovery,

A new task to complete.

Our ticket to a promised reunion

Sometime in the distant future.

The agenda defies logic;

The days far too long.

Let’s cast aside our doubts

And learn a new song.

 

The instructor,

A Man Mountain Force of Nature

Presents himself as a Marine Sergeant Major

In GQ attire.

His name is Duane.

His words have the sting of harsh truth,

As they enter my brain.

 

Some choose to share,

But I wouldn’t dare.

Until one stands up and he so young,

Reveals his pain of conditional love,

A parents love withheld.

In a flash of awareness realization dawns,

As the tears roll down my face.

In his pain he surely knew,

What I’ve only just now discovered.

 

It’s time to arise and begin anew!

No words of love unspoken,

No more promises broken,

My letter is short, yet the message is true,

Only these few words: GLENN, I LOVE

YOU.

 

In the darkness of the room,

With all tears washed away

A rebirth from the womb

Of a Magical Child, so innocent and true,

Now we remember and see

How it all used to be.

 

As we turn to depart

We leave with full heart,

Of the storms that we’ve weathered

Of friends newly gathered.

Secure in the knowledge we are never alone,

With new found strength and support

And a dawning reality of possibilities barely

Imagined.

To begin creating what once seemed

Unreachable.

A Family once more,

United in love, trust and honesty.

 

The journey’s just begun,

Yet it seems we’ve come far.

Yes we’re so richly blessed

To have been given this chance

To sing life’s love song,

To once more dance the dance.

 

Dick D.

Son Glenn D.

Attended Carolina Springs Academy

Letter of Appreciation

I appreciate what you are doing for my son at Carolina Springs. The pictures of Zane I have seen show a happiness that I have not seen in several years. Though my son professes not to like school and asks to come home, I really believe that he knows that this school is where he needs to be. He has seemed more interested in his grades and I have noticed a great improvement. Most of all I appreciate the fact that his life has been cleaned up. Gone are the friends that influenced badly. Gone are the alcohol, tobacco and drugs that were bringing him down. His grades have gone from D’s and F’s to A’s and B’s. Though it was a most difficult decision to place Zane in the school, I now know it was the best choice and probably saved his life. Thanks to all of you there who care enough to give your life in this effort.
Sincerely,
Jim Myers