Buyer beware, you may not get back the same child you left at this school.
When we interviewed at Dunn I met the headmaster, Mike Beck. He looked at my son smiled, put his hand on his shoulder and told me, "Don't worry, we'll straighten him out." My son didn't need straightening out. My son was the most empathetic and kind child. He had never seen an illegal drug, much less used one. We were looking for a new school because he suffered from anxiety and had been bullied in a previous private school. He was not an "at risk teen" that came from a Wilderness Program, although I came to learn there were several such teens at Dunn. When Mike Beck left the room, after that initial meeting, I looked at Mike McKee, head of admissions, and let him know that I realized, Mr. Beck, as a headmaster, was only a figurehead --a front man-- and that his comment would not alter my decision to apply to Dunn. In retrospect, I should have heeded that red flag.
Within 3 months of being boarded at Dunn my son and another student he became acquainted with bought hash from another student. HASH. The kid skipped pot and went straight to hash. Within 3 weeks of the present semester my son was accused of using and selling LSD. Yes, you read that right -- LSD. He was asked to withdraw from Dunn. It doesn't matter that I was able to establish that he had not taken LSD. The school informed me that my son was accused of selling LSD to a female student. I am unable to prove that my son did not sell this girl LSD and, therefore, they get to keep my $66,000. He said/she said has cost me $66,000 this year.
I was told, by an administrator, that my son "hung out with the wrong kids." The wrong kids on an enclosed campus. He did hang out with the wrong kids although, in my opinion, there is a plethora of "wrong kids" at Dunn. They are the majority, not the minority. Among my son's "friends" in this small school were 2 boys he said were dealing LSD to other students. When my son told me about the drug use, I immediately went to the Dean of Students to report it. I also immediately reported the fact that my son had been attacked by these two boys. One held a knife. The attack occurred on school property, during the day, over an angst filled teenage misunderstanding about one boy's girlfriend. The school took no action regarding the attack on my son but instead accusations of LSD use and distribution ensued. The school asked that I withdraw my son. I was left with no choice but to file a police report with the local sheriff's office and remove my child from the school.
My advice, to prospective parents who choose to send their child to this school, is simple: Don't look back, don't vocalize any complaints over the school's failure to enforce policies and protect their students, and buy the tuition refund because you will never be able to foresee the problems that are endemic to this school. When a drug culture envelops your child's life, drugs become more acceptable. Teen brains are wired so that the longer they are exposed to something dangerous the more exciting, and less dangerous, it becomes. Again, buyer beware, there is danger here. read more
