Arch Academy

Are you feeling lost in all your attempts to help your child thrive? Have the schools’ attempts failed? Have your childs’ behavior or struggles begun to tear you or your family apart? The Arch Academy may have the answers and assistance for you. This is a place with a clear vision and a set of standards your child can live up to. It certainly has helped save my daughter and our family. You see, there was a time when my daughter took to restricting her food intake as a means of coping. She successfully hid an Eating Disorder from us and was hospitalized. She dropped out of school and began treatment with a Psychiatrist and a Psychologist until she found the courage to talk to us and begin her road to recovery. The school system tried to meet her needs, but they were ill-​equipped. A School Advocate referred us to the Arch Academy. Our first visit to the school was hopeful. A student gave us the tour. She was excited and articulate. When entering the room, the students came over introducing themselves and shaking our hands. The students seemed busy and engaged. It was clear by the school projects on display, the photos on the walls of International School Trips, the Swim Trophies and plaques on the wall carrying names of the kids accomplishments that this school was different. It was helping the children learn from their life experiences and get their focus back on learning and studying. The principal explained that the school is a wrap around supportive program, meaning that someone is available to help or guide you and your child through any and every life circumstance, ²⁴⁄₇. Our daughter saw hope and engagement. She felt an immediate acceptance by both the students and the staff. The school teaches the same standards we all have, but at some point, our child’s circumstances steered us off-​track. Arch teaches the kids to be accountable to themselves, each other, their teachers, their parents, and their school. They learn to like learning again. They learn to mentor the newer students. They learn to mentor each other. The Arch Academy teaches by the Socratic Method with emphasis on the Great Books. The children stand up every semester and give an hour oral presentation on review of their coursework and personal life goals. At first, I never thought my daughter was going to be able to do this. But at this school they learn to find their own voice, begin to find their own identities, and regain control of themselves and their paths. Today our daughter has regained a decent GPA, scored high on her SAT’s, and is applying to 12 colleges, including some of the top schools in the country. She is looking forward to her future. She knows who she is and is setting a direction for herself.
Thank you Arch for all you have done! When our world fell apart and we didn’t know what to do, you stepped in, saved our daughter, and placed our family on a new, even better course. We hope and pray those of you suffering and in pain with off-​track, off-​beat kids for which the regular schools have no place, consider trying this most excellent program.

This school, if you can even call it a school, is one of the most unprofessional and horrible places you can ever put your child. Take it from me first hand. I was a «student» at Arch Academy back when it was RESCU Academy in 2007 and I can honestly say that today, 7 years later I still have nightmares about that place from time to time. It appears the only person still working there since I was there is Cheryl Zaks, who is the owner/​founder. She and her staff made life a living hell. There was one girl there who they made wear the same clothes everyday for 6 weeks as a punishment. There was another girl who had anorexia problems and the staff would threaten her with consequences if she didn’t finish her meals and would stand over her watching her eat every bite, if she stopped she got yelled at, which from my experience with eating disorders, isn’t a very effective method to get someone better. There was a boy there who talked back to one of the staff members and I remember him so clearly saying «If you think have a problem, mouth of to me again and I will take you out back and give you a problem.» The first day I was there they told my parents to pick me up 3 hours after all of the other kids to scare me into thinking they weren’t going to come for me. Not to mention I was also threatened with taking away all my clothes several times. They literally break you down until you feel powerless, worthless, and alone. I would come home crying until I was blue in the face because of how poorly I was being treated.
Although this review is a little past my time there, seeing recent reviews of people who had equally as terrible experiences really saddens me, which is what made me want to share my experience. Better late then never. This is a sick and unstable place that desperately needs to be shut down. At Arch or RESCU whatever you call it, they do not give a damn about you or your childs well being. The only thing Cheryl cares about is money and driving a nice car.

The Arch Academy might be a good option for kids and families struggling in traditional public school settings, but be prepared to be remade in the image of the executive director, and woe betide those who fail in their fealty. On the positive side, the school provides some tailored emotional and academic support. Some kids can gain a stronger sense of independence and physical fitness, and internalize higher personal/​academic goals in this setting. All good, especially for the families who are worried and possibly desperate for viable alternatives.
As the father of two kids who did not fare well in public school, I’ve been there. It’s painful and frightening to see your children losing confidence, repeatedly suffering emotional setbacks, and getting stock answers from teachers and administrators who lack the tools to respond adequately. And the last thing you want to do is make such a big change as big as changing schools – only to find it is no better, or maybe even worse. Having sent one kid to Arch and the other to a very different non-​public school, I have comparative experience that may be helpful to families searching for answers.
Arch’s strengths are tempered by some key weaknesses. It’s dominated by the severe, my way or the highway personality of the executive director, to the point that it often borders on a cult of personality. Stay in the sweet spot of her approval and you’re fine; question anything, fail to adhere to her particular views or to adopt her values at your family’s peril. Also, although the ED and the principal display labels suggesting they are qualified therapists, professional standards often don’t apply in the world according to the executive director. They may or may not be certified by the state. Confidentiality is not valued. Broken and damaged families may discover zero support for healing the family. Arch is the new family. And be prepared to be accosted steadily by demands to pay more, express your true devotion to the one and only, and support their us against the world view.

This school saved my life! LITERALLY! I started attending the Arch Academy when I was 13 years old. I couldn’t not function in a regular high school or middle school environment because of the academics and the social dramas. I struggled with substance abuse, cutting, learning disabilities, depression and anxiety. Coming to Arch, I didn’t really have an identity. I would always look at others and get myself involved in negative behaviors. I didn’t really ever think for myself because I didn’t know who I was. I have been attending Arch for three and a half years and with the help from staff and peers I was able to find myself.
This school focuses on the whole group and not just one person. This helped me to build strong and GENUINE friendships that I will have for the rest of my life. The staff is very honest. And I mean VERY HONEST. They never hold anything back. This is the main thing I think that shows that the people at this school really care. I’ve never had someone say in my face «You’re selfish» before. And to be honest I think that’s what it takes. Having someone who is not afraid and cares enough to tell you how it really is. It took me FOREVER to accept that I was doing anything wrong. I would always blame others instead of looking at myself.
This school is filled with success. Everyone is held accountable. The bar is raised appropriately for everyone. We are all PUSHED to be successful. It’s very challenging in the moment (writing essays, swimming Alcatraz and the Catalina Channel Relay, completing group consequences to help motivate other students, completing projects, being held accountable, receiving consequences for our negative actions), but when the tasks are complete we learn something new every time. The feeling of achievement is real and lasts forever. The more we achieve, the stronger our determination gets in the future and our strength gets greater. «A MOMENT OF PAIN IS WORTH A LIFETIME OF GLORY»
College was not even an option for me at 15. Now I am 17 years old, witnessing my peers be accepted into amazing colleges and with such variety. This school helped me to see that anything is possible. They gave me the choice of being «sick» or working the hardest I ever have to be healthy and have a voice and to be my own person. The peers and staff are there to help every step of the way. There is no other school like the Arch Academy.

I’m going to tell you how it was, and what it’s like now.
I grew up in an environment that is not preferable. In my middle school years I was not a happy kid and I grew depressed. This carried on to my high school years where I took up drinking. After I told my psychiatrist that I wanted to jump in front of the Encinitas coaster, my parents took me straight to The Arch Academy. I was greeted by the nicest girls I’ve ever met. They held me accountable for my actions and confronted me with the truth about my sickness. I made a decision that I didn’t want to be sick anymore and I changed. The executive director of the school taught me how to swim and I became really good. We started the Zombie Patrol and began training for the Alcatraz Sharkfest. Once we finished the Alcatraz swim, we began training for the Catalina Channel Relay. The water was cold and we finished the 21 mile swim under 12 hours. We are now currently training for the English Channel Relay in June of this year. The water is 55 degrees and we are training with no wetsuits or fins. Aside from the swimming my academics have largely improved. The staff and the peers have helped me get into my number one choice college. I will be studying comedy and American Sign Language-​English interpretation.
Without The Arch Academy I would not be here and I would not be the happy, positive and self-​aware person I am today.

I have had two children at Arch Academy. My son graduated a little over 2 years ago and is in his Sophomore year at a rigorous east coast college with a merit scholarship.
My daughter will be graduating from Arch this June (after swimming a relay across the ENGLISH CHANNEL) and has been accepted to her top choice college in Chicago. Not only was the Arch Academy instrumental as a college prep academy in identifying each kid’s strengths and helping them to prepare for and apply to colleges that would best suit them, the Arch Academy saved our kids and our family.
We did not arrive at Arch by accident. We came to Arch because the old way of doing things no longer worked. Arch encouraged (required) that the WHOLE FAMILY get well; that the WHOLE FAMILY participate in recovery. That approach put us ALL back together again, not just my son or my daughter.
This very unique school built my kids’ self esteem not by artificially patting them on the head and telling them how «special» they were, but by pushing and challenging them to do what they never thought they were capable of irrespective of their «issue» or diagnosis, by holding them accountable for their actions and not accepting the excuse of «disability,» by not «giving them a cookie» for the everyday things that are expected of them but showering them with well deserved kudos when they did something truly outstanding. It works. And it’s REAL value, REAL self esteem.
A special note for mothers of daughters. In today’s day we worry over the strength of our daughters. We worry about them getting lost in the crowd. We worry about them losing their voice and sense of uniqueness through middle school and high school as (the wrong kind of) peer pressure overwhelms them to wear the right clothes, listen to the right music, have the right hair, date the right guy, the list goes on. Depression, eating disorders, drugs and alcohol, inappropriate relationships, cutting, somehow has become a «normal phase that teenage girls go through.» No it’s not! At Arch, particularly under the direction of the Executive Director, young girls are strengthened physically, emotionally and intellectually. They learn to build each other up, not tear each other down. The girls stick together and support one another. That alone is worth the price of admission.
The Arch Academy is a unique school. The changes can be dramatic. But no one is ever alone. Someone is always available ²⁴⁄₇ to field phone calls when a kid flips out on vacation. Parents are available for each other at regular Saturday parent meetings. Students are available for each other through group sessions at school and through the assigned mentorship program pairing new students with more experienced students.
If your child, your family, is struggling, the best thing you can do for your child is Arch. Take it from a gal with not one, but TWO success stories under her belt!

My daughter has attended this school for two years now and it has changed our lives. The school allows the children to embrase their differences and rise above their challenges. Thank you ARCH Academy for not giving up on my daughter when everyone else had.

Melissa, Jan and Sam — your words are spot on! I could write pages and pages of very detailed incidents illustrating the points you all raise and more — the words unethical, dishonest, fraudulent, etc. only begin to scratch the surface — the founder, the principal, and the male teacher are more like cartoon caricatures than real people — kind of like the Wicked Witch of the West and her Flying Monkeys, Jim Jones and his acolytes, cheered on by many of the mothers who behave like Stepford Wives. The one staff member left who really doesn’t belong there (and for her sake let’s hope she finds other work soon) is the young teacher who helped our child academically, while the others went to work on getting rid of our son once we showed any disagreement with anything they pulled on us. If you’re really determined to drink their kool-​aid, prepare yourself well for their my-​way-​or-​the-​highway approach. Their sloppy version of a «tough love» approach they learned to use when this was just a drug rehab place is mindlessly and inappropriately applied to autistic children, which they have no business being around at all. It involves mocking, humiliating, screaming at, insulting their target child and encouraging and enlisting the pet high school students (who ironically refer to themselves as «Zombies») to do the same. Once your child is targeted, you will be spending years on therapists bills to help your child overcome all the emotional harm they will cause him or her if you ever make the huge mistake of sending him or her to this «school.»

My son and our whole family had a terrible experience at this school. Unfortunately, very similar to the other negative reviews. It still saddens and upsets me a few years down the road. I wish I had never placed him there. I wouldn’t recommend this school to anyone.

Scary! The head of the school is not psychologically stable. She has sudden and extreme outbursts, at children, parents, even at the staff of the YMCA. If your child complains or seems fearful, there is is reason. Numerous children were asked to leave with no warning. Incredible turnover of students. Every month some faces disappear and new ones appear. Other than the Zaks, the head of the school, who is often in the classrooms, the other teachers were fine. Nothing great, but not bad either. Except for one thing– where were they all day long? Why are the students so often left all alone in the classroom with no supervision? There are many arbitrary and useless rules. For example, essays have to be a set page length. If they are one sentence over, they get a zero. If they are two lines under, they get a zero. I can understand this with a very short paper, but this is very inflexible with a 10 page paper. Why can’t they be 9 – 11 pages? Also, the teachers can be very nasty to some of children who are deemed «mean» and «beyond help.» When this happens, the teachers tell the other students that it is only a matter of weeks before that child will be leaving the school. The other students are encouraged to be nasty to the «mean» child. It is sort of like they try to force these kids out and get the help of the other students. Very unethical.

Stay far away from this awful school… currently Arch Academy. Inappropriate, rigid, ineffective methods and unethical practices. Kids not taught… expected to teach themselves. Punitive… instead of supportive. May help a few desperate kids and families… definitely not for everyone. They are only interested in kids and families that fall in line quickly, and don’t question anything. They dropped my child without notice after three months because she did not buy into their questionable approach. It just made her more frustrated and defiant than she has ever been. However, they are refusing to refund tuition. We committed, were reasonable and were trying our best. I’m sure they will attempt to paint us as difficult. Do they really expect a year of tuition for failing my child for three months? They wasted three months of her time and ours, and want a year of tuition for that. Our child is thriving since leaving. She is now in a truly caring and experienced environment. She has a LOT of catching up to do because of her time there, but is doing it now thanks to an understanding, amazing public school district and a phenomenal special ed program. Arch failed her and dumped her, yet expect to keep our $ 36,000??? Wow.
Don’t take my word for it. Do your own homework. You can find at least two lawsuits brought against the directors for fraud, among other things, as well as a history of mismanaging money. Whatever you do, DO NOT pay them a year’s worth of tuition up front. Walk away!!! We’ve since learned that there are many wonderful people and places doing great work for struggling kids, and they appropriately charge month to month, per class, per semester, etc. There are also free public school options out there. It is difficult when your child is struggling, but take your time and explore all possible options before making a choice.