About Boulder Creek Academy
Boulder Creek Academy was founded in 1993, but the roots of the school reach back to the 1960s when Mel Wasserman, a Palm Springs, California, businessman was drawn to the large numbers of longhaired-young hippies milling around outside of his business. Fellow merchants found them offensive and wanted to kick them out of town, but Wasserman instead – more... opened dialogue with them, wanting to find out what made them tick.
What seemed like an inconsequential event in 1967, when Wasserman invited five or six kids into his family home for conversation, turned out to be the rudimentary beginnings of the emotional growth education industry. Within the next couple of months, the group gathering for discussions at the Wasserman's grew to more than 40. The kids talked for hours, pushed each other emotionally, and really communicated. There was a safety in these discussions that they did not get anywhere else.
Mel Wasserman, with the help of his family and some of those involved in his initial group discussions, founded CEDU in 1968. The name CEDU was derived from the group discussions, which were based on the principle of seeing yourself for who you are and doing something with it - "see and do."
CEDU pioneered and defined the emotional growth education industry by addressing the needs of troubled teens at risk of not completing high school - and worse. CEDU mastered the technique of reaching these adolescents by creating a structured environment where staff and students set the limits, provided positive reinforcement, and confronted each other openly when their integrity was in question. This open dialogue, strong peer culture, and trust in human relationships created a safe haven for them to address emotional issues and rebuild their lives.
In 1969, CEDU High School was founded in San Bernardino, California. Over the next ten years, the school grew as more and more parents called looking for a place where their son or daughter would be taught to use the values instilled in them as a young child, where they might be free to grow as a healthy teenager away from the growing influences of alcohol, drugs, and violence. And so CEDU grew, and as it grew, it developed additional schools and programs to meet families' diverse needs. In 1982, Rocky Mountain Academy was established in Bonners Ferry, Idaho, and CEDU Middle School opened on the campus of CEDU High School in 1991. In 1994, CEDU opened ASCENT, a therapeutic wilderness program. Northwest Academy and Boulder Creek Academy, and the independent living program Milestones came shortly thereafter. Over the decades, as the needs of families and children have changed, so too has CEDU adapted to provide a timely, meaningful experience for them.
Boulder Creek Academy draws from the core elements of the original emotional-growth curriculum that is the 36-year hallmark of CEDU, to provide a life-enhancing experience teens struggling with emotional and behavioral problems that are limiting their ability to find academic and personal success.
CEDU Education forged the emotional-growth industry and direct lines can be drawn to a number of emotional-growth boarding schools in existence today. These programs were actually started by former associates of CEDU and Wasserman. Among these are the Cascade School, Mount Bachelor Academy, Hidden Lakes Academy, The King George School, The Monarch School, and The Academy at Swift River.
Wasserman built CEDU on the belief that "The task of true education is to liberate and develop the talents and abilities within the individual." As Wasserman frequently said to staff, "We are the lesson." We teach by example. – less – More from ZoomInfo »
Boulder Creek Academy Jobs
Boulder Creek Academy Employer Reviews
Working at Boulder Creek Academy
