DeSisto School

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The DeSisto School may refer to either the DeSisto at Stockbridge School, or the DeSisto at Howey School, both founded by Michael DeSisto.

Stockbridge Campus c.1982
Stockbridge Campus c.1982

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Beginnings

DeSisto at Stockbridge School was founded in 1978 by Michael DeSisto. Michael DeSisto was fired by the board of directors of The Lake Grove School. DeSisto raised $180,000, from the parents of students who supported his vision, and encouraged him to open a new school 'where he could put his philosophy into practice'[1]. It was conceived of as a therapeutic boarding school for teens who had problems in traditional school settings. It was created on the 300 acre campus of the old Stockbridge School in the Berkshires region of Massachusetts, near Tanglewood and the Stockbridge Bowl.

In 1980 DeSisto opened a second campus in Howey-in-the-Hills Florida named the DeSisto at Howey School. DeSisto originally envisioned a string of schools nationally and internationally based on the principles of Gestalt Psychology, and his own therapeutic model.[2] The DeSisto School would develop a reputation as the place that celebrities, the rich, and political elites could send their children who had difficulty living at home, and functioning in traditional secondary school environments.

[edit] Controversies

Quite early on, it had problems from the commonwealth Department of Education which withdrew its accreditation after questions arose about the school's treatment of "special needs" students. The school sued in 1983, and won back its accreditation.

In 1986, the DeSisto School received national attention with the case of Heather Burdick, from Old Bridge, New Jersey, who was sent to the Stockbridge campus, and ran away from the school after only a few weeks. A group of parents from Burdick's hometown sought to sue The DeSisto School for illegally detaining Heather, but the action failed. The DeSisto School subsequently successfully counter-sued, and after recovering $550,000 in legal expenses was awarded $41,000 for damages.

The DeSisto at Howey School was not without its problems, either. The DeSisto School sued Howey-in-the-Hills over zoning issues related to the incipient DeSisto College. The town of Howey-in-the-Hills was awarded $203,279.27 in attorney fees and $17,194.12 in costs. The case of DeSisto College, Inc. v. Town of Howey-in-the-Hills[3], 718 F.Supp. 906 (M.D.Fla. 1989), is often cited and used as precedent where the plaintiff's claim is frivolous because it has no basis in law, the plaintiff rejects any reasonable offer to settle, the trial court dismisses the case without trial, and the plaintiff does not offer any novel legal theories. On November 15, 1988, The Boston Globe reported that Michael DeSisto and The DeSisto School had been sued 23 times for breach of contract and fraud.

[edit] In popular culture

Actress Susan Sarandon narrated a documentary named "Uphill All the Way" about The DeSisto School, and a bicycle trip taken by some female students in the year 2000.[4]

In the book Death In Paradise (2001), by Robert B. Parker, the DeSisto School is mentioned briefly several times. In the first mention, Parker names Michael DeSisto as an attendee at a party given by an obnoxious pedophile. Then, he has the pedophile's wife say DeSisto is a good friend of theirs. Later, Parker mentions Michael DeSisto’s school in Stockbridge.

In the last chapter of his book Into My Own (2006), author Roger Kahn describes his negative experiences with Michael DeSisto and the school's family therapy workshops he attended in 1979 with his son, who committed suicide in 1987.

Cornelia Read in her novel The Crazy School (2008), dedicates her book to the students of The DeSisto School. The character Santangelo, and the academy named after him, are loosely based on Michael DeSisto, The DeSisto School, and some of the students and staff who were there in the late 1980s.

[edit] Demise

The DeSisto at Howey School closed in 1988, due to declining enrollment, and legal problems with the local government. Following a long legal fight with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts over licensing, allegations of child abuse, a Commonwealth-imposed enrollment freeze, and accusations of failing to create a safe environment for its students, the DeSisto at Stockbridge School chose to voluntarily close in June 2004.[5]

The DeSisto at Stockbridge School was renamed The Cold Spring Academy, and opened a campus in Sarasota, Florida. The Cold Spring Academy permanently closed in 2005.

[edit] External links

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ Q&A: Handling 'Kids the Public Schools Don't Want to Handle' Education Week February 16, 1983
  2. ^ Getting that "DeSisto Glow" Time Magazine Monday, Nov. 26, 1979
  3. ^ [http://www.altlaw.org/v1/cases/430262 United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit E.g., DeSisto College, Inc. v. Line November 15, 1989]
  4. ^ [http://www.wmm.com/filmcatalog/pages/c557.shtml Uphill All the Way A film by Khin May Lwin and Robert Nassau US, 2000, 80 minutes, Color, VHS ]
  5. ^ [http://www.masspsy.com/leading/0406_ne_desisto.html DeSisto School closes Vol 16, No. 4 nepsy.com By Elinor Nelson ]