School for troubled children banned smiling and staff 'murdered captive souls'

17 March 2024 , 07:00

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There was a ''no camera'' room where workers did not have to fear being held accountable for their actions (Image: Netflix)

Ivy Ridge was sold as a “tough love” institution marketed to parents as a place to send their "troubled teens" but the sinister school "kidnapped" children before their strict rules, impossible points system and "camera-free rooms" left them traumatised.

The horrifying abuse children suffered at the American school system, which has now been shut down and sits abandoned, was recently documented in a new Netflix docuseries, The Program: Cons, Cults and Kidnappings

Parents sent their disruptive kids to Ivy Ridge in a bid to improve their behaviour but despite costing families up to £140,000, the school was home to horrific practices including a “no camera” room, where staff could act as they pleased and abuse children without fear of being caught on CCTV.

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The pupils were subjected to ''no smiling'' rules (Netflix)

Many students gave false confessions for fear of what would happen if they didn’t, admitting to drug use to avoid punishment. The program would be a nightmare from the beginning, with attendees' journeys beginning with being “kidnapped” from their family homes to bring them to Ivy Ridge.

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With the parent's consent, the child would then be dragged to the institution where they would be kept indefinitely. Rules within the school meant students were forbidden from talking, smiling, going outside, or communicating freely with the outside world.

The only way they were able to leave the program before the age of 18 was if they passed through the extremely tough rules at hand. For each "failure" to adhere, they were docked points and moved back a stage. During its peak, The Academy is said to have had almost 500 children enrolled.

The new Netflix documentary is called ''The Program: Cons, Cults and Kidnappings shows inside the Academy at Ivy Ridge'' (Netflix)

The shiny brochure billed the academy as a relaxing location of "237 acres, with plenty of outdoor recreational space and nature trails," but what the children were made to endure was sinister. Based in Ogdensburg, , the school opened in 2001 for kids classed as "troubled teens,"

The three-part series directed by a former student who attended Ivy Ridge sees past pupil Katherine Kubler relaying the events of the 15 months she spent confined in the institution from the age of 16 before leaving in 2005.

Alongside follow survivors, Katherine returned to the scene of some of her worst memories and discovered hundreds of haunting files that showed the brutality the kids faced on a daily basis. Among the discarded evidence in the abandoned building, they found restraint logs, surveillance footage of abuse and excessive force and infraction records.

The documentary maker claims around 40 people who were sent to the academy who have since died by suicide (Netflix)

Katherine later told cameras how she still suffers from panic attacks, social anxiety and complex post-traumatic stress disorder. She candidly said: "It's rough. There are nights I'll just be in the fetal position crying. It's heavy and I don't know how to describe how debilitating it can be. They tried to murder children's souls."

Ivy Ridge was one of many now-defunct World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools (WWASP), which had been founded by Robert Lichfield. Katherine tragically claims in the documentary that she is aware of around 40 people who were sent to the academy who have since died by suicide.

Emilia Randall