Cascade School was a

therapeutic boarding school Therapeutic boarding school is an institution where students reside on campus and are provided with both educational and therapeutic services. These institutions first began to emerge in the late 1960s. Description A therapeutic boarding school ...

located in

Shasta County, California Shasta County (), officially the County of Shasta, is a County (United States), county located in the Northern California, northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its population is 182,155 as of the 2020 census, up from 177,223 from t ...

History

Cascade was founded in 1984 and enrolled students between the ages of 13 and 18 years, with a capacity for 120 students in Its final years. The school used Synanon's

attack therapy Attack therapy is one of several pseudo-therapeutic methods described in the book '' Crazy Therapies''. It involves highly confrontational interaction between the patient and a therapist or between the patient and fellow patients during group thera ...

session known at Synanon as the game. Cascade school was accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. In October 1985, five students went missing on a hike in

Lassen County Lassen County ( ) is a county located in the northeastern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 32,730, and was estimated to be 28,340 in 2024, Its county seat and the largest city is Susanville. ...

. Two helicopters took part in the search for the missing students. In September 1998, 85 students and staff members were evacuated from the school due to a nearby

forest fire A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a bushfire ( in Australia), dese ...

that endangered the school. The length of their therapeutic programs was between 18 and 23 months. During the program, students would take part in a series of eight therapeutic workshops. These eight workshops were called propheets and they lasted twenty-four hours. In 2002, the school arranged a wilderness trip to the Warner Mountain District. The cascade school closed in January 2004. After closure, the campus was sold to Julian Youth Academy. Cascade school is mentioned by Paris Hilton in her documentary ''

This Is Paris ''This Is Paris'' is a 2020 documentary film produced by YouTube Originals about media personality Paris Hilton, including her experiences as a former victim of the troubled teen industry. Plot ''This is Paris'' is about Hilton's day-to-day expe ...

'' in 2020.

Notable alumni

Paris Hilton Paris Whitney Hilton (born February 17, 1981) is an American media personality, businesswoman, and socialite. Hilton was born in New York City and raised there partially; shuttling between Los Angeles and New York City; she is a great-grandda ...

Sean Wilsey Sean Patrick Wilsey (born May 21, 1970) is an American author. He is the author of the memoir ''Oh the Glory of It All'', published by Penguin Group, Penguin in 2005. Born and raised in San Francisco, Wilsey is the son of Al Wilsey (1919–2002 ...

References

External links

* Therapeutic boarding schools in the United States Special schools in California 2004 disestablishments in California Troubled teen programs {{California-school-stub