Sedona Sky Academy

do not trust this place.

I worked as a Youth Mentor over a year ago & due to family passing away in my life I didn't leave a review sooner. I was told I would be given diligent & extensive training on how to work professionally & compassionately with the youth here. Months of training that never happened. I was immediately, first week working there, put in charge of groups of girls that didn't know me & that I didn't understand how to assist or know what to look for to supervise them. I tried reaching out to the person who hired me & no supervisor was around. A young girl self harmed in front of me & I didn't realize it until she came up to me to show me & I got a quick first aid kit to assist her & when the supervisor eventually came back - I told her what happened & she brushed me off. I quit the next day. Not only did that horrific moment happen, but I also had the youngest girl there - around 10 years old, tell me how to supervise the big group of girls while they went to get their medication because the girls would toss it in the bushes. Mind you, the building where they go get their medication was a long walk to a trailer on the property that was half lit and this process happened at night. I was given no explanation other than to release one girl out of the building at a time and they walked over to get their medication. Girls kept asking how long I would stay because everyone kept leaving & there was hardly any staff to manage the big group of girls. When I had my first meeting with the hiring supervisor, she told me that there was "a new owner" & that they were "re-staffing as quickly as possible". I'm a local to the area where this Academy is at & I had heard rumors of that tag line of "there being knew owners & things are imrpoved now" being told to all new hires for years. A new coworker of mine at another local business told me she was going to start working there this year, only 3 months ago & was told all of the same things. If this "new owner" TRULY & sincerely cared for children, they would shut down the company until they had the REQUIRED & proper staffing provided & set up for the young girls to work with, instead of there only being 2 people & asking the chef to look after your children. I dont think families would appreciate knowing that the chef that is part of the staff is left to look after your children. Mind you, a single chef who is UNTRAINED. I think it is incredibly deceiving, cruel, unprofessional, incompetent. unsafe & harmful to keep a business running like this running with little to no staff & with staff who don't do their jobs. I would highly recommend for people to NOT bring their children here, God forbid something terrible happens to them, but the risk if certainly there it saddens me to admit. I had high hopes to help make a difference, only to walk into a nightmare of a situation & seeing young girls going through extreme neglect. It was evident everywhere & people countering & not believing the girls who speak out & dismissing their experiences just because they are "troubled" is disgusting. There is much more that I saw in my brief time there & I brought this to the attention of the hiring supervisor, only for her to say "we deeply apologize, it won't happen again and please give us another chance". I've lived here in the area for 8 years & from time to time, due to inflation I've looked for extra side jobs on Indeed & guess who is always "urgently hiring"? Sedona Sky Academy. They don't keep people because it's a heartbreaking terribly run business that takes advantage of disadvantaged families. And after yet again seeing another slew of job opportunities coming available for this company online that I just came across, it led me to leave this review & now I'm going to make it my mission to report this company. This is THAT serious.

The new owners of the Sedona Sky Academy are working hard every day to make a good place great. As a consultant in behavioral health, I know first-hand that they have a caring program, the students look happy, and the facility is nice. The academy is located on a beautiful 28-acre campus near Sedona with equine therapy, a mountain creek that runs through the property, and plenty of outdoor space to play. With onsite school, help with behavioral health, loving staff, and the beauty of nature, this place is a kids dream.

Dear parents, the best thing you can do for your troubled children is take them to a hospital! Please get professional help for your children.

Terrible follow up, no meds, no aftercare, no calls, nothing, no belongings returned, not once could I get their physician to approve any of my daughters meds.

My daughter was spiraling downward and we had very few options left. SSA accepted her on short notice. We were hesitant but hopeful, and 6 months later she is home and doing better than I could have imagined. The staff has been amazing; frequent communication and to have the open door policy to visit was such a change from her former RTC. It's only been a few weeks since graduating the program but she is doing well. I am thankful for their work with her and recommend for parents and girls who ate struggling.

Sedona SKY Academy is under new ownership and I am very impressed with their nurturing and supportive environment. A lot of the students come to the academy after they have experienced extreme trauma, and majority of their tuition is paid by their insurance company. It is an all-girls academy, they live on campus and attend year round school.

Any 5 star review is fake or written by parents who are brainwashed and blinded by the program. They frequently get rid of their negative reviews and pressure as many people as possible to write positive reviews. I’ve been out of the program for 4 years now and I can honestly say Sedona Sky Academy is a money hungry organization that isolates your daughter from society, breaks her down until she is compliant (no matter what it takes), and grows the gap between families. Their goal is not to get your daughter home, but to drain your pockets and keep her there. I and girls I attended SSA with experienced psychological abuse, manipulation, and bullying at the hands of the therapists, teachers, and other staff. If you love your daughter and want to see her get better, these programs are not the route you want to take.