TWENTY YEARS ANNIVERSARY

Experience the Evolution

On June 5th, Mount Bachelor Academy celebrated its 20th anniversary with a full day celebration. Following festivities on June 3rd for the staff and students in general, Thursday was a special full day celebration with fourteen referring educational consultants and clinical professionals, four representatives from Aspen Education Group, and several dignitaries from the local Prineville community.

Our visitors started their day with a van ride from Bend where they enjoyed tasty box breakfasts for an early start. They arrived and were warmly welcomed by the staff members and students who would be their tour guides through five different stations throughout campus: They visited our Base Camp site to learn from Dave Stuben, the Phase I Leader about Discovery Phase and how we utilize experiential exercises to facilitate student progress at MBA. In the Lifestep Room, we learned from Matthew Lovell, Program Director and Jim Clark, Clinical Oversight Counselor about many therapeutic developments in recent years at MBA. We visited the Graduate residence to learn from Ron Cavanaugh, Graduate Residence Manager and Lynn Vigil, Phase IV Advisor, about how the after MBA transitions are done. Lisa Fairman, Director of Special Education, demonstrated how academics are individualized and Academic Best Practices are implemented with students at MBA. At the dorms, we learned from Residential Director, Bill Hoffman, how important residential life is at MBA now and how positive consequences are utilized to encourage students to do their best.

The morning tour was followed by a special luncheon where we were joined by community members and some students, alumni, and members of the touring professionals, 65 of us in all. We heard again the stories of the early days of the school from County Judge, Scott Cooper and founding Executive Director, Linda Houghton. Four founding staff members who are still employed at the school received 20 year awards and letters from the President of AEG, Jim Dredge and Sr. VP of Western Residential Division of AEG, Mark Dorenfeld who was in attendance. The 20 year staff perspective was remarked upon by founding staff member, Alex Bitz, Phase IV Leader, Staff Trainer, and Parent Outreach Director. Our lovely lunch was made more delicious by the guitar strains of four students and two MBA staff that set the mood with a strings and bongo repertoire.

As we launched into our truffles on a stick for dessert, the remarks continued. Again, Harriet Gershman, esteemed Educational Consultant and long time supporter of the school shared her reminiscence from the early days of MBA to the present. Brooke Dudley, big hearted Texan Educational Consultant followed with thoughts on how MBA has changed and evolved while remaining true to its mission and core philosophy. Jenny Mc Michael, alumni student and master’s student at Martha Washington University, remarked on the benefits of her stay at Mount Bachelor and how she utilizes her lessons from MBA still. We ended with comments from Jon Stephens, alumni parent and educator who shared his thoughts and gratitude about his family’s process at MBA and since.
Our afternoon was spent in the company of Kinship Center’s Sharon Roszia who taught us about working with families of adoption and maladaptive attachments. Her depth of knowledge and wisdom on the subject garnered our rapt attention. To wrap up the day on campus, Alex Bitz shared a slide show depicting student and staff for the past 20 years at Mount Bachelor. As we watched, both our laughter and tears told the rich story of the rewarding work that has chosen us.

We retired to dinner in Bend at Staccato’s at the Firehall, for relaxing time together , still telling the old and new stories of the families we care so much for and the work that we love. Warm toasts were made, glasses raised, hearts aglow… Kay Davison summed it up this way: “Mount Bachelor is like falling into a pile of golden retriever puppies.”

FOR MORE PICTURES FROM SPRING 2008 CLICK HERE