Facade Schools: Red Flags & Questions to Ask

These programs are marketed as growth and character. Here's the checklist we wish every parent had.

Institutional Vocabulary

Proprietary terms replace plain language and discourage questioning.

Questions to ask:

  • • Can you define these terms in standard clinical or educational language?
  • • Are staff trained to avoid jargon?
Peer Enforcement

Students monitor and confront each other as a core behavior tool.

Questions to ask:

  • • How are conflicts handled?
  • • Are confrontations supervised by licensed clinicians?
Conditional Belonging

Love, privileges, or family contact tied to compliance.

Questions to ask:

  • • What access do students have to family?
  • • Can contact be restricted as punishment?
Levels & Rituals

Progress measured by public phases, ceremonies, or confessions.

Questions to ask:

  • • Are private matters made public?
  • • What safeguards prevent humiliation?
Opaque Outcomes

Success stories marketed, but independent data is scarce.

Questions to ask:

  • • Do you publish third-party verified outcomes?
  • • What is the long-term follow-up?
Unlicensed 'Therapy'

Young faculty or coaches acting as de facto clinicians.

Questions to ask:

  • • What % of staff hold relevant licenses?
  • • Who supervises interventions?
Discipline via Isolation

Silence, banishment, or forced reflection as punishment.

Questions to ask:

  • • What are the disciplinary policies?
  • • Are isolation or silence used?
Family Pressure

Parents guided to confront or withdraw affection.

Questions to ask:

  • • How are families coached?
  • • Are there boundaries around parent-child 'accountability'?
Recruitment & Reputation Control

Curated review sites, alumni pressure, selective storytelling.

Questions to ask:

  • • Do you engage independent reviewers?
  • • How do you handle negative feedback?
Exit & Aftercare

Little support for reintegration; blame placed on the child.

Questions to ask:

  • • What does aftercare look like?
  • • How is responsibility shared post-program?

This checklist is not legal or medical advice. It's a starting point for deeper questions.