Hyde School (Maine)

The mission of Hyde is to build character and "reach students that nobody has been able to reach before" due to behavioral problems.[5][28] Due to this, the school focuses on character education, leadership development, and developing student potential.[6][29] In an interview in 1975, Joseph Gauld told a reporter that "he prefers not to see students academic transcripts before he starts school at Hyde. Instead, the school conducts extensive interviews with both the students and parents 'to see how they look at life and what the student wants to do at Hyde."[5] In another interview in 1996, Gauld reiterated that transcripts were not examined until after a student's admission: "Grades are used as a placement tool, not an admissions tool."[16] The current admissions page for the school does ask for transcripts, however.[30]

A 1994 government report listed Hyde as one of the schools that "acknowledge that youths' problem behaviors are often related to family problems and disfunction" and asserted that "[m]ost of Hyde's students have a history of family problems." The "[p]rimary reasons for referral are rebelliousness, lack of respect for authority, and poor performance in school." This 1994 report also said, [a]bout 10 percent of the students have been in drug rehabilitation programs.[31]

As part of the character-building curriculum, all students are required to participate in academics, performing arts, athletics, and community service.[5][16] As a recent article describes, Hyde believes that "character, attitude and effort are factors that contribute to academic excellence and personal fulfilment. Hence, their character-based programming is incorporated in their regular curriculum spurring students to work on their leadership skills, public speaking confidence, and building meaningful relationships."[32]

Hyde's students evaluate themselves against the school's five principles of Courage, Integrity, Leadership, Curiosity, and Concern.[33] Regular visits from parents are required; they also participate in regional groups away from campus.[16][33] Honors and Advanced Placement courses are offered, though graduation is based on personal development more than academics, with individual degrees being determined by community assessment.[5][34]

Hyde also runs a leadership program in July for students ages 13–18. The program takes place on campus in Bath, Maine and on the school's Black Wilderness Preserve in Eustis, Maine.[35][36]

Articles from the 1980s and 90s reported that strict behavioral rules were enacted and enforced by administrators and the community at Hyde.[5][6] Students can stop classes and call "concern meetings" to challenge peers they feel are underprepared.[37][38] Examples of past disciplinary procedures include corporal punishment such as slapping and public paddling, a student being thrown in a duck pond, a student being ordered to box a teacher, labor on the school grounds and nearby farms, living in isolation, digging a pit as a metaphorical grave, and receiving a masculine haircut.[3][39][40][37][6][41]

In 2010, the Woodstock campus experimented with banning the use of technology on Tuesdays, in an attempt to increase face-to-face communication.[29]