What Happens When Students Go Home?

The Family Survey

What happens when students go home? It seems like a simple question. My name is Mike Petree and I’ve been working for RedCliff Ascent for over a decade. I’m wrapping up a graduate program in counseling psychology. While in school I’m contracted with RCA to do follow up and research for the company. I call family of our graduates to find out how things are going and gather information from those phone interviews. When I call I refer back to the main issues that the family noted during intake of the kids. These were the issues that became big enough for their child to be sent to RedCliff. We use these issues as a foundation for tracking how they are doing. I also ask families questions about family relationships, as well as if the graduate is spending time with the same old friends. Another key question is  how are they coping with frustrations and family disagreements.

Fatherly Advice

My father was a university administrator and educator. He told me once that he really enjoyed mowing the lawn because it was one of the few things he did in his life that he could look back and see what he’d done. I used to think he was joking but now I understand what he was saying more than ever. We are in the business of helping others. It is very difficult to know what impact we are having. We all have our own ideas about what went wrong, but these assumptions can sometimes be flawed. Sometimes the “cause” is so far removed from the “effect” that we have to use a systematic method of observing. This ongoing study isn’t  designed to tell us “what caused what?”, but instead, “what is going with the kids after wilderness. Our program is all about the family and their successes.

There is a confidence about making programming decisions. I’m a strong believer in RedCliff. I’ve personally seen it influence many lives for good. I am enthusiastic and passionate about the quality and focus of our service. We always want to be better and these survey’s help us get better.