Wellspring Academies

Not to be confused with the Wellspring Academy Trust, which manages schools in the north of England.

Wellspring Academies (formerly Academy of the Sierras) was a pair of therapeutic boarding schools for overweight and obese children, teens, and young adults, both operated by Wellspring, a division of Aspen Education Group. It is said to be the first weight loss boarding school in the United States.[1][2]

As of September 2009 Wellspring Academies had two campuses.

  • The California campus is in Reedley, California, about 30 minutes southeast of Fresno, and has 90 students ages 13–24 (grades 8–12, as well as a college-age program run in conjunction with Reedley College).[3]
  • A second campus, located in Brevard, North Carolina and known as Wellspring Academy of the Carolinas (or WSCL), has roughly 30 students ages 11–18 (grades 6–11).[4]
  1. ^ Manny Crisostomo, The Weight, Sacramento Bee, Special Report, October 2006
  2. ^ Mcclatchy and Blythe Bernhard, Losing weight in a boarding-school setting; But some question academy’s methods, The Chicago Tribune, December 3, 2006
  3. ^ "Residential Weight Loss Programs for Overweight Teens - California boarding school to treat obesity". www.wellspringacademies.com. Archived from the original on 5 March 2008. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  4. ^ "Wellspring Academies of the Carolinas". www.wellspringacademies.com. Archived from the original on 5 March 2008. Retrieved 13 January 2022.