Following a state probe and the suicide deaths of two of its pupils, a residential treatment school for girls in the mountains of North Carolina has shuttered.
Asheville Academy said it was difficult to decide to voluntarily close, and on Tuesday it revealed that all of its students had been freed from its Weaverville campus this past weekend.
The academy was forced to close a few days after mental health officials in North Carolina ordered it to stop accepting new students unless it could demonstrate that it was shielding girls from abuse, neglect, and damage and that its staff was being adequately supervised.
According to officials, the order followed the start of a state inquiry into Asheville Academy on May 8, five days after a 13-year-old girl committed suicide there.
The issues the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services discovered were not covered in length in the letter, and officials have not made any more announcements, including the results of the inquiry.
On May 27, the state mandated that Asheville Academy cease accepting new patients.
Authorities reported that a 12-year-old girl committed suicide at the school two days later, making it the second fatality in less than four weeks. Two days later, according to the academy, all of its students were released.
“We are utterly heartbroken by the loss of a young life and share our deepest condolences with the family and everyone touched by this tragedy. Out of respect for those grieving and in deference to ongoing investigations, we cannot provide further comment at this time,” according to the Asheville Academy.
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According to the most recent state report on the school, which was made public in March, it has 27 females and was authorized to accommodate up to 90 kids.
Last year, North Carolina authorities shut down the nature-based residential therapy program for boys run by the proprietor of Asheville Academy.
After a 12-year-old child was discovered dead in a cabin in February 2024, the day after he arrived, Trails Carolina’s license in Transylvania County was canceled.
