Searching for honest feedback about our program? These boarding school reviews from parents and students share powerful stories of transformation, hope, and healing at Whetstone Boys Ranch. Learn how our structured, faith-based approach has impacted families just like yours
“Though Caleb had always struggled with controlling his emotions, shortly after the age of 11 our home had become a battleground. Stealing and lying had become the norm. We watched helplessly as our tender-hearted, engaging son turned cold and apathetic. He refused to take ownership of his poor decisions and became increasingly withdrawn, angry, and depressed. Everything was a fight, whether anyone else was engaging with him or not.”
“It’s hard to describe the feeling as a mother to watch your child spiral and not be able to “reach” him. As the parent of a challenging child you learn how to become their advocate, helping others see the amazing qualities within them that you see and love as their parent. As his mom, I truly believed that I knew him best. I knew how to speak to him, love him through his hurt, and put supports in his life where we felt unqualified.”
“But, eventually, none of that was enough. Limits were set and mowed right over. Privileges were lost only to be met by verbal abuse and threatening behavior. Passwords were changed and items were taken away, only for our accounts to be hacked into and reset. Money was stolen, trust was lost, and joy was nowhere to be found. Every day was exhausting.”
“Not trusting my child was heart breaking. I was afraid for his future and deeply saddened by what our family had become. I missed my son. There were many voices telling this Mom that he needed more than we could give him. I fought against those voices so hard, as I knew God gave him to US intentionally. I will never forget the day I felt the Lord say “get out of My way”. I was working so hard to provide an environment that Caleb could succeed in that I was standing in the way of where God wanted him. Driving Caleb to Whetstone Boys ranch was the most difficult thing we have ever had to do as parents, but there was nothing else WE could do for our son. We had to let him go and let the Lord take over.”
“Whetstone Boys Ranch was everything we couldn’t give Caleb. It was a break we all needed.”
“Caleb deserved to be in an environment where his temptations didn’t exist. He needed to be in a place where he had opportunities to explore new interests, challenge himself, and find a purpose. He deserved to be with people who could be consistent 100% of the time because the environment supported it. He needed to feel understood and have access to people who could help him process his strong emotions as he was experiencing them, not for 50 minutes, days later, during an already scheduled appointment time.”
“It didn’t take long. He sounded happy and healthier during our first phone calls, which we know may not the norm for most boys. The first opportunity we had to see Caleb we were a nervous wreck, especially because we were there to tell him we were moving. We will never forget him nervously telling us he had to ask us a question. It was nothing either of us was expecting. He said to us, ‘Why did you wait so long to send me here? Why did you show me so much grace?’ We were blown away. He then broke down, sobbing, apologizing for all he had put us through.”
“During our first family visit, we were able to see just how deeply he was being impacted by your program. Besides his manners and eagerness to hang out with his family, it was his smile. There was a joy in his smile that we hadn’t seen for years. We spent that week enjoying genuine conversations with him, as he shared his experiences, asked our advice and listened to our responses, nodding along as he processed what we were saying.”
“Caleb has been home for three months now and it seems so hard to even believe what life was like before Joining WBR. Whetstone Boys Ranch didn’t change who Caleb was – they helped to bring our son, who was lost inside of himself, back. Today we are enjoying the typical frustrations of parenting a 13 year old boy, which we will gladly take! Our biggest disagreements are over how often he should do his laundry. We are so happy to have our boy home and to continue to see that joy filled smile on his face as he jokes around with his siblings or is teasing his Dad. He completed his first quarter at a new school with all A’s (and one struggling Science grade) and zero notes/calls from teachers about behavior.”
“One of our greatest things to watch is the return of Caleb’s sweet, playful relationship with his siblings. They are regaining their trust in him and he is aware of just how impactful his interactions with them are.”
“He is involved in extracurriculars and church youth group, is making new friends, and training for his first 10k in May.”
“We are forever grateful to the Whetstone Boys Ranch staff for loving our boy.”
