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LETTER TO THE EDITOR Dear Editor, As I read the following letter for first time, I was hoping that I could feel the same way when our son Parker was about to graduate. In August of 2006, Kerry and I decided to send Parker to Lyman Ward Military Academy. There were many uncertainties in our making this decision for him. Although a drastic move to send your child off to military school is not for everyone, it was the best move for Parker. He did not feel as we did, but he went along with our decision. I would not tell anyone he loved it, he tolerated it. Our friends and his friends noticed differences in him the first time he came home. He held his head high and seemed more confident in himself. The discipline and direction that military school offered Parker was just what he needed. He is even talking about college. He will graduate from Lyman Ward Academy Thursday afternoon. We are so proud he attended LWMC and will leave there with so much more than he entered with. Thanks to all his teachers and the administrative personnel in the Thomasville School System that believed he could do anything he wanted to and tried to lead him for the ten years he was in the school system. A special thanks to Dr. Adkison and Dr. Clayton for their guidance even though Parker was not in school for their first year in Thomasville. By the way, we do feel just as proud of Parker as Ms. Chabot did back in 2005 of her son, Ben. Charlie Phillips and Kerry Phillips, parents of Charles Parker Phillips Dear Lyman Ward Military School Staff and Faculty; I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for the positive impact you have had on my family and in particular my son, Benjamin Gardner. We had tried everything to make him feel empowered in his own life, feel good about himself and want to excel. Nothing worked. He wasn't a "bad" kid, just directionless. My son came to you as a confused, unmotivated and underachieving 13 year old. He graduated after four years in your institution a strong, confident and motivated young man of 17 with goals and aspirations and the academic and leadership tools to meet them. He graduated 3rd in his class and was one of the most decorated cadets in your school. He learned self-discipline and perseverance through your strict military and academic system and flourished in that system. Each time he came home on leave, we noticed, differences in his demeanor, his posture and his confidence. He started to take pride in himself, his surroundings and his accomplishments. He looked adults in the eye, stood taller and spoke clearly and with conviction. When we first sent him to LWMA, other parents' reactions were often "how could you send him so far away; wasn't there something else you could have done?" But when they met with Ben on each school leave, the main question was "what was the name of the school?" Ben excelled academically and militarily due to his own strengths, strengths he was unaware he had until your system of discipline and accountability forced him to pick himself up by his bootstraps and take charge of his own life. Your staff and teachers were always there to support and guide him on his path to success. It helped us here at home to visit the school and hear the teachers and administrators speak of him warmly. It felt like he had family there who cared about him. As I write this letter, we are preparing for another phase in Ben's life. He will be a freshman this fall at Virginia Military Institute, studying Civil Engineering. He was admitted early decision, the first cadet from Lyman Ward to do so. VMI is a rigorous school, nationally ranked and respected for its strict disciplinary system of graduating "citizen soldiers". Ben did not choose the easiest path, he never has. He has chosen the path less traveled and thanks to Lyman Ward Military Academy; he has the tools and confidence to succeed on this path. So again we thank you, for giving Ben his life back, and giving us our son back. Sincerely,
Anne E. Chabot Biddeford, Maine
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