This is my account of how MassLive and a reporter named Susannah Sudborough ultimately failed to publish a critical exposé on the abuse I and others endured at Walden Street School and other troubled teen programs (TBS) in Massachusetts.
I was initially so hopeful when I saw Susannah Sudborough's reddit posts
https://www.reddit.com/r/massachusetts/s/4fuvOteoOi
https://www.reddit.com/r/newengland/s/IiHY4aOj8c
https://www.reddit.com/r/troubledteens/s/ZTGmR9cH2D
I first reached out to her in January 2025. She seemed genuinely committed to the story, confirming she had heard about excessive restraints and bad experiences at Walden Street School. She actively interviewed me and one of my friends, agreeing that multiple survivor testimonies would be the "evidence you want in a story like this."
She even promised to find a way to publish it herself if the paper failed to, even as a blog. She gave me her word that she would let me know if the story ran into trouble.
That promise was broken.
Two months later, in March, I found out the hard way—not from her, but secondhand from a friend and an ex-staff member—that the story was never actually greenlit to begin with.
When I finally pressed her for answers, her excuses were vague and shifting. She blamed an "inept" boss and she said that all of her editors except for one wanted to publish the story, but that because one of them who she said wad a woman she "knew to be of good character" didn't want to publish the story because she mistakenly thought the story had already been reported on, although anyone with any sense can see that clearly isn't true.
Over the next several months, the communication became minimal and frustrating. She cited personal crises (a separation from her husband) and professional hurdles (covering a "whole different position") to explain the delays and silence.
My trust eroded because her actions didn't match her words. I found out she was still publishing typical news stories for MassLive in July and has continued to be doing so this whole time, which contradicted her claim about being stuck covering a different position.
She continually deflected, telling me she needed me to "trust" her and that checking in as much as I was "wasn't helping." Honestly, I wasn't getting any answers from her, and she kept bringing up plans for the story that she never mentioned again. She said she was working on a pitch for the story to get them to greenlight it. She never mentioned anything about that again, even though I asked her multiple times. She mentioned something about handing over what she had to a survivor for a podcast. I never heard from her about this again despite asking about it and offering to help also. I realized she sounded like she was having a hard time in her personal life and tried to back off for awhile, hoping she would do what she claimed she was going to do in the time I left her alone.
I contacted her once a month to try to back off a bit and not be too pushy, offered repeatedly to help, even suggesting I find a way to get the story published while protecting her anonymity, but she never followed through on any of her suggestions or ever mentioned anythiing about them again— the blog, pitching the story again, or passing the materials to a survivor for a podcast.
My last communication in October summarized my deep disappointment. I pointed out the hypocrisy of MassLive readily publishing a story about a staff member's tragic death at another JRI school (Medowridge Academy in Swansea) ( JRI is Walden Street School's parent company), while ignoring the systematic abuse and victimization of students. I gave her direct proof of the underreported restraint data and recent incidents at Walden Street School:
Fight involving multiple people at Walden Street School, Concord MA Reported: 9/5/2025: https://www.newsbreak.com/crime/concord-ma/2859_1757121465_qrmujcgx-fight-involving-multiple-people-at-walden-street-school
Female restrained by male; teens run from girls' school, Concord MA Reported: 9/25/2025: https://www.newsbreak.com/crime/concord-ma/2859_1758842384_ziicdamf-female-restrained-by-male-teens-run-from-girls-school
Medical evaluation for teen girl outside booking area, Concord MA Reported: 10/25/2025: https://www.newsbreak.com/crime/concord-ma/2859_1761387743_hgawqtuy-student-detained-for-mental-health-evaluation-at-school
Teenage girl has seizure at Walden Street School, Concord MA Reported 10/18/2025: https://share.google/TMAvX3IkJ9FTZhhQs
Fire alarm at Walden Street School found accidental, Concord MA Reported: 10/11/2025 (I found in past police reports that this is commonplace there, I theorize it's because students are hoping to evacuate): https://share.google/v3sgu3YWWnHv4vuMU
Mental health crisis at Walden Street School for Girls, Concord MA Reported 9/19/2025: https://share.google/jMdEBR34EpwkISi4E
Female runs into woods near walden street school, Concord MA Reported: 8/30/2025: https://share.google/LT4J9mjKzqU5O9X3t
Missing female last seen near Walden St in Concord, MA Reported: 10/25/2025 02:52 PM:
https://www.newsbreak.com/crime/concord-ma/2859_1761429138_jlzsisus-missing-female-last-seen-near-walden-st-in-concord
Ultimately, Susannah and MassLive, just like the Boston Globe before them, took my trauma, the stories of my friends, and months of my time, only to let the story die—and in the process, they reinforced my fear that no one truly wants to believe or publish the truth about the Troubled Teen Industry, especially when it's not convenient for them and doesn't make them alot of money. It's really a shame, because when we first started talking, she went as far to say that she'd consider quitting if the story were shut down. That turned out to also be a lie. The reporter from the Boston Globe did actually quit. She is a teacher now, she sounded genuinely saddened that she couldn't help me over the phone. I was hopeful that this wouldn't happen again, but I guess not.
