Military schools can effectively fix behavioral problems when they are properly staffed by professionals. Schools that employ psychiatrists and licensed educators are generally more successful at correcting behavioral problems than those that do not. According to the Coalition Against Institutionalized Child Abuse, some military schools do not employ licensed teachers or therapists. Military schools located outside the United States are not bound by U.S. laws, and CAICA warns against sending children to institutions that are not actually schools, but discipline camps.
Military schools with former service members on their boards of directors, in teaching slots or as administrators, generally have high levels of success in preparing students for military service. Schools that are focused on learning military history, customs, courtesies and other military subjects generally prepare students for the rigors of serving in the military. However, those without military-based training, such as those used to correct behavioral problems, do not.
Accredited military schools require heavy focus on college preparatory courses. Students are generally expected to continue on to college or join the military. According to Wentworth Military Academy and College in Lexington, Missouri, 95 percent of its graduates have continued on to college; in some years, the number is as high as 99 percent. Most military schools, including the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia, require students to take both the ACT and SAT exams.
Some military schools use methods of discipline that are not acceptable to some parents. According to the Judge Rotenberg Center in Canton, Massachusetts, its staff uses taser-like shocks delivered through backpacks in an attempt to rectify behavior, even in mentally challenged children. According to the Coalition Against Institutionalized Child Abuse, the now-closed Tranquility Bay in Jamaica forced children to lie face-down on concrete for days at a time. Before determining how successful a military school can be at rehabilitating or reforming a child, parents must consider the methods a school uses to bring about change.