CEDU Educational Services, Inc., known simply as CEDU (pronounced see-doo), was a company founded in 1967 by Mel Wasserman. The company owned and operated several therapeutic boarding schools, group homes, wilderness therapy programs, and behavior modification programs in California and Idaho. The company's schools have faced numerous allegations of abuse. CEDU originated from Synanon, a group that has been called one of the "most dangerous and violent cults America had ever seen."