Look for schools with voice teachers like Matt whose practice is based in the proven science of singing anatomy & physiology. The teachers need to know what happens at the level of the vocal folds and laryngeal muscles themselves, what happens with the pharyngeal muscles, what the articulators needs to do and not do, and what resonance can and cannot do. As a speech pathologist who focuses in vocal injury rehab, I can attest that there are very few “expert” teachers who actually know the vocal mechanism scientifically, even in NYC. There are still well-known teachers here who either call every vocal difficulty “nodes” (UGH!) when they’re usually simply hearing muscle tension, and others who diminish the impact of serious vocal injury and tell their singers “you’re fine”. The teacher should have a background in MUSICAL THEATRE voice pedagogy. I have seen many young singers who have been egregiously misinformed (to the level of negligence) and psychologically damaged by vociferious classical teachers who claim they know MT - I’m talking Juilliard grad-level voice degrees. It sounds like you have unfortunately experienced the same. Nothing makes me more frustrated than that as an educator and speech pathologist.