A second chance for high school dropouts

For these 16- to 18-year-old cadets, Sunburst Youth Academy may be their last chance to turn their lives around. Completely run by the National Guard, it's one of 35 such "Youth ChalleNGe Academies" that dot the U.S., the product of a 1993 Congressional mandate to tackle the country's high school dropout crisis.

Nat'l Guard Youth ChalleNGe Academy

The first days of the program, beginning in July, set the tone for the next five months -- a rigorous residential phase in which the students live in barracks, wear uniforms and are subject to strict military-style discipline and grueling physical training.

Nat'l Guard Youth ChalleNGe Academy

The cadets have varying reasons for dropping out of high school -- from drug abuse or family issues to bad choices or simply bad luck. For Angel LeMaster, it was in part due to her lack of a stable home.

"I was always homeless, on my own, my entire teenage life," she said. "Caused me to drop out."

Nat'l Guard Youth ChalleNGe Academy

Crista Hopkins (center), 17, used drugs to cope and said she still goes through withdrawal.

"Deep down, I have so much hatred because of everything I've been through, and it's not going to all go away," she said. "I just want to learn how to cope with my hatred with some individuals."

Nat'l Guard Youth ChalleNGe Academy

This is Sunburst's 14th class, and should the cadets make it to graduation in December, they'll join the more than 120,000 others who have completed the national Challenge program, which has a 92 percent graduation rate.

In addition to high school credits, each of the cadets has something they want to get out of the program.

Nat'l Guard Youth ChalleNGe Academy

Edward Tucker (right), 17, said he was introduced to drugs and gangs at a young age. He wants to change through his time in the program, he said, so as to set an example for his baby brother.

"I want to better myself so he won't go down the path I went down."

Nat'l Guard Youth ChalleNGe Academy

For Adjekai Stewart, 17, the program isn't just about learning the value of succeeding.

"The one thing I want to come out of this program is I want to be able to fail and feel okay," she said. "When I would fail, I would make the worst decisions. And that is what I really want to gain -- that failure is the true measure of success."

Nat'l Guard Youth ChalleNGe Academy

Parker Coker, 17, said that it was the decisions he made, not necessarily his environment, that got him into trouble. He came to Sunburst, he said, to learn how to make better decisions going forward.

"My whole family thought I was this good kid," he said. "It was just a false front. I didn't want it to be a false front anymore. I really wanted to be a good kid."

Nat'l Guard Youth ChalleNGe Academy

Since July, the teenage cadets have been told when to eat, sleep and go to school, as part of the program's five-and-a-half month residential phase that ends in December. No access to social media, television or contact with the outside world.

Nat'l Guard Youth ChalleNGe Academy

Staff Sgt. Timothy Edwards (center) is an instructor at Sunburst.

"We are going to establish dominance right from the very beginning," he said, describing his approach to the cadets. "I'm going to dominate your environment."

Nat'l Guard Youth ChalleNGe Academy

Some cadets began to see a change in themselves early on in their time at Sunburst.

Seventeen-year-old Jeremy Ceasar (left) came to the program with a history of fighting, smoking and truancy, he said.

"Sometimes, I daydream about what I did in the past and catch myself smiling," he said. "That is not who I am anymore. I'm here."

Nat'l Guard Youth ChalleNGe Academy

Program officials are quick to point out that Sunburst and the other youth academies aren't recruitment vehicles for the military. Only 7 percent of graduates join the military. The rest either continue their education or join the workforce.

Nat'l Guard Youth ChalleNGe Academy

The students were dropped off by parents, guardians, friends, or neighbors in July.

Saying goodbye wasn't easy for 16-year-old Francisco Lazo's mother, Cynthia.

"It just breaks my heart. But it's for the best," she said. "I'm sure he'll come out a different person. … He's a good kid, he just needs help."

Nat'l Guard Youth ChalleNGe Academy

The intended result of the "Youth ChalleNGe Academies" can be summed up in what First Sgt. Michael Scott, Sunburst's commandant, told the teens on their first day:

"We will make you faster. We will make you stronger. … We will make you healthier and wiser than you have ever been in your lives. … We will help you earn the credits you need to succeed and graduate from high school. … Most importantly, we will give you the skills you need to go out and get a job and take care of yourselves."