Hoosier Youth ChalleNGe Academy
Enrolling in this “quasi-military” school, where the tagline is “We support second chances” and the modus operandi is strict discipline, has helped him overcome his bad habits. The academy helped curb his smoking and chewing tobacco addictions and more importantly, his discipline problems, including recent run-ins with the law because of thefts.
The academy calls itself quasi-military. It borrows heavily from the discipline and physical training of the military. But the academy is voluntary and doesn’t require cadets to enlist after graduation.
There is no room for goofing off at this school. The teens wake up at 6 a.m. daily and are in bed by 10 p.m. They eat three balanced meals, and in addition to marching and drills, they spend more than an hour on physical training each night.
They’re never left alone. The military training staff, or cadre, stays with each group and enforces the rules — and there are plenty of rules.
Girls and boys don’t interact. There’s no television, no e-mail, no smoking, no chewing gum, no cursing. They get one 10-minute call home each Sunday.
Students don’t get kicked out of class here. They do push-ups to refocus that energy.
Just to get into the academy, which is free to students and funded by the state and federal governments, the teen has to have fallen off track.
Some are parents. Some have been expelled. Some lack discipline. Many have just given up.
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