Michigan Youth Challenge Academy
A second chance for high school dropouts to shape a rewarding future for themselves.
About The Michigan Youth Challenge Academy
The Benefits
Pre-ChalleNGe Phase
ChalleNGe Phase
Post-Resident Phase
The Opportunity
The Cost
Who is Eligible for the Academy?
Academy Facts
The Cost of Dropping Out of High School
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About The Michigan Youth Challenge Academy
MYCA Helping young people turn
their lives around
The Michigan Youth ChalleNGe Academy is a three-phase program. Cadets start with a two week Pre-ChalleNGe phase at Fort Custer, an Army National Guard fort and training facility in Augusta. In the second phase, they live, work and study there with other 16 to 18-year-old cadets for 20 weeks.
Throughout those 20 weeks, they receive 400 hours of classroom instruction to prepare them to earn their GED (high school equivalency diploma). After completing the 22-week residential phases, cadets graduate and continue their personal growth with an adult mentor, who provides each graduate with assistance for the next year in their own community.
There is no cost to the cadet or his or her family to participate program, nor is there any military obligation.
The National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program, a preventive rather than remedial program, targets at-risk youth who are unemployed, drug-free and law-abiding high school dropouts, 16 to 18 years of age. Select 19-year-olds who will graduate before turning 20 also are eligibleCore components of the program are:
Citizenship
Academic excellence (earning a GED or high school diploma)
Life skills
Service to community
Health and hygiene
Job skills training
Leadership
Physical training
ChalleNGe Phases
Residential Phase
Pre-ChalleNGe: The Residential Phase of the program consists of 22 weeks conducted in two phases. During the two-week Pre-ChalleNGe Phase, applicants are assessed to determine their potential for successfully completing the program. They adjust to the physical, mental and social discipline of the program. The focus is on teamwork, code of conduct, leadership, discipline and physical fitness training.
Applicants who successfully complete this phase earn the distinction of becoming full-fledged cadets. Approximately 90 percent of these cadets will successfully complete the program.
Challenge: In the 20-week Challenge Phase, daily activities and service to the community build the cadet's job skills and self-confidence. The academic program prepares cadets for the GED exam given at the end of the Residential Phase. Cadets also develop a Life Plan that outlines their 12-month Post-Residential Plan.
Mentors are matched with cadets midway through the Challenge Phase. The mentors help support the cadets during the remainder of the Challenge Phase and help them prepare to reenter community life. Mentors continue their responsibilities during the third phase, the 12-month Post-Residential Phase.
POST-RESIDENTIAL PHASE
The 12-month Post-Residential Phase begins when graduates return to their communities, continue their education or enter the military. The goal of this phase is for graduates to sustain and build on achievements made during the Challenge Phase. In addition, they must continue to develop and implement their Life Plan.
The cadets' mentors, who play a critical role in ensuring their continued success. They help cadets transition from the structured environment of the Residential Phase to self-management. The mentors also support and guide the cadets through implementation of their Life Plan.
Through the program, cadets will:
- Learn self-discipline
- Develop skills that will help them get and keep a job
- Be eligible to earn a GED
- Earn 8 college credits
- Earn a semester of high school credits
- Participate in Vocational/Technical training
- Receive computer training
- Receive physical training
- Develop good health, nutrition and hygiene habits
- Develop life skills
All candidates will live in barracks at historicFort Custer. Candidates will spend much of their time doing physical training, marching and performing military movements. They will learn the basics of military structure and organization. At the end of the two week Pre-ChalleNGe phase, all candidates will be evaluated on their performance, attitude, and desire to complete the 20 week ChalleNGe Phase.
The ChalleNGe phase includes 400 hours of classroom instruction to prepare cadets for the GED exam. The cadets will also receive 160 hours of vocational/technical training in one of over 16 different skills.
Successful graduates of the ChalleNGe phase can receive eight college credits from Kalamazoo Valley Community College in addition to a full semester of high school credits. The cadets will participate in over 40 hours of community service and conservation activities. The cadets will also be assessed in eight core components. These components are: academic excellence, job skills, physical fitness, leadership, health and nutrition, life skills, responsible citizenship and community service. These components are designed to develop the cadets into well rounded, responsible citizens. Additionally, the cadets put together a life plan that they will work to execute during the post-residential phase.
During the residential phase, the cadet will be matched to a mentor from their community who will keep weekly contact with the cadet and help guide the cadet in executing their life plan for the next 12 months of the post-residential phase. Cadets who graduate the residential phase and meet with their mentor will be eligible to receive a stipend of up to $920, spread out over 17 months.
There are only a few times in our life when we get a second chance. The MYCA provides one of them. It’s a fact that workers with less than a high school education end up with fewer career opportunities and lower-paying jobs. It gives hundreds of at-risk youths a free opportunity that they would not otherwise have to acquire the education, discipline and life skills to transform themselves into successful adults.
Meals, housing and uniforms are all provided and there are no costs to the cadet or their families for participation in the program. The MYCA is paid for by the U.S. Department of Defense and the State of Michigan. Although the program is administered by the Michigan National Guard, there is NO military obligation for participation.
Who is Eligible for the Academy?
- Male and female high school dropouts or potential dropouts between the ages of 16 and 18.
- U.S. citizens or legal residents of the U.S. who are residents of the State of Michigan.
- Candidates cannot be currently on parole or probation for anything other than juvenile status offenses.
- Candidates cannot be awaiting sentencing, and not under indictment, charged with a felony or convicted of one.
- Candidates cannot be court ordered to our program.
- Candidates must be free from use of illegal drugs or substances (candidates will be tested upon arrival for pre-challenge).
Michigan Youth ChalleNGe Academy Facts
- The Michigan Youth ChalleNGe Academy in Battle Creek is considered one of the most successful of the 34 national ChalleNGe programs.
- The academy has graduated 1,772 cadets since its inception in 1999.
- Approximately 65 percent of cadets earn their GED, while others return to high school to earn a diploma.
- Between 80 percent and 90 percent of academy graduates either earn their GED or their high school diploma.
- Approximately 28 percent of graduates enlist in the military.
- About 98 percent of graduates report no future involvement with the law.
- Academy cadets have completed more than 77,900 hours of service to the community.
- Projected 2010 budget: 75 percent federal, 25 percent state.
- Projected 2010 budget is $4.1 million: $3.075 million federal, $1.025 million state.
- For every $1 Michigan taxpayers invest in each successful student, they receive a return of $308.
- Closing the academy would cost Michigan more than 50 jobs.
- Supporting these unemployed workers would cost taxpayers approximately $2 million, which is more than it would cost to restore the funding.
The Cost of Dropping Out of High School
- Michigan’s statewide dropout rate is approximately 15 percent – about 21,000 students from the class of 2007 alone.
- Forty percent of Michigan residents who received cash welfare in 2003 were dropouts, costing the state approximately $156 million.
- About 70 percent of convicts who entered prison in 2003 were dropouts; housing them for one year cost taxpayers $200 million. Eighty-eight percent of all high school dropouts who do not receive at least their GED will be incarcerated by the time they are 25, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
