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Youth Academy reforms children

The Montana Youth Academy in Dillon offers opportunities for at-risk Montana children to help them through hard times and get their lives back in focus.

Caleb Denny, a 17-year-old Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation youth, just finished his stint at the academy and said that he was glad he went.

Before he went to the academy, he said, he was drinking, smoking, "carrying-on," going to jail and such. But, now things are different.

"It helped me control my anger and gave me self-discipline," Denny said. " ... It helped me get my life back on track."

He described his stay as "quasi-military" and said his life was regimented there. In the mornings, he woke up for physical training, then school, then more physical training, and so forth.

He is now back home in Rocky Boy, where he said life will be easier for him now that he has been through the Academy.

The academy was established in 1999 by the Montana National Guard and is a voluntary program. Students of the academy spend 22 weeks living in Dillon, where they continue their school studies and focus on building up life coping skills, physical fitness, leadership and other attributes.

After they leave the residence halls of the academy, they enter a 12-month post-residential phase, where they frequently meet with a mentor to report on how they are doing back in their home environment.

Tim Hansen, an admissions counselor at Montana Youth Academy, said while the youth are at the academy, they stay current with their school work. They cannot acquire their high school diploma through the program, but they can get their general education diploma if they choose to. If the youth decide to go back to their hometown high school to complete their education, they can take the credits they received at the Academy with this.

There is a large citizenship component of the kids' training at the school. Each student has to complete 40 hours of community-based service, and there is a strong emphasis on the external influences of high school students.

"You have to put forth effort to get through," Hansen said. "... All life is about decision making."

Since the academy was created, 2,022 cadets have graduated from the program.

Hansen said 95 kids are enrolled in the academy currently. The academy is an option for both boys and girls.

He added that the academy is free to the families of the youth. The state of Montana pays 75 percent of the cost and the National Guard pays the rest.

"The only cost to the families is the packing list," Hansen said, adding that they will supply even that if the families cannot. "We drop everyone down to the same status. Everyone has the same items."

For more information about the Montana Youth Academy, visit http://www.youthchallenge.mt.gov

 

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