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A Wisconsin Challenge Academy cadet is embraced after a Dec. 17, 2022 graduation ceremony at Sparta High School. After graduating from the 22-week residential phase of Academy training, cadets work with hometown mentors, who offer cadets guidance and encouragement in pursuing their new goals in life. Wisconsin Challenge Academy photo

An innovative program to help students learn valuable life skills and get back on track toward high school graduation began its 50th class this week.

The Wisconsin National Guard Challenge Academy is a two-part 17-month voluntary program for youth ages 16 years nine months through 18. The first part is a 22-week residential phase at the Academy’s Fort McCoy campus.

In a structured, military-styled environment, youth develop the courage to change, unlearn bad habits and cultivate skills and attitudes to help them succeed, as well as earn their high school equivalency diploma (HSED) and a minimum of seven free, fully transferable college credits.

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Wisconsin Challenge Academy cadets take notes during a class Aug. 5, 2019 at the Academy’s Fort McCoy campus. After graduating from the 22-week residential phase of Academy training, cadets work with hometown mentors, who offer cadets guidance and encouragement in pursuing their new goals in life. Wisconsin Challenge Academy photo

“When candidates arrive here at the Challenge Academy, opportunities abound,” said Edwin Maciosek, Wisconsin Challenge Academy commandant. “We teach, coach and mentor. We afford them the opportunity to develop numerous soft skills that employers are looking for. Through our military model, cadets are taught teamwork, resilience, self-control, listening skills and time management — to name a few.”

The Challenge Academy reshapes the lives of at-risk students who are not on track to graduate high school on time. Students must not be currently charged, indicted or convicted of a felony — as a juvenile or an adult. Students must reside in Wisconsin and be a legal U.S. resident, willing to be free from illegal drugs and substances.

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A platoon of Wisconsin Challenge Academy cadets, with Academy cadre and director Joni Mathews, following a hike at Brady’s Bluff near Trempeleau, Wis., Oct. 28, 2022. After graduating from the 22-week residential phase of Academy training, cadets work with hometown mentors, who offer cadets guidance and encouragement in pursuing their new goals in life for the year following graduation. Wisconsin Challenge Academy photo

Joni Mathews, a retired Wisconsin Army National Guard brigadier general, believes in the Challenge Academy so much that she became its director last year.

“I’m very excited to welcome our youth as they arrive to begin a new chapter in their lives,” Mathews said. “I enjoy learning their stories and watching them grow as they progress through the 22 weeks here at the Challenge Academy.”

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A platoon of female Wisconsin Challenge Academy candidates take the Cadet Oath Aug. 2, 2019 on a parade field at Fort McCoy, Wis. The oath means that the candidates are now considered cadets, and have committed to completing the 22-week residential phase of Academy training. After graduation, cadets work with hometown mentors, who offer cadets guidance and encouragement in pursuing their new goals in life. Wisconsin Challenge Academy photo

In celebration of the program’s 25th year, Mathews said the Academy plans to make Class 50 “very special.”

Early in the residential phase, youth who decide to commit to the remainder of the program earn the title of cadet. As the residential phase progresses, cadets spend half their day in classrooms, and half their day performing service to community or participating in other activities to develop the Academy’s eight core components — academic excellence, physical fitness, leadership and followership, responsible citizenship, job skills, service to community, health and hygiene, and life coping skills. Cadets also develop a post-residential action plan — a road map for their future — with the assistance of Academy staff members.

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Seventy-one cadets from 31 counties graduated from the Wisconsin National Guard Challenge Academy’s Class 48 during a June 9 ceremony held at Stevens Point Area Senior High School. The Challenge Academy reshapes the lives of at-risk 16-to-18-year-olds, using a structured, military-style environment and state-certified teachers and counselors to build cadets’ academic abilities, character, self-confidence, and personal discipline. After graduating from the 22-week residential phase of academy training at Fort McCoy, Wis., cadets work with hometown mentors who offer cadets guidance and encouragement in pursuing their new goals in life. Wisconsin Challenge Academy photo

Upon graduation from the residential phase, cadets enter the year-long phase two of the Challenge Academy program, and implement their post-residential action plans with the guidance of a community mentor. These plans range from finding employment or a place to live to enrolling in college.

“Youth speaker and teen expert Josh Shipp states that ‘every kid is one caring adult away from being a success story,’” Maciosek said. “The Challenge Academy offers the cadets numerous adults to connect with to help them become a success story.”

More than 4,776 mentors for Challenge Academy cadets have been trained statewide since the program began — more than 1,000 over the past five years alone.

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Wisconsin Challenge Academy cadets perform service to community by maintaining the grounds at a local cemetery Sept. 4, 2020 during the 22-week residential phase of the program. After graduation from the residential phase, cadets work with hometown mentors who offer cadets guidance and encouragement in pursuing their new goals in life for the year following graduation. Wisconsin Challenge Academy photo

Beginning in 1998, the Wisconsin National Guard Challenge Academy has operated two classes each year. Since then, 4,454 at-risk youth have graduated from the Challenge Academy, and 3,538 cadets earned a high school equivalency degree.