WELCOME
We have all heard the phrase “At Risk Youth”. It’s common place in our homes and in society to point fingers at the child when things go bad. We spend a great deal of time and money looking to fix this "At Risk" behavior. Fortunately there are places like the Challenge Academy that address the laundry list of issues that youth face today. The Academy gives teens a healthy and safe environment to work on their issues as well as giving them a quality education to get them academically back on track. We see cadets try so hard everyday to change, yet their parents often fail to see the changes they need to make. Sometimes it is the parent who is “At Risk”.
The purpose of this website is to give you information, concepts, articles and links to help you in your journey; this is to supplement and reinforce what you already should be doing. The amount of work your child is putting forth at the Academy is like nothing he or she has ever done before. They are not doing drugs, ditching school or breaking the law; they are in bed before 9:00 pm and up at 5:30 am; they are doing their part and then some.
What are you doing?
Finally, here is YOUR official challenge. Our hope is that every parent and guardian will show the required level of interest for making the home environment the best it can be. We realize however that only a fraction of the parents will actually follow through. Like the cadets, we will not hold your hand, and this is completely voluntary. It is true that you can use this opportunity to save some money and have one less stressor in your home but you will pay dearly if that is your attitude. We challenge you to step up and do your part. We realize doing MORE work wasn’t on your mind when you were filling out the enormous pile of paperwork, but it should have been. That’s okay, we will prompt and guide you and provide resources, but we will not force it on you. Take this opportunity and maximize it. Do the minimum and you will get minimal results. It’s up to you.
There is a reason that the Challenge Academy is so successful. There is nothing we do that you can’t do yourself at home. It’s more difficult for you because you have to work and leave your teen unsupervised while our job is to supervise your teen around the clock. Twenty two weeks is a long time; however, it’s not long enough to create lasting change, if the environment has not changed at home when they leave the program. That’s where you come in. The 22 weeks away from your child is not a vacation. In fact, with all of the work you should be putting into parenting classes and family counseling, it might just be the most difficult 22 weeks of your life. You don’t think you need classes or counseling? Chances are that you do and you won’t know for sure until it’s too late...23 weeks later.