Michael Ayers is in the market for troubled teenagers.

“If you see a kid that is struggling through school, this might be an alternative,” he said.

Ayers, a Cass County resident, recently took a job as regional coordinator for the Hoosier Youth ChalleNGe Academy. The academy’s first class of 150 young men and women will start in July at Camp Atterbury south of Indianapolis.

The academy won’t accept just anybody.

“The kids are going to get screened,” Ayers said. “We’re going to have to see whether this program will benefit this particular student.”

The first requirement is that the youth be a willing participant.

Ayers recalled the story of a young woman in Louisiana who had been involved with gangs.

“She wanted to get out of her situation, but she didn’t know how,” Ayers said. “The academy provided her with that way out.”

The academy’s goal is to catch kids before they get into serious trouble.

“They can’t have a felony conviction,” Ayers said. “If they have a felony conviction, we won’t take them.”

The program is sponsored by the National Guard. It’s a military-style boot camp featuring all of the physical challenges and discipline that term might evoke.

The path Ayers took to his current job might not have been predictable. Although the academy is affiliated with the National Guard, Ayers has no background in the military.

“My father-in-law is retired military, but I’ve never served,” he said.

He’s actually a former mold operator who lost his job when the factory shut down.

“The bad news was I lost my job,” he said. “The good news was I was able to go back to school and finish my degree.”

While he was searching for a second career, Ayers spent some time as a substitute teacher. He also worked at a group home for the mentally challenged.

Now, he thinks he has found his calling.

“I enjoy working with kids,” he said. “One of the things I enjoy the most is seeing that light bulb click.”

He recalls his time in the classroom.

“We might be talking about something for a week, and finally it clicks,” he said. “Suddenly the kid understands, and there’s no better feeling.”

As one of three regional coordinators in the state, Ayres covers the northern portion of Indiana.

“What we want to do is distribute this information to as many people as possible,” he said.

His goal is to reach some of the thousands of students who drop out of school each year.

“I’ve seen what has happened with our kids, and I know that educators are doing the best they can, but even with that, there is no way they can reach every student at the level that every student needs,” he said.

For some of those kids, the academy might be the answer.

“We’re missing a huge chance to change at least some of these kids’ lives,” he said. “Some of them might be on their final chance right now.”

But his message is not aimed only at kids.

“This might also be an alternative for parents who are at their wits’ end,” he said.

The academy starts with two weeks of basic training during which applicants are assessed to determine their potential for completing the program. If they make it through these two weeks, the program brochure says, more than 90 percent will complete the program.

After that, they move into a five-month residential program at Camp Atterbury, and then there’s a 12-month follow-up program during which they return home under the supervision of an adult mentor.

Though it’s based on the military model and sponsored by the National Guard, finding military recruits is not necessarily the program’s goal. Nationwide, about 20 percent of the kids who enroll in the program wind up joining the military. A similar number find jobs, and about half continue their education by enrolling in college or a trade school.

Kelly Hawes can be reached at (574) 732-5155 or kelly.hawes@pharostribune.com.



Have a nominee?

To recommend a candidate for the Hoosier Youth ChalleNGe Academy, contact Michael Ayers, the academy’s regional coordinator, at (317) 331-9135 or (800) 237-2850, ext. 8137. His e-mail address is michael.ayers@us.army.mil



On the Web

www.ngycp.org/state/in