Montana Youth Challenge Academy

In 1999, the Montana National Guard established the Montana Youth Challenge Academy (MYCA) on the campus of the University of Montana Western as an intervention program to reclaim the lives of Montana teens who had dropped out of high school or who were not on track to graduate. The term “at-risk”, for our purposes, refers to the risk of not graduating high school. We are well aware of the negative life outcomes that are associated with this risk: poverty, incarceration, and early death are among them. It is because the stakes are so high that the Department of Defense invested in the Challenge model of youth development and community outreach. Our vision is to be the preferred alternative education setting for promoting the success of youth, between the ages of 16 to 18 years old, in the State of Montana. We will fulfill this vision by continuing to demonstrate our commitment to the youth we serve, and their families, with mastery of the quasi-military training model— a proven delivery method.

Montana Youth Challenge Academy is a residential academic intervention program on the campus of the University of Montana Western for 16-18 year old students who are seeking an opportunity for change. Designed by the National Guard Bureau and run through a cooperative agreement between the federal government and the state of Montana, the Academy offers military-style structure and discipline along with academic, professional, and life-coping skills students need to become productive citizens. Challenge empowers participants, whom we call cadets, to embrace responsibility, achievement, and positive behavior. It instills self-confidence, fosters ambition, and increases opportunities through job skills training, service to the community, and leadership.