Va National Guard program offers discipline, GEDs
CHESAPEAKE, Va. - CHESAPEAKE, Va. (AP) — Christopher Johnson was addicted to video games. He regularly missed classes at Indian River High School to play Halo on his Xbox 360.
Makeba Shumake, 16, mixed with the wrong crowd and didn't want to follow the rules at home. She had little interest in 10th grade at Western Branch High School.
Jasmine Kearney gave up easily. She skipped school at Deep Creek High and started smoking marijuana.
In a few weeks, the three Chesapeake teens are expected to be among the graduates of a program that rivals a root canal in the fun department. The Commonwealth ChalleNGe program (the NG stands for National Guard) works with at-risk youth to develop values, education and self-discipline in their lives.
The 5½-month residential program is akin to boot camp, and by the time cadets graduate, they have their GED diploma and a job. Most graduates remain in the work force full time; others choose college or the military.
"We're taking kids who have been victims of bad habits," said program director Col. Thomas Early. "They're kids who want to make a change. Their guidance counselor hasn't succeeded. In some cases their probation officer hasn't succeeded. This military model seems to work for kids in these situations."
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Lots of Rules
It's hard-core basic training for the first two weeks. Johnson, Shumake and Kearney hated every minute of it. But in the next breath they admit they are proud they survived it. They drew on that strength to persevere in a program that demands strict adherence to the tiniest of rules.
Rules like no talking between boys and girls. Ever. Rules like rising at 5:30 a.m. and lights out at 9:30 p.m. Rules like asking permission to speak.
Forget cell phones. Occasional calls are limited to 7 minutes. Sometimes they're as short as a couple of seconds.
Kearney said she needed that kind of discipline. She made bad decisions in high school. "I got suspended a whole bunch of times," she said.
The training began at Fork Pickett in Blackstone, where Early said it's typical for kids to hop off the bus with a petrified look. Everybody totes a duffel bag of personal belongings, including boots.
"We had to run around the field two or three times holding that bag over our heads," Kearney recalled. "If we dropped it, they yelled at us."
Kearney vomited. Shumake thought she was going to pass out. Johnson got gassed in a hurry.
"I was completely out of shape," Johnson said. "It was like they physically smacked me."
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Lots of Attrition
Early said the program loses up to 25 percent of those who start and typically graduates 140 kids twice a year. The survivors of the first two weeks return to the barracks at Virginia Beach's Camp Pendleton for five months.
Days are regimented with a schedule that consists of physical training, dormitory maintenance, classes and work projects, meals, study hall, personal time and sleep. Weekends are only slightly looser with field trips to air shows or museums.
Cadets go home three times during the program. Sometimes it's hard to come back. But finishing what they started motivates Kearney, Shumake and Johnson.
Class No. 31 of Commonwealth ChalleNGe will graduate Dec. 19.
Tuition, room and board, meals and books are free. Teens must be in the program voluntarily, something Early ensures in an interview.
He has headed the program since 2005. He's noticed a change in the kids passing through.
"Their coping skills are low today," he said. "They don't have the ability to deal with life's little setbacks. They get knocked down by the public education system. The family is not dealing with them earlier."
Kearney, Shumake and Johnson talk about the program as giving them a second chance. They will have jobs by the time they leave. Kearney and Shumake want to go to school for cosmetology. Johnson plans to join the Air Force.
"It's hard," Kearney said. "It makes me think, 'Why couldn't I have just stayed in school?' "
Johnson still hasn't adjusted to being there. He cracked a smile when he said he has learned to wear boots and sleep on the top rack.
He misses the video games. Missing out on school is tough for him, too. But he knows he's close to his goal.
"I'm going to finish," he said. "I'm going to finish what I started."
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Information from: The Virginian-Pilot, http://www.pilotonline.com
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