Cadet Russell Matthews of Renton has successfully completed the Washington Youth Academy and was celebrated with his peers during commencement ceremonies on Dec. 20.
Matthews was among 144 graduates, who will all return to high school to get their diploma or seek an alternative path to finish their high school education, such as a GED or by joining Running Start. The class is the largest to graduate from the Youth Academy since welcoming its first class in January of 2009.
This year’s cadets donated more than 11,000 hours of service to the community with an estimated value of $273,000 to the community.
The mission of the Washington Youth Academy is to provide a highly disciplined, safe and professional learning environment that empowers at-risk youth to improve their educational levels and employment potential and become responsible and productive citizens of the State of Washington. The Washington Youth Academy is a division of the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program.
Established under authority of both federal and state law, the WYA is a state-run residential and post-residential intervention program for youth who have dropped out of high school or are at risk of dropping out. The free program places cadets in a 22-week intensive residential phase. For the following year, the youth receives intense mentoring and placement follow-up. The school is in Bremerton, but anyone from around the state can apply.
A Test of Adult Basic Education found that cadet skill levels increased an average of 2.3 grade levels by the end of the 22-week program compared to when the cadets entered the program. Remarkably, 132 of the 144 cadets achieved the maximum eight credits students could receive from their stay at the academy. Only 29 of the cadets had enough credits to be able to graduate from high school. Now, 108 cadets have the credits needed to be classified as seniors. Students who stayed the entire session had an average 49 percent increase in their cumulative grade point average.
“This journey is not about their past; it’s about their future,” Washington Youth Academy Larry Pierce said at graduation.
More than 1,300 students have gone through the program since its inception.
