The Washington Youth Academy is part of the National Guard Youth Challenge Program and is a state-run program for 16-19 year olds who have dropped out of high school or are at risk of dropping out.
There are 34 programs in 29 states and Washington’s program is new. It is free and starts in January 2009.
The program is open to men and women 16 to 19 years old who have dropped out of high school or are at risk of dropping out, are legal state and federal residents of Washington and the U.S., are unemployed or underemployed, are not currently on parole or probation for anything other than juvenile offenses, have no felony adjudications, are drug free upon enrollment and are physically and mentally capable of completing the program.
The two-week Pre-Challenge Phase identifies students who can complete the program.
Students then enter the 20-week Residential Phase, a structured quasi-military environment with emphasis in self-discipline, self-esteem, education and healthy lifestyles.
It provides students with the values, skills and knowledge to qualify for a high school diploma, retrieve up to 8 credits and return to their regular high school or earn their GED.
The Bremerton School District provides credentialed academic staff to teach core academic subjects.
In the 22-week-Post-Residential phase, graduates are matched with an adult mentor who provides guidance and support for the next 12 months. Mentors assist graduates in achieving post-graduation goals.
For information, see www.mil.wa.gov, www.ngycp.org or call 1-877-228-8947.
Poet Laureate reads in Edmonds
Sam Green, state Poet Laureate, will give a free reading at the Wade James Theater at 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 4. The event is co-sponsored by Edmonds Community College and Write on the Sound. Green’s poems have appeared in hundreds of journals, including Poetry Northwest, Poetry, Poetry NOW, Poetry East, Southern Poetry Review and Prairie Schooner.
Green has lived for 25 years on a remote island off the Washington coast, with no electricity or running water, in a log house he built himself. He and his wife, Sally, are coeditors of Brooding Heron Press, which specializes in publication of fine hand bound letterpress editions of poetry.
They have published books by acclaimed poets Donald Hall, Denise Levertov and Gary Snyder.
Green’s reading is part of a larger series of literary events at the college through Write on the Sound’s Convergence Writers Series.
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