Boot camp school for students at risk
Local educators are looking for ways to help students at-risk, they said they deserve a second chance.
Imperial County high school dropout rates are high, nearly 36%, according to the website www.opendatanetwork.com .
Staff Sergeant Ryan Salvoni, recruiter for Los Angeles-based Sunburst Youth Academy, said the answer is to take those students out of their comfort zone.
“Out of their environment, we put them in a safe secure environment. We give them the structure, the discipline, the education, everything they need as a foundation to be successful in life,” Salvoni said.
It’s a military-style campus, tuition is free. There are some requirements, the main one being that the student wants to participate. This is not a court-ordered program.
“They come, they live with us for 22 weeks on the base in Los Alamitos. The students are earning 65 high school credits while they’re with us. It’s a second chance at life,” Salvoni said.
Local educator Bill Hodge disagrees with that approach.
“Overall it is more advantageous that you keep the students close to their families, a familiar environment, work with counseling and professionals that maybe they have grown to have a relationship and a trust,” Hodge said.
He said community offers many valuable lessons.
“Being in a community and an environment that they’re familiar with can only help them more. They can become strong community advocates, they can get involved in the community,” Hodge said.
Bryan Walker, parent and local martial arts instructor, said the boot camp school is helping his nephew.
“He actually got into drugs and narcotics. We tried to guide him away from that and it just continued to go. And now we find out that this is a drug-free environment at this academy. And now he’s actually drug-free, of course, and he’s actually changing his life,” Walker said.
For anyone who’s interested in the boot-camp academy, representatives will be present at Christ Community Church in El Centro on September 4 th from 5 to 7 p.m. to answer questions.
