Fast Facts

Females represent 21% of the population while males continue to make up the majority of the participants in the program. This is and has been the historical average for gender make-up across all programs and a view of the individual programs presents a similar representation plus or minus two percent.

The average age of the ChalleNGe participant is 17 years and four months at
the time of graduation from the Residential Phase. Although the program
can accept participants between the ages of 16 and 18, more than three quarters of those who entered the Residential Phase were 17 or 18 years old. All program
Directors reported difficulties in identifying placement activities for 16-year-olds who completed the Residential Phase with a GED.  The first two weeks of the Residential Phase, the Pre-ChalleNGe Phase, are a structured continuation of the screening process for applicants for the program.

In addition to meeting defined criteria, during this period, all applicants for the program are assessed by key ChalleNGe staff for their ability and desire to complete the following 20 weeks. During these first two weeks, the candidates are tested physically and emotionally against rigid standards. Candidates that demonstrate the motivation and ability during this screening are formally accepted and are then enrolled in the ChalleNGe program.

Participants in ChalleNGe either identify for themselves or are identified by the staff as not a proper fit for the program and are terminated. Although the activities of those who leave the program are not monitored following their departure from ChalleNGe, anecdotally, many report they are returning to high school. 

The voluntary and involuntary terminations from ChalleNGe are tracked during the Residential Phase. Twenty-two percent of the applicants that were accepted into the ChalleNGe program last year failed to complete the Residential Phase. The highest rate of terminations occurred during Weeks 3, 4 and 5 shortly after the academic classes were introduced into the schedule. This is consistent with the rate of those who failed to complete high school.

The reasons that participants terminate from the ChalleNGe program vary. Overall, half of those terminated during the Residential Phase left due to unacceptable behavior. Nearly a third left either at the request of their parents, or because they chose to leave.

Deserted by his mother, 17-year-old Derick Escobar grew up in Highland, CA, with his father, and younger brother and sister. -Larry Rodrigez' life before joining the Seaborne ChalleNGe Program had become a downward spiral, resulting in failure and constant worry for his mother, Sandra Salinas. Danny Castillo has been telling kids about the great work of the Grizzly Youth Academy for years and decided to volunteer as a mentor. With no cares and no motivation, 18-year-old Robert Parker was a hight school dropout.