Bicker Therien says his cheeks hurt when he talks about the National Guard Idaho Youth Challenge Academy, because he's smiling so much.

Therien is principal of the academy in Pierce that offers teenagers who have dropped out of school, or are at risk of dropping out, a chance to salvage their educations - and maybe their lives.

The academy's third class of cadets will graduate from the 22-week residential program at noon Saturday in Lewiston High School's auditorium.

"In the right environment, these kids can thrive," Therien said. "If we get them to believe it, they'll go home and believe it and hopefully carry on."

After seeing more than 230 young men and women through the program, Therien said he believes it is the right answer for many kids whose educations might otherwise be over.

A longtime alternative educator, Therien said he had become frustrated seeing that the six hours, five days a week of a typical school schedule were not enough to change students' habits and improve behaviors.

At the academy's quasi-military style program, he said, the cadets are held accountable 24 hours a day. The teens get three meals a day and eight hours of sleep at night. They don't show up to Monday's classes trying to recover from the weekend.

But even with what he considers a recipe for success, Therien said, not every teen who tries the program will complete it.

"We're not going to save them all, as much as we want to," he said.

The academy in Pierce, funded by both the federal government and state of Idaho, is one of 35 National Guard Youth Challenge Academies in 27 states. Programs coordinator Harv Nelson said the Idaho academy's goal is to graduate 200 cadets a year from the residential program, with a minimum of 150. In the program's first year of operation, there were 151 total graduates from the first two classes.

Completion rates have varied between 76 percent and 87 percent, Nelson said. Of the 93 teens who started the third class in January, 81 are set to graduate on Saturday.

Of note with this most recent class, Therien said, is all 22 girls who started it are scheduled to graduate.

"I think that's phenomenal that they all stuck it out," he said.

The Idaho program's success has caught the attention of officials at other academies, Nelson said.

"Other units are calling us and asking us how we do the screening process and so forth," he said. "Even though we're one of the younger programs, we're developing a reputation of being a phenomenal startup."

When it completed its first accreditation process this year, the academy scored above average for high schools evaluated by the organization that accredits not just other Idaho schools, but schools internationally, Therien said.

Another way to measure the program's effectiveness, he said, is by how much academic improvement the cadets achieve while there.

Cadets take an assessment called the Test of Adult Basic Education at the beginning and end of the 22-week program.

The initial class, he said, averaged an increase of 1.5 grade levels while at the academy. The second group averaged an increase of 2.9 grade levels. The most recent class has improved an average of two grade levels. Two current cadets, Therien said, moved up 6.5 grade levels.

Since the program started, he said, members of the Pierce community have embraced the academy and the cadets. When the first group of cadets graduated at a ceremony in Boise, he said, several community members traveled to be there for them.

Service projects, both in the town of Pierce and as far away as the Idaho State Veterans Home in Lewiston, are part of every cadet's schedule at the academy. And the approximately 50 employees at the academy, Therien said, have been a boost to the local economy.

"The community has definitely stayed engaged in the program, and they're so supportive," he said. "But on top of being supportive, they're also appreciative because the kids do things in the community."

Therien, who left a job in New Plymouth, Idaho, to be principal at the academy, said the move has been worth it for him.

"This was one of those things that I felt like I needed to do," he said. "And I haven't regretted it a minute. As adults in the program we grow as much as the kids do."

Spaces are still available for the next class, which begins July 18, Therien said. Applicants must be no younger than 16 on the first day of class and no older than 18 at the end. Application materials and more information are available on the academy's website at www.idyouthchallenge.com.

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Stone may be contacted at mstone@lmtribune.com or at (208) 848-2244. Follow her on Twitter @MarysSchoolNews.