Some high schoolers are getting a taste of the military life and getting their lives back on track.

The Blue Grass Challenge Academy, located in Fort Knox, is an alternative residential school that follows a military model to help at risk teens better themselves.

I think the biggest problem that we have seen, and it's an epidemic around the country is young folks that are not succeeding in normal traditional school.

They're filling out a school where they are struggling with drugs, they're struggling with mental health issues.

They're struggling with trying to cope and to be able to be productive, to be able to find their way.

They have low self-esteem.

They are not motivated.

So we see many of those kids that do enter into our program that have those type of issues.

The real reason why I kind of came here is because I was falling behind in school.

I didn't really listen to my parents much.

I kind of do what I want wanted all the time.

I really didn't have no goals or anything like that.

I just kind of lived, I guess you would say.

I didn't want to go to school, didn't want to wake up.

So we had truancy problems.

So and his grades were failing really, really bad.

And so we were just looking for that.

Another option, more on hand school for discipline and structure.

And we found Blue Cross Challenge Academy and they were a blessing.

My job is to reclaim and intervene into youth that are struggling with school or with life and to welcome them into a program that is 22 weeks long where we can help them with their academics as well as with life coping skills, self-discipline, motivation for them to be able to get back on the right track and become productive citizens.

I came here and then I started really getting on track with school.

I learned discipline.

I learned my time management, much better structure, realizing that you need structure, you realize and you need goals and then now I'm a straight-A student, which I was before I came here.

I had like all these like one or two as.

So I you know, my grades have improved tremendously now.

Like when I can't go home on break, the parents call back and say, What did you do to my kid?

He gets up at 520, he's making his bed.

He's he's saying, yes, sir and no, ma'am.

That's what the model does.

We teachers teach kids to be respectful and everybody deserve the dignity and respect.

And with that model and we instill that in the first couple of weeks and throughout the program, we instill the model of leadership and followership.

Each cadet has a role to lead their peers.

We put them in charge.

And in being a good follower, it makes you acutely aware.

Justin has became this great, responsible, you know, teenager and before he was lost, you know, so he has now a structure.

He has discipline, He has respect for adults in authority figures that he did not have before he went into the school.

I think that it was a really good experience for me, meeting new people, getting getting along with people that you've never met before.

It's almost like really starting over if used to move town or something like that.

And I just I enjoy the fact that I learned I actually came here and took something from it and didn't just come here and leave with nothing.

And why do they.

Do once they believe in the process and they're ready to accept a change?

They are going to be successful at the end.

And there will only be tears at graduation because they were able to accept the challenge and overcome all those things that they were struggling with as young adults and get back on track and ready to go out and let the world know that they're ready and they're on track and they're winners.

Winner is indeed.

The Blue Bluegrass Challenge Academy welcomes its new class of cadets on January 15th.

It will be the 50th group of students to enter the program.