You're in the Army now...you're not behind a plow....

This is an interesting idea, and it'll be intriguing to see how it works out:

Washington lawmakers are poised to authorize a boot-camp-style academy in Bremerton for the state’s high school dropouts, a last-ditch opportunity for struggling youth to get back on track.

Dubbed the Washington Youth Academy, the military-style proposal is a pet project of the powerful local congressman, Norm Dicks, and is embraced by Gov. Chris Gregoire; state school Superintendent Terry Bergeson; the head of the Washington National Guard, Maj. Gen. Timothy Lowenberg; and community leaders.

The governor is seeking about $6 million to build and operate the academy, which would serve about 300 dropouts each year – two intensive five-month sessions of 150 kids from around the state.

About a quarter of the state’s ninth-graders fail to graduate with their classes. One recent count showed 16,000 dropouts each year – the equivalent of a whole town, Lowenberg said.

There's references to the Youth Academy all through the recommendation from the House Appropriations Subcommittee, and I think it's worth trying. It's also interesting to point out that this is a need that could be filled by a good charter school, but we don't do that here.