Senate Bill 1038 provides just over $3 million for the West Virginia National Guard to use for its southern academy’s security system and physical plant upgrades.
Senate Bill 1038 provides just over $3 million for the West Virginia National Guard to use for its southern academy’s security system and physical plant upgrades.
The quasi-military educational program, housed in buildings on the former West Virginia Tech campus in Montgomery, trains and mentors at-risk and academically challenged teenagers. The school uses a 22-week residential and one year post-residential follow-up program, to become contributing members of society. High School diplomas are available to those who qualify.
The academy website notes that:
“Quasi-military” is a term used to describe the program because it resembles military training. Our structured environment includes many aspects related to military training such as paying attention to detail, respect, self-discipline and a chain of command.”
Gov. Jim Justice signed the bill at the academy and noted he has been on some projects with the cadets and was impressed with their progress.
“These are kids that maybe were a little astray,” Justice said. “We’re trying to reset their life and get them on a good path.”
Justice said the state’s two Mountaineer ChalleNGe Academies, the North Academy being in Richwood, have graduated more than 5,000 cadets.
A graduate of the West Virginia National Guard’s Mountaineer ChalleNGe Academy-South has received two nominations to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
William Farkas, 16, of Tunnelton, received a nomination from Sen. Joe Manchin on Monday. He already had a nomination as the child of a military veteran.
“West Virginians have a long legacy of bravely serving our country,” Manchin said. “It is my highest honor to recommend William Farkas to an appointment at West Point.”
Acceptance into any of the five service academies is highly competitive. Applicants must meet strict eligibility requirements, including academic and physical criteria, and have a proven history of leadership qualities.
Out of 12,294 applicants seeking a spot in the West Point Class of 2022, only 4,005 ended up receiving nominations, and only 1,210 were eventually accepted.
“It is an honor to have received this military academy nomination from Sen. Manchin,” Farkas said. “My experiences with my family, the different organizations I have been involved with, and at Mountaineer ChalleNGe Academy have instilled in me a strong foundation of service and dedication to our nation, which I hope to build upon at West Point. I can’t wait to represent West Virginia at the United States Military Academy.”
If selected as a member of the Class of 2026, Farkas will become a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army after graduation.
Farkas earned several awards in his 22 weeks at Mountaineer ChalleNGe Academy-South including the Robert C. Byrd Distinguished Cadet Award and Adjutant General’s Award for Academic Excellence. Farkas said the structure of the MCA program helped him define his goals and gave him the confidence to obtain them.
“MCA-South boosted my confidence and focus in ways that I hadn’t really experienced before,” he said. “The structured environment, the staff, the way they keep us on the straight and narrow path, really helped me find what I was meant to do with my life.”
Maj. Gen. William “Bill” Crane, adjutant general of the WVNG, noted that Farkas’ nomination opens the door to other Mountaineer ChalleNGe Academy cadets.
“I could not be more proud of the accomplishments and drive of Cadet Farkas as he journeys down this path toward achieving his goal of attending West Point,” he said.
Farkas earned his high school diploma through the Mountaineer ChalleNGe Academy and will enlist in the WVNG after he turns 17 this month. He hopes to receive a third nomination to West Point, further increasing his odds to be accepted into the prestigious institution.
As the Mountaineer ChalleNGe Academy continues to graduate more West Virginia teens than ever, its leaders say the program has reached its capacity for the existing facility at Camp Dawson.
Legislation from the most recent special session advocates not only for an expansion there in Preston County, but for a second location in Fayette County. Lawmakers didn’t specify in writing where they want the new academy to go, but many are confident it will end up being at the former WVU Tech campus in Montgomery.
Since WVU moved its Institute of Technology from Montgomery to Beckley in 2017, much of the campus has remained unclaimed — despite major efforts from the state and WVU to fill it.
It’s because of those failed attempts that Montgomery officials remain skeptical that the Mountaineer ChalleNGe Academy will arrive.
Mountaineer ChalleNGe Academy ‘No Normal Program’
At first glance, the academy looks in some ways like any other school. There’s computer labs and traditional classrooms, a gym and a cafeteria. But there’s also hoop houses outside for gardening, and living quarters across the street where students — referred to here as “cadets” — sleep in bays.
Academy Director Bob Morris said his academy is no normal program.
“Their day begins at 0500, or five o’clock, and by 5:15 they’re doing their physical training for the morning,” Morris said of the cadets. “Lights are out at nine o’clock, 2100.”
When the school opened in 1993, it was one of the first “youth challenge academies” in the country. The National Guard-run program puts academically at-risk teenagers on a structured 22-week long class, complete with high school classes, community service and regular physical activity. Today, there’s almost 40 of these programs nationwide.
Morris said the quality of the cadet experience hasn’t changed a lot over the years, but it’s worth noting the quantity has. Three weeks into the most recent class, Deputy Director Dianna Trickett said the academy had 182 cadets.
That’s a little more than the program’s 150-cadet target, although Trickett pointed out the school will often accept extra students, knowing some cadets will leave before graduating.
Academy leaders say there’s no room for more cadets at the existing facility.
Credit Mountaineer ChalleNGe Academy
/
The Mountaineer ChalleNGe Academy at Camp Dawson graduated its largest class in December 2018. There were 173 cadets.
“Right now, with Challenge Academy, we’ll turn away in any given class a waitlist of anywhere from 25 to 50 kids,” said Major General James Hoyer with the West Virginia National Guard.
House Bill 206, a controversial and complex education omnibus measure that became law in July, advocates for an expansion of the Camp Dawson site and the creation of a new academy in Fayette County. Hoyer said the guard is considering the former WVU Tech Campus in Montgomery.
“One of the dynamics we face is, Camp Dawson’s a great place, but it is remote and it’s hard for families to get kids to Camp Dawson,” Hoyer said.
Morris said the routine translates to success not only for the cadets, but for the state’s workforce. According to the school, 55 percent of last year’s graduating class went on to employment. Sixteen percent joined the military, 12 percent went to college and 17 percent went on to vocational training.
“What does West Virginia need right now? We need a workforce that can get up for work, perform their job, and is drug free,” said Morris. “And that’s what we can offer.”
The academy already has made some changes to reach more southern county cadets and their families. That includes transportation, off-site orientation days and a recruiter focused solely on the southern part of the state.
But with another location, Morris said the academy could do even more for the state and its southern youth.
That includes Cadet Logan Helmandollar, who hails from Wyoming County.
“I learned about the MCA through a couple of past cadets. They weren’t going down the wrong path, but they just wanted to get on the right path with their school work,” Helmandollar said.
Getting to Preston County wasn’t easy for Helmandollar — it took him more than four and a half hours to get to Camp Dawson. But he likes the distance. If the academy were closer, he might’ve left sooner.
“Being away from home, the distance, really helps me mature, in a sense,” said Helmandollar.
Cadet David Turner from Kanawha County agrees.
“I’ve told everybody, if you can get through this, you can get through anything, literally,” Turner said of the academy. “Because you’re taken away from home, you can’t do what you want to do when you want to do it, you have to meet deadlines … and if you can’t do that, there’s consequences. So, if you can transport yourself from home to here, there’s really not much else you’re going to give up on when you get out of here.”
Regardless of which academy a cadet will end up at, Morris promises both programs will run the same.
“What we have at Camp Dawson works. And we’re going to take that approach to this second location,” he said. “We know our structure works, we know the education works, and we’re not going to reinvent the wheel.”
Lawmakers Have Yet to Discuss Funding, Timeline for New Academy
Hoyer speaks openly about the National Guard’s focus on the former WVU Tech Campus in Montgomery. WVU Vice President of Strategic Initiatives Rob Alsop confirmed the university, which still owns the campus, is in communication with the Guard.
Yet, HB 206 doesn’t specify where in Fayette County the school must go, and neither has the Legislature provided any official timeline for when the school must open, nor any idea about the funding it’ll receive.
Hoyer provided the Legislature with a $22 million fiscal note during session. That’s $15 million for infrastructure and $7 million for the first year’s operating costs.
Senate President Mitch Carmichael said he expects the Legislature will address funding in the upcoming regular session.
“We’ll really take a hard look at how we fund that mechanism, and make sure that we’re getting all other available funds, so it’s not just West Virginia taxpayer dollars,” said Carmichael.
He added that it’s possible the state could reach a cost share agreement with the federal government. The existing Mountaineer ChalleNGe Academy in Preston County has an operating budget of $6 million a year, according to Morris, with the federal government covering 75 percent and the state 25.
Montgomery Mayor Greg Ingram said he’s heard very little about the state’s plan for the old WVU Tech Campus. Neither was there much public discussion when lawmakers actually voted on the bill, according to State Senator Stephen Baldwin, a Democrat whose district includes Montgomery.
Credit Emily Allen
/
Montgomery Mayor Greg Ingram recalls taking a biology class at WVU Tech, as a student in the ’90s.
“Frankly, the Legislature had very few conversations about this. They packaged this into the very last omnibus bill at the very last minute, and it wasn’t ever discussed,” Baldwin said.
He suspects the Republican majority added the Mountaineer ChalleNGe Academy bill — to the otherwise Democrat-contested omnibus — to attract more votes from the other side of the aisle.
Baldwin ultimately voted against the omnibus for its provisions relating to charter schools, but he’s excited about the Mountaineer ChalleNGe Academy potentially coming to Montgomery, an area that’s lost millions of dollars in economic activity since losing WVU Tech in 2017.
“It’s not going to fill that hole. But it’s a part of a strategy moving forward,” Baldwin said.
“Because it’s going to be an important employer in the area, it’s going to provide a service that nobody in West Virginia provides … It’s going to be helpful, and absolutely anytime you can get a long term government tenant in a building as important and large as that one, that’s a great thing. But in and of itself, it can’t replace the whole of WVU Tech.”
Montgomery’s Long-Standing History With Its Former University
montgomeryweb.mp3
A report on Montgomery's connection to the former WVU Tech campus
Ingram, a WVU Tech grad, has been mayor for four years. Before that, he worked in the office as a city recorder. He’s been around since the Legislature voted in 2016 to move WVU Tech.
And, he’s been around for all of the ideas since then about ways to fill the campus. Ingram said after other failed ideas, he’s skeptical the academy will ever arrive.
“The Challenge Academy would be a wonderful addition to Montgomery. We would welcome the Challenge Academy here,” Ingram said. “But I’ll believe it when it happens.”
Montgomery has had a college on the former WVU Tech Campus since 1895, when it was the “Montgomery Preparatory School” for West Virginia University.
“It was a school here and a college here for 125 years,” said Ingram. “It was born and raised by the students of Montgomery.”
The school separated from WVU years later to take on several different roles. Many changes later in 1996, the school merged back with WVU to become the WVU Institute of Technology.
Regardless of who has owned the university, the community has had a longstanding relationship with the university. When the college officially moved in 2017, Ingram called it the state’s “worst public policy decision.”
“When they pulled out, they took a lot of jobs,” Ingram said. “They took a lot of people that spent money. It kind of resulted in a downturn in the economy … It’s sad that West Virginians would do West Virginians this way.”
Alsop with WVU said he’s mindful when it comes to Montgomery’s struggle with losing WVU Tech, but the move was better for the university in the long run.
“We’ve been pleased with the move,” said Alsop. “We believed it was in the best interest for the student experience, and for the long-term viability of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology, to be in Beckley. There were a significant number of decisions relating to facilities, to the ability to recruit type class size, on that.”
Replacing WVU Tech Remains a Priority
Ingram said the move remains a “chip on his shoulder.” Since becoming mayor, filling the empty buildings has been a priority for him. Alsop said this has also been a priority for the university system.
Credit Emily Allen
/
A view from the former WVU Tech campus in Montgomery.
“We’ve had conversations with the city and county leaders, as well as state officials, about potential uses of the campus,” said Alsop. “We’ve really been trying to brainstorm on what’s the best uses for those facilities.”
Since moving the Institute of Technology to Beckley, WVU has transferred a few buildings to the city and BridgeValley Technical and Community College, which has grown to take on more of a role in hosting community events and opportunities for Montgomery residents. The university is renting the former gym to the YMCA for the time being.
WVU is waiting to hear back from a developer who could turn the business building into a senior living facility. The Board of Governors for WVU recently approved the sale of the building. Alsop said he’s still waiting for the developer to make the purchase.
Some of Ingram’s skepticism comes from less successful efforts to fill the building. Shortly after WVU moved its tech program, it tried to move in a school for young adults who have aged out of the foster care system called KVC.
“It was going to be a school for kids that have aged out of foster care,” said Ingram. “It was to provide them an additional two years of training, with some college classes, to get them into the workforce instead of falling into drugs, prostitution, those types of things that happen to so many kids in foster care.”
Alsop said there’s little reason for skepticism this time, due to how much more established the academy is.
“Unlike KVC, which was really plowing new ground and trying to do something brand new and innovative,” Alsop said. “The ChalleNGe Academy is very innovative, but I think if you were to talk to Major General Hoyer or the National Guard, they have a readily established playbook for the academy. They know what they’re doing. They know how to change kids’ lives.”
Adam Cleek is a former Mountaineer Challenge Academy Alum and Purple Heart recipient. Cleek will speak later today to 800 congressional, corporate and community leaders at the National Guard Youth Foundation Youth’s Challenge Gala in Washington D.C.
Cleek grew up in South Charleston in a middle class family with divorced parents. By the time he entered junior high Cleek says he was hanging out with the wrong crowd. He liked partying better than going to school, dabbled in drugs and did things that got him kicked out of school. From there he was enrolled in the Mountaineer Challenge Academy in Kingwood, West Virginia.
“The Mountaineer Challenge Academy is a quasi-military academy where troubled youth go or youth that have been in some type of trouble,” Cleek said.
Cleek said the things he learned there, made him the man he would become when he entered the military, later earning a purple heart after he was wounded three times while riding in a Humvee in Afghanistan that was fired upon. He said it was the things that the challenge academy helped him realize that turned him into the person he became.
“To create that and have someone that was telling me that I could do something when in my mind and my self-image was saying I could not and by them saying I could do that it just created a different environment for me,” Cleek said.
Cleek earned a bachelor’s degree in three years and a master’s degree in accounting from the University of West Georgia. He worked for a while at Ernst and Young a Business Management Consultant and now is the CFO at a successful health IT firm, EHR Concepts, with his wife. Cleek said the toughness he developed there has helped him at each step in his life.
“When I was there in ’96 it was extremely cold and snowed a lot up in the mountains in Kingwood and we would have to get up and 5:30 to 6 each morning and go out and run in the snow and it just put a mental toughness and fortitude inside of you that made you almost think you could do things that were super human I guess,” Cleek said.
Cleek is the father of three and is expecting his fourth child soon. The Mountaineer Challenge Academy is one of 35 National Guard Youth Challenge Programs nationwide, The Mountaineer Challenge Academy has graduated more than 3,000 cadets since it was founded in 1993.
