A $25,000 investment

Sunburst Youth Academy has an annual budget of $9.3 million, said Jeffrey White, director of the National Guard youth programs. Each cadet is a $25,000 investment.

“California has three very successful programs,” he said.

This is defined by hiring and retaining staff, passing regular on-site inspections and kids performing positively while being tracked for a year.

He cited two studies:

■ A 2012 Rand Corp. report found that the program generated positive return on investment, increasing the lifetime earnings of participants and yielding substantial benefits to society — such as reduced crime, increased tax revenue and increased service to the community.

■ A 2011 MDRC and Macarthur Foundation report found that after three years, Challenge Program participants “were more likely than their control group counterparts to have obtained a GED or high school diploma, to have earned college credits and to be working. Their earnings were also 20% higher.”

The academy is constantly evolving, Ismail said, citing the “whole child” concept that addresses a wider scope to education, not just academics.

The latest class of cadets was no exception.

Over the course of their stay, the cadets got their eyes tested and — if needed — were fitted with new glasses so they could succeed in the classroom. They visited the ocean, where some of the teens had never been despite living in Southern California, Harman said. They visited the Museum of Tolerance in L.A. and learned, some for the first time, about the Holocaust. They honed their public speaking skills by addressing local city councils about the benefits of Sunburst. They competed for three small business grants and 10 academic scholarships. They even boarded a boat to Camp Emerald Bay at Catalina Island for three days where they earned some of the program’s 40 required hours of community service by helping prepare the Boy Scout camp for winter. They also kayaked, snorkeled and ate marshmallows around a campfire.

“There’s a huge social and emotional component,” she said, including an art-for-healing program, a bereavement group, an anger management group and a wellness room at the school. A dozen nonprofit agencies also are involved, each offering its unique, adrenaline-pumped messages about self-esteem, perseverance and success. And each of the four platoons has its own counselor on hand.

Huerta-meza said.