LOS ALAMITOS, Calif. (KABC) -- Troubled kids who dropped out of high school are getting a second chance in life, if they're willing to go through the rigors of a military-like academy. The Sunburst Youth Challenge Academy, at the National Guard Joint Forces Training Base in Los Alamitos, takes in kids who dropped out because of problems like drugs or alcohol and truancy. On average, most cadets come in with a grade point average under 1.0 and leave with a 3.8 or higher. The academy is a voluntary program - the kids aren't sentenced to attend by a judge. But sometimes they are referred by LAPD officers who think they know a troubled teen who deserves another chance. The five-month program claims a 90-percent success rate. "I get to finally turn my life around," said school cadet Hector Magana, who was homeless and living in his car when he applied to the program. "Instead of going down the wrong path, now I'm going down a better path."

For six months, CBS News has followed a group of high school dropouts who received a second chance through a boot camp run by the National Guard. Michael Scott, the First Sergeant of a National Guard boot camp for troubled teens, is in charge of the 28 sergeants who've made it their life's mission to turn at-risk students' lives around. Troubled teens who used to see F’s and D’s on their report cards are now proudly boasting A’s and B’s. Second Chances are what the Sunburst Youth Challenge Academy program is all about. Sponsored by the California National Guard and the State of California, the Youth Challenge facility has graduated more than 2,000 teenagers since 1998 and more than 1,700 have earned their GED or a high school diploma after attending this 22-week residential program. The National HS graduation rate is 78% while it is 72.5% in California. If you know of teenager that could use a second chance to turn their life around - please tell them about this program.

For six months, CBS News has followed a group of high school dropouts who received a second chance through a boot camp run by the National Guard. Michael Scott, the First Sergeant of a National Guard boot camp for troubled teens, is in charge of the 28 sergeants who've made it their life's mission to turn at-risk students' lives around. Troubled teens who used to see F’s and D’s on their report cards are now proudly boasting A’s and B’s. Second Chances are what the Sunburst Youth Challenge Academy program is all about. Sponsored by the California National Guard and the State of California, the Youth Challenge facility has graduated more than 2,000 teenagers since 1998 and more than 1,700 have earned their GED or a high school diploma after attending this 22-week residential program. The National HS graduation rate is 78% while it is 72.5% in California. If you know of teenager that could use a second chance to turn their life around - please tell them about this program.

For six months, CBS News has followed a group of high school dropouts who received a second chance through a boot camp run by the National Guard. Michael Scott, the First Sergeant of a National Guard boot camp for troubled teens, is in charge of the 28 sergeants who've made it their life's mission to turn at-risk students' lives around. Troubled teens who used to see F’s and D’s on their report cards are now proudly boasting A’s and B’s. Second Chances are what the Sunburst Youth Challenge Academy program is all about. Sponsored by the California National Guard and the State of California, the Youth Challenge facility has graduated more than 2,000 teenagers since 1998 and more than 1,700 have earned their GED or a high school diploma after attending this 22-week residential program. The National HS graduation rate is 78% while it is 72.5% in California. If you know of teenager that could use a second chance to turn their life around - please tell them about this program.

For six months, CBS News has followed a group of high school dropouts who received a second chance through a boot camp run by the National Guard. Michael Scott, the First Sergeant of a National Guard boot camp for troubled teens, is in charge of the 28 sergeants who've made it their life's mission to turn at-risk students' lives around. Troubled teens who used to see F’s and D’s on their report cards are now proudly boasting A’s and B’s. Second Chances are what the Sunburst Youth Challenge Academy program is all about. Sponsored by the California National Guard and the State of California, the Youth Challenge facility has graduated more than 2,000 teenagers since 1998 and more than 1,700 have earned their GED or a high school diploma after attending this 22-week residential program. The National HS graduation rate is 78% while it is 72.5% in California. If you know of teenager that could use a second chance to turn their life around - please tell them about this program.

For six months, CBS News has followed a group of high school dropouts who received a second chance through a boot camp run by the National Guard. Michael Scott, the First Sergeant of a National Guard boot camp for troubled teens, is in charge of the 28 sergeants who've made it their life's mission to turn at-risk students' lives around. Troubled teens who used to see F’s and D’s on their report cards are now proudly boasting A’s and B’s. Second Chances are what the Sunburst Youth Challenge Academy program is all about. Sponsored by the California National Guard and the State of California, the Youth Challenge facility has graduated more than 2,000 teenagers since 1998 and more than 1,700 have earned their GED or a high school diploma after attending this 22-week residential program. The National HS graduation rate is 78% while it is 72.5% in California. If you know of teenager that could use a second chance to turn their life around - please tell them about this program.

For six months, CBS News has followed a group of high school dropouts who received a second chance through a boot camp run by the National Guard. Michael Scott, the First Sergeant of a National Guard boot camp for troubled teens, is in charge of the 28 sergeants who've made it their life's mission to turn at-risk students' lives around. Troubled teens who used to see F’s and D’s on their report cards are now proudly boasting A’s and B’s. Second Chances are what the Sunburst Youth Challenge Academy program is all about. Sponsored by the California National Guard and the State of California, the Youth Challenge facility has graduated more than 2,000 teenagers since 1998 and more than 1,700 have earned their GED or a high school diploma after attending this 22-week residential program. The National HS graduation rate is 78% while it is 72.5% in California. If you know of teenager that could use a second chance to turn their life around - please tell them about this program.