Puerto Rico Youth Challenge Academy

Cadets follow a highly structured schedule throughout the 22-week residential program at Fort Allen, built around three distinct phases:

Acclimation Phase (2 weeks): Cadets adjust to the quasi-military environment, learn the code of conduct, and build foundational teamwork skills.

Residential Phase (20 weeks): The core of the program. A typical day begins at 5:00 AM with room inspection and bed-making, followed by classes integrating all Eight Core Components: academic excellence, health and hygiene, job skills, leadership and followership, life coping skills, service to community, physical fitness, and responsible citizenship. Contact with family is limited to maintain focus on personal development.

Post-Residential Phase (12 months): After graduation, cadets return home and continue working toward their goals with ongoing support from their assigned mentor and case manager.

The academy operates as a quasi-military intervention program with a zero-tolerance policy for alcohol, tobacco, and drugs. Key elements include:

• Random Testing: Cadets undergo random drug and toxicology screenings; a positive test results in immediate dismissal
• Gender-Separated Housing: Boys and girls live in separate barracks within the Fort Allen facility
• Military Structure: Emphasis on discipline, consistency, chain of command, and peer accountability

Cadres focus on developing each cadet "as a professional, as a family member, and as a human being." The isolated campus eliminates outside distractions, while parent workshops help integrate families into the transformation journey.

Physical fitness is one of the Eight Core Components of daily cadet life. All cadets participate in physical training as part of the program's emphasis on developing the whole person.

Daily PT includes:

• Structured warm-ups and cool-down exercises
• Running and cardiovascular conditioning
• Strength training and bodyweight exercises
• Marching and drill (builds discipline and unit cohesion)

The physical fitness component works in conjunction with health and hygiene education to promote overall wellness and lifelong self-discipline.

The academy is located at Fort Allen Training Center, a 921-acre Puerto Rico National Guard installation in Juana Díaz on Puerto Rico's southern coast.

Campus features include:

• Separate barracks for male and female cadets
• Classroom buildings for academic instruction
• Vocational training facilities
• Dining facilities
• Outdoor training grounds

The isolated military base setting eliminates outside distractions and reinforces the quasi-military discipline model, allowing cadets to focus entirely on their transformation.