The Oregon Youth ChalleNGe Program, administered by the Oregon National Guard, has become the first in the nation to receive an "outstanding" rating under new federal evaluation criteria. The program, which serves as Oregon's only accredited statewide alternative high school, achieved this recognition during a comprehensive four-day inspection by the National Guard Bureau's Youth Programs Division. Despite flat federal funding for the past three years, the program continues to see increased demand, recently graduating its largest class ever with 165 cadets and starting a new class with a record 191 cadets.