For almost three decades or a little over half of his life, Mike Brocke has been teaching math to high school students, and couldn’t imagine doing anything else.

For the first four years of his career he taught mathematics at Melba High School, located in Southern Idaho near Boise, and then moved to Kamiah High School, where he remained for almost 23 years. But last year he was offered an opportunity of another kind, to teach at the Idaho Youth ChalleNGe Academy, which will celebrate its one year anniversary this year, and is a place where at-risk youth come for a second chance at getting their life and education goals back on track.