BOULDER -- It's one of those sparkling October days, with a hint of briskness in the air.

It gives a sharp and golden focus to the early morning scene at Alternative Youth Adventures, as students from one of the three campus group homes queue at the door to go to the 8 a.m. class.

For most of them, it's just another routine day at what appears to be an alternative high school.

The girls already are inside the school. Outside, teen boys in sweatshirts, baseball caps, and jeans arrive just as their counterparts a few blocks away are pouring through the doors of Jefferson High School.

But here, no student cars are parked out front. No couples hold hands. There are no cell phones, nor designer labels -- it's thrift store jeans and T-shirts.

Instead of a football field and track stretching behind the building, there's a worn dirt basketball court. The basket, bolted to the wall of the building, long ago lost its net.

Nearby is an array of deserted red brick buildings, from several eras, some with boarded up broken windows. Most of these South Campus buildings, formerly part of the Montana Developmental Center campus, have seen more prosperous times.

Still, AYA offers a safe shelter from a stormy life for most of the 24 teens here. For many, it's the best home they've had in their short lives. Most have been abused -- physically, sexually, emotionally or all three. Frequently their parents are addicts.

Still, the youths don't come here voluntarily. And while some will thrive here, another will say "it's hell."

Most are placed at AYA by an appointed guardian, or sometimes by a parent. Rarely, they are sent here by a court order. All are low income, with their treatment typically paid by Medicaid.

Before they were referred here, a screening committee determined if they were a "good fit."

"They have to be seriously emotionally disturbed" to come to AYA, said Jamie Grossberg, a youthful therapist with long, curly black hair, who noted that all the clients are taking some form of medication to treat mental health symptoms.

She's a licensed clinical social worker who manages AYA's day treatment program, overseeing a staff of six. An additional 30 staff members provide direct care during the school day and in the three group homes.

AYA was purchased by the Montana nonprofit Youth Dynamics two years ago. It's licensed to handle 12- to 18-year-olds. Currently, 17 clients are high school students and the rest are middle schoolers. AYA may open another eight-bed group home in January. There are not enough therapeutic foster homes to meet the need.

They will typically stay nine months, Grossberg said. Some can leave in five months; others stay as long as 18 months.

"A lot of the kids have a ton of grief," she said. "Some of these kids just ache to be in a family. That's all they want. They have to realize you're not going to have a family or you're going to have to make up your own family."

Grossberg, like the rest of the staff, goes by her first name. And like most of the staff, she's dressed casually, wearing jeans and a green fleece shirt.

In fact, the easiest way to tell apart some of the youngest staff from the clients is to note who carries the keys or the medication tray.

The type of behavior that brings them to AYA "vacillates with the kiddo," Grossberg said.

"A lot of them struggle with anger issues. Sometimes they are sexually acting out. Sometimes they are a danger to others. Sometimes they are 'sexually reactive' and will go out and victimize other people," she said. "We work really hard to screen kids with significant mental health behaviors, but not criminal behaviors."

This is a change from when AYA was operated by Community Education Centers and a majority of the clients were sent by the courts.

Security and safety, for both the kids and the community, are provided by the number of staff, she said. They also make sure the youth are never left alone with each other.

If teenagers were such a security risk that they would need an electronic-tracking bracelet, "they wouldn't be here," she added.

However, there have been occasional problems. Last Christmas two kids ran away, stole a car and were involved in a high-speed chase. The police stopped them in Dillon. They weren't returned to AYA.

A typical day at AYA is "very structured," Grossman said. "They can't handle a lot of change in their routine. Predictability is important to them."

From 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. they do chores and go to school. Each group home of eight kids circulates every two hours between three classrooms: social studies and English; science and math; and health and physical education. Boys and girls are kept separate, except when they eat lunch together on Fridays. Sometimes they also go on the same field trips.

Two to three staff work in each classroom, sometimes more.

On this fall morning, a group of eight boys from the Opportunity Group Home are starting the day in Bonnie Frazier's cheerful classroom.

The walls recently were painted a dark beige, the polished floor sparkles, and cardboard decorations of brilliant fall leaves glow from the walls and the front of her desk.

The class starts with drawing a Halloween poster. Each student decorates a photo of himself that he's transformed with markers into whatever persona he desires -- a glowing purple rock star, a super hero or perhaps a creepy creature.

Special education teacher Bob Ekblom stops by individual students' desks, helping them one-on-one and nudging along a few who haven't finished their assignments. Today's class covers spelling and definitions, English work sheets, a history packet on Ancient Greece. There also is a time slot for journal writing, when students write about their personal goal for second quarter.

"What really helps these kids is small class size," Frazier said. "What really helps is setting them up for success."

And it's important to treat them with respect, she added.

Most of the time students show up with a good attitude. However, if they're not ready to learn, they move out into the hallway until they are.

At the end of the two hours, she marks their day treatment point sheet. They can earn a total of 160 points each day in school, for such behaviors as being prepared, being on task, completing school work, following classroom rules, interacting appropriately with others and following therapy goals.

In fact, Ekblom has found the AYA students "sometimes are better behaved than in public school."

Outside and behind the building, the girls from the New Journey group home try a new basketball game, Poison, under the watchful but encouraging guidance of teacher Mike Smalley. A young girl in a black-hooded sweatshirt smiles as one of her throws meets success, and the ball plops through the netless hoop. Occasionally there rises a laugh of youthful happiness.

Back inside, science and math teacher Erik Rodriguez has students working on individualized math assignments, since each student in his group is at a different level. Later in the period, they'll study science, which for many students proves to be their favorite class.

Rodriguez's room still wears its dull green colors from bygone years as a state institution. Green plaid curtains hang in the windows, but are pulled back to allow sunlight to flood in. It's not uncommon to see duct tape on some of the aging math textbooks.

As one student tries to figure out the perimeter of a rectangle, another puzzles through a word problem, talking it over with Ekblom.

"I'm doing a chapter test," explains another student. "It's hard, but I'm getting it, so far."

Another student, Bill, who had recently arrived at AYA and was still adjusting to his medications, laid down his head on his book.

"Are you learning by osmosis?" asked Rodriguez.

A few moments later he said, "Bill, get busy. If you sit and do nothing, you will get a zero."

As more time passed, he said, "Bill, I know you are tired. Do you need any help?"

Bill stirs and peers at his math book. For a moment, he looks just like any kid in need of a little help from an adult.

Reporter Marga Lincoln: 447-4074

or marga.lincoln@helenair.com