TAHLEQUAH — Ninth-grader Dylan Yanez must hold his hands behind his back each time he walks across the Tahlequah Alternative School campus.

He must wear the same black sweats and black shirt as other students. He must spend the whole school day without taking a break to chat with classmates. If he wants to speak, he must stand by his chair and ask, “Permission to speak.”

Dylan said he doesn’t mind the regimentation he must endure at Cherokee County Regimented Education Academy.

“If it wasn’t for this place, I probably wouldn’t be in school right now,” he said.

Since it opened in 2001, the academy has sought to put 200 kids like Dylan on a more disciplined path to good behavior and good education.

Officials at Muskogee Public Schools hope to start a regimented program like Cherokee County’s by second semester. MPS Superintendent Mike Garde said officials are studying the Cherokee County program, as well as a regimented education program in Wagoner.

“We’re wanting to do the best of both,” Garde said. He said regimented programs are good ways to help at-risk kids stay in school and get their diplomas.

The Cherokee County program is based at Tahlequah schools but takes kids grades seven through 12 from any school in Cherokee County, including Keys and Hulbert, said Sgt. Marcus Sams, program director and drill sergeant. He said kids are sent to the program though juvenile court or truancy court.

“Some had just strayed away a bit, cutting class too much,” he said. “This is in no way punishment. This is a redirection.”

Unlike quasi-military educational “boot camps” like Thunderbird Youth Academy in Pryor, the Cherokee County academy does not board students overnight.

But Sams makes no bones about it. From the time they get to the school at 8:50 in the morning to the end of school at 3:30 p.m., those kids maintain strict, military discipline.

“They move from one room to another with their hands behind their back and do not stop and mess with anyone,” Sams said. “When they go to class, I make them sit in the front of the class. They need to be listening to the teacher, not back socializing.”

Boys must get their hair buzz-cut, girls must wear their hair tied back and up off their necks. All students must wear black sweat pants and black T-shirts, or sweat-shirts in cold weather.

They must eat together during lunch, but may not speak with each other. There’s no break after lunch either.

Any time they speak, they must stand, address the sergeant or their teacher with, “Permission to speak.”