Before he found the REAL School, Pat Presby found himself in trouble, with the law, with his family and with the teachers at the schools he attended.

But even as he was in and out of incarceration, the 17-year-old from Windham had a love for music production, one that stretched back to the fifth grade, when he first began dreaming of a life in a studio laying down drum tracks.

His passion is now being cultivated through the REAL School’s Teen Aspirations Program, which is helping to guide Presby, connecting him with classes at Southern Maine Community College in South Portland and a possible internship in the music industry. The program has shown him the steps he has to take to learn his way in the music industry, Presby said, making his dream career seem all the more attainable.

“It’s my thing to do,” Presby said of the lifelong hobby he hopes now will be his future.

Stories like Presby’s may now become more common at the Regional Educational Alternative Learning (REAL) School, an alternative high school that is part of the Windham School Department but accepts students from districts all over southern Maine. With a two-year, $74,000 grant from the state Juvenile Justice Advisory Group, the Teen Aspirations Program will be able to hire a coordinator for the next two years. The coordinator will work with the school’s 34 students, connecting them with a network of mentors and giving the kids opportunities they once thought out of reach.

In doing so, school officials aim to give hope and support to students who would not or could not succeed at traditional schools, said Pender Makin, the REAL School’s director. Through the Teen Aspirations Program, and others offered at the school, she said, the students can gain the direction needed to fulfill their promise, and shed the weight of past infractions.

“When you ask these kids what they want to with their lives, you typically get ‘I don’t know’ or ‘I don’t care.’ What’s the point for them if they don’t envision a successful, healthy life for themselves?” said Makin. The aspirations program is meant to force the students to think about the things in life that strike a passion in them, she said.

Through the program, one student, a burgeoning comedian, got lessons with a local professional, then five minutes on stage at the Comedy Connection in Portland. Other students have taken trips to visit colleges, an opportunity they would not have had otherwise, Makin said.

Ismael Montanez, a 16-year-old from Windham, simply needed help finding a job. He got a ride around North Windham, and advice from somebody who had been through a job search before.

“I wanted to help my mom around the house,” he said. “I don’t have a way around like that. I couldn’t drive around and look for jobs.”

The Teen Aspirations Program has been a year-to-year endeavor up to this point, Makin said. But the new grant will allow the school to hire a coordinator who can commit to two years, which adds stability to the program while attracting top candidates.

“A one-year program really limits the pool of people who are interested,” said Makin.

The program fits in well with the REAL School’s mission to show students they have the ability to learn and be a part of society, Makin said. This is particularly important for the students after they have failed in a traditional school environment, Makin said.

“If a kid has exhausted everything in their various school settings and resources trying to make that student successful, they come here,” she said.

The students at the REAL School have encountered a number of hurdles in their education, Makin said. Around 60 percent have a diagnosed disability, and many are dealing with poverty, dysfunction at home, anxiety or depression, she said.

“There are so many random things that can throw a kid off track,” Makin said.

All of these factors, both internal and external, are taken into consideration when forming a student’s personal learning plan. On top of regular academic classes, the REAL School offers students adventure-based learning, on hiking trails around the school’s site on Mackworth Island, to the ropes course, which is used to build teamwork skills. Electives offered one recent afternoon included sign language and working on the school newsletter.

Each day starts with a meeting in which the school’s 34 students sit in a circle and discuss the day ahead. The classes themselves feel informal, and the teachers relate to the students in a way that is more like an older sibling than a taskmaster.

“If you’re being a jerk, they’ll tell you,” said Steven Marcotte, a student from Freeport. He appreciates the candor, and the way the teachers push him to act right while appreciating how he can sometimes struggle.

“Here, it’s not too hard, it’s not too easy,” Marcotte said. “They put it at your level.”

Another student, Ben Carlson of Windham, said he could not pay attention day in and day out at Windham High School. The work did not make sense to him, and he was not doing well, so he started missing school on a regular basis.

Now in his first full year at the REAL School, Carlson is excelling. He has become a mentor of sorts himself, often taking the lead in school projects and helping coordinate activities with the younger students when the REAL School mingles with a nearby elementary school.

“He’s always doing something unique,” said Martin Mackey, one of Carlson’s teachers. “Ben almost has his own program.”

The variety keeps Carlson focused, and his success so far has given him reason to believe in himself.

“This definitely keeps me interested,” Carlson said. “It’s definitely more relaxed. There’s more individualized attention. I think I’ve missed one day here all year.”

It is no accident that the students respond to the school’s mix of socialization and education, Makin said.

“Our kids have come from places where they have felt tremendous isolation,” said Makin. “We work hard to create a community.”

Rod Nadeau, left, and Martin Mackey, teachers at the R.E.A. L. School on Mackworth Island, help student Randy Pendleton prepare to run a ropes course, just one of the creative tools the alternative school uses to push students to succeed.