Three years ago, by the time he was a junior, Jorge Luna had attended three high schools. Administrators constantly suspended him. He was drinking, doing drugs and getting into fights.

"I started heading down a pretty bad path," says Luna, 21. "I ended up almost dying a couple of times."

He says the fourth school he attended, like his brother before him, saved him.

Yesterday afternoon, he was among 55 graduates of El Cuarto Año High School, named for a Spanish phrase that means "the fourth year." The school offers a second chance to students who dropped out or were otherwise barred from attending traditional high schools.

"It's bittersweet," Luna says. "I'm proud of myself. I've worked really hard for this."

The nonprofit Association House opened El Cuarto Año more than 25 years ago, as a general-equivalency-degree program. In 2000, officials transformed it into an alternative high school to help students earn a full-fledged Illinois diploma.

Enrollment at El Cuarto Año is growing: Next year, it will expand by more than 10 percent, and the charter school uses a lottery to determine who will attend. According to school officials, more than 170 students applied for 95 spots last year. Most are black and Latino teenagers from some of Chicago's toughest neighborhoods.

"They come from rough backgrounds. Some of them have been kicked out of school, expelled. Some of them have dropped out," says Heather Morrison, community relations coordinator at the Association House. "They've just come to their senses and realized that they need to have an education."

Modeled on High Tech High, a charter school in San Diego, El Cuarto Año focuses on helping students develop stronger social skills and connect with adults. The charter school operates in partnership with Chicago Public Schools, the Youth Connection Charter School and the Alternative Schools Network.

Principal Ed Peacock says teachers take a mentoring approach with the students, trying to better their lives after a series of bad decisions or difficult circumstances. Class sizes are limited to about 15 students per teacher, and counselors work with students to help identify financial-aid resources for higher education.

"We would love to have as many of them as possible go to college or a specialized school," Peacock says. "We want them to be able to, ultimately, come back to the community and help others, in one way or another."

Luna says his way might be as an architect, or an interior designer. For now, he waits for word from the admissions office at Harold Washington College.

"It basically opened the doors for me to get me where I'm at right now," Luna says of El Cuarto Año. "I just had to take the step."