CASPER - Skylor Eberhardt stirred ground beef in a large pot, making sure it was browned and ready for teacher Jay Reece.

Dressed in a white cooking smock, Eberhardt looked like the head chef of a restaurant as he continued cooking the meat while constantly checking on a tray of meatballs in the oven.

The 19-year-old, however, is a high school student enrolled in Natrona County School District's Prostart Culinary Arts Program, which helps students earn elective credits to graduate and get back on track.

The credit-recovery program, held every day at the Boys and Girls Club, started in March 2006, after the district contacted students who dropped out of school and asked them to come back and participate.

This year, the program has evolved. It is offered to students at risk of not graduating because they don't have enough credits, said Shawna Trujillo, the district's at-risk program manager.

For students such as Eberhardt, the class means a second chance at a diploma.

"I just stopped going to my classes," Eberhardt said of his senior year in high school. "I knew I wasn't going to have enough credits, so I figured, why go? I realized if I want to do anything with my life, I've got to have my diploma."

With encouragement from his grandfather, Eberhardt returned this school year and enrolled in the culinary program and an online English class to complete his remaining requirements. The district hopes more students will be enticed back to school with the cooking program - and will be convinced to take traditional classes as well.

District officials and teachers said the program is working because students are staying in school.

"We roll 100 percent of our kids back into their schools," Trujillo said. "That's the intention of the program."

As a bonus, Eberhardt is learning a valuable skill, although it probably will be just a hobby.

"It's fun to do, but it's not something I want to do for a living," Eberhardt said, adding that he's thinking about joining the military as a way to pay for college.

Classmates Collin Webb, 16, and Tianna Johnson, 16, both sophomores, are splitting their time between the Prostart program and their regular classes. Both students said they're taking the class as a way to catch up on their elective credits.

"I heard about it from friends," Webb said.

Currently, there are 15 students enrolled, but the program can accept as many as 20. The students get classroom instruction on cooking, which is supplemented by lab time in the kitchen, said Reece, who is the program's culinary-arts teacher.

Reece and Tammy Ray, another Prostart teacher, said they talk to the students often, counseling them on when they're ready to return full time to their regular schools.

"We try to get them as many credits as possible," Ray said.