RENO -- Faye Villariza had a different future a year ago.

The now 17-year-old was on her way to becoming part of a Nevada statistic that puts the Silver State at the bottom of U.S. high school graduation rates.

"I would not have finished school," said Villariza, who didn't study, skipped classes and spent too many evenings partying. There were many nights she just didn't go home.

"Reno High School wasn't for me," said Villariza, who met with a counselor at the Children's Cabinet, a nonprofit that helps children and families in the community with dozens of services, including child care resources, family violence prevention, truancy reduction and detention alternatives and sometimes basics such as food and shelter.

Villariza said she didn't like the counselor at first but was won over when she started asking personal questions.

"When I told her I liked to run, we went running together around the Sparks Marina," she said.

"She was a good runner," Villariza said. "I had to keep up with her. We talked about me having a future and finishing school."

Recently, the Children's Cabinet released Nevada's Kids Count, an annual data book of statistics about children and teens. It's a look at Nevada's children, like Villariza, facing obstacles.

According to the data, Nevada's dropout rates decreased 4.2 percent in 2010, with a little more than 70 percent of students graduating. Nevada's statistics become part of the national Annie E. Casey Foundation's Kids Count Data Book, a look at children and families in the United States. The private charitable organization has collected data since 1990 and uses the information to lobby for reform and create policy.

The statistics paint an important portrait of Nevada's future, said Mike Pomi, director of the Children's Cabinet. The statistics are used to create programs for children and families and are given to Nevada legislators.

Pomi said he will also use the national report to find communities facing the same problems as Nevada.

"We have conversations so we can see what is working," Pomi said.

The reports have led to creating programs such as the School of Life, created four years ago by Children's Cabinet Program Director and Nevada first lady Kathleen Sandoval.

Run by the Children's Cabinet, the unique approach to educating students focuses on a student's entire life, not just the one in the classroom.

It is funded through the Washoe County School District, federal funds and grants. The 4-year-old school has two classrooms with 20 students and two teachers. The school uses the Washoe County School District curriculum as well as a rapid credit recovery program.

Last year, the school graduated 12 students and expects to graduate three more at the end of the summer. Students are allowed to attend the school up until age 19.

The school has a waiting list and plans to open a third classroom, with room for 10 more students, in the fall.

Sandoval started the program to address children coming out the juvenile justice system, but the school is finding success with students facing a range of challenges, including gang activity, poverty and teen pregnancy.

"We hear the stories and know there is a need for a school like this," Sandoval said. "We use the statistics to back it up and get funding."

It's a school that Villariza credits for changing her life. She will graduate in a few months.

Villariza started taking classes at the School of Life last summer after feeling lost at Reno High School.

"Once you get really behind in school, you just want to give up," Villariza said.

Pomi said this school is one solution to Nevada's struggling graduation rates.

School of Life program director Ashley Oliveira said the biggest day-to-day struggle is the extreme poverty some of the students face. All 20 students currently enrolled qualify for federal free and reduced lunch programs.

"They come in saying they can't go to school because have to work to feed their families," Oliveira said.

Sandoval said the school is successful because of the support it gives to students. Each student is given a case manager. Teachers and staff get involved in personal lives.

It's the kind of support that helped Villariza and her boyfriend, Troy Bolf, through her pregnancy.

Bolf, 18, also attends the School of Life and is expected to graduate next month.

The Children's Cabinet helped Villariza and Bolf tell her parents she was pregnant, something she found out a few months after enrolling. She is due Aug. 13.

Oliveira remembers Villariza telling her she was pregnant.

"We told her she would still finish school," Oliveira said. "She is one of our stars. She is talented artist and leader."

Villariza said the school made her feel like if anyone could do it, she could.

She plans to finish school soon and go to college. Oliveira said Villariza is an excellent candidate for scholarships.

"I want to be a counselor and help other kids because I've been in the same position," Villariza said. "I will say, 'Honey, there's no excuse for you not to finish school. I've been there'."