Y&M Magazine - Military Academies Revisited

Military Academies Revisited
by Harold Jordan 1 | 2 | 3

JROTC marching
Two JROTC cadets in uniform for a Memorial Day parade.

AT A GLANCE: Military Academies

In 1993, the Department of Defense began implementing a new type of JROTC program, known as JROTC academies.
JROTC academies combine academic and technical training with mandatory JROTC training.
Today, there are 41 JROTC academies.
Challenges faced by the academies include securing funding, community opposition, lack of accountability, opposition from other school staff, and concern over whether all students are allowed to participate in the programs.

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The proposed Oakland Military Institute (CA) is the latest in a series of attempts by the US military to start specialized urban public high schools organized around the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) program.

JROTC academies are modeled on the longer-standing civilian high school career academy. More than 100 of the latter academies (such as technical or performing arts schools) are in operation across the country. Traditionally, academies link academic instruction with vocational exposure in a small school environment. These programs are set up within larger schools in the "school-within-a-school" model, functioning mostly separately from the larger school, with a higher level of staffing and additional resources than other school programs.

Retired military veterans serve as instructors and cadets take a pro-military curriculum designed and provided by the military.

Set up in a similar way, JROTC academies combine academic and technical training with mandatory JROTC training. Students take many of their courses (including non-JROTC subjects) together, separate from other students in the school. Retired military veterans serve as instructors and cadets take a pro-military curriculum designed and provided by the military.

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