JROTC program proposed for Sandpoint High

SANDPOINT — The future of Sandpoint High School will include a new Army Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps program, if local resident and American Legion Post 15 Commander Jerri Stevens has her way.

She has embarked upon a campaign to create awareness of and interest in the program since it would be new to the school district.

"To my knowledge, this high school has never had a JROTC program," Stevens said. "Everyone I've contacted so far has agreed it would be a very good thing." 

She has discussed the idea with members of other local local veterans' organizations with positive results. State Rep. Sage Dixon, R-Ponderay, and Bonner County Veterans Services Officer Brian Hult also support her cause, she said.

"First I asked the veterans' organizations to sign on with me; then I could show the principal that they would support this.”

"JROTC is a proven leadership program focused on students' character education, student achievement, wellness, leadership and diversity," Stevens said in an April 10 letter to SHS Principal Tom Albertson.

"With an emphasis on character and leadership, JROTC students typically have a higher attendance rate, lower disciplinary rate and higher graduation rate than their fellow students," she said.

The cost to the school district to establish the program would be minimal, given that the Army provides equipment, uniforms, computers and printers, and smart board technology for the program classroom. It would share the cost of a certified JROTC instructor with the district, said Stevens.

The program would span all four classes, from frosh to seniors, and the curriculum includes such subjects as leadership, fitness, American history and civics, according to an April 2010 JROTC White Paper. Students earn classroom credit and also participate in extracurricular activities, such as tutoring younger students, leadership competitions and marksmanship.

"JROTC is not a recruitment program for the military, incurs no military obligation, and instructors do not apply any pressure toward military service," according to the white paper.

Members are free to pursue other interests in college, or they may choose to attend military academies. Whatever they decide, students are likely to gain valuable experience.

"It's kind of like being an Eagle Scout," Stevens said. "It's very nice to be able to put that on your resume."

JROTC participants are typically higher achievers as compared to the general student population. For example, 98 percent of them graduate compared to 86 percent of non-participants. The average GPA for JROTC members is 2.9 while the general average is just 2.68. Less than 1 percent of JROTC participants drop out of school, according to the white paper.

The American Legion even has a ready-made candidate to teach the JROTC program, said Stevens.

"A member of our post, Lt. Col. (Ret.) Mike Jackson is a certified JROTC instructor with first-hand experience in starting JROTC programs. We strongly recommend him as the right person for this undertaking," she said.

An Army veteran and a mother of grown children, Stevens is confident that adding JROTC to the high school curriculum would be eminently worthwhile.

"We believe that establishing an Army JROTC program at SHS ... will improve an already outstanding curriculum," she said.