The Lamar County School District has received a $1.5 million grant as part of the American Rescue Plan that will establish a National Defense Cadet Corps/JROTC program for high-schoolers throughout the district.
The military-based program is designed to instill values such as citizenship, patriotism, self-reliance, responsiveness to authority, knowledge of team building and basic military skills, a respect for the role of the U.S. Armed Force. Patrick Gray, who serves as assistant superintendent over middle and high schools, has taken the lead on the initiative, which will be implemented at the start of the 2022-2023 school year.
“Part of the motivation (for this) is with our proximity to Camp Shelby, we do have a large military population within our school district,” superintendent Steven Hampton said. “The benefits that this program will provide for our students (include) the opportunity for leadership, and it’s a great program to offer our students something else to be involved with.”
The program will be housed at the Lamar County Center for Technical Education on College Drive in Purvis, and is open to students from all district high schools – Purvis, Oak Grove, Sumrall and Lumberton. Officials have already sent out Choice Sheets to families, on which students can sign up for JROTC.
“We already have transportation worked out (at the center) for our career and technical education programs,” Hampton said. “So they’ll be able to participate just like any other class.
“If they would like to participate, or if their parents just want to call the counselors at the high schools, our counselors will be able to help them get involved with this program.”
School district officials are in the process of conducting interviews for two positions for the JROTC program: a senior army instructor and an army instructor.
Six of the eight branches of the United States Armed Forces maintain a JROTC. That includes 1,600 Army units, 794 Air Force units, 619 Navy units, 260 Marine Corps units, 10 upcoming Space Force units and two Coast Guard units.
JROTC stresses military discipline, with a curriculum that emphasizes the study of military science and military history. Some of the extracurricular activities offered in the program include drill, color guard, PT team, rocketry, orienteering, rifle or pistol marksmanship, academic team, drum corps and marching band.
Cadets may be awarded ribbons, ribbon devices, medals and aiguillettes for participation in JROTC and team activities, as well as for personal academic and athletic achievement and leadership.
“We’re just super excited to be able to offer this to our kids,” Hampton said. “It’s just another outlet, or another avenue, for our students to be able to have something to participate in and get connected to our schools.”
