Air Force JROTC program coming to LBHS

Air Force JROTC program coming to LBHS
Students can opt for program as an elective
BY KENNY WALTER Staff Writer
School officials have high expectations for the Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) program that will be implemented at Long Branch High School this coming fall.

“We are excited about it,” Long Branch School District Superintendent Joseph Ferraina said. “We applied for this four years ago, and this is another opportunity for children that wasn’t available to them last year.

“We are very proud that we can bring this to our students.”

Ferraina explained the wait from the time the district submitted an application to the approval of the program.

“There are so many applications and so many programs,” he said. “The Air Force has to match 50 percent of the teachers’ salary and they have to purchase all the equipment. So the government only allows so many a year.”

Ferraina said he expects the cost for the district to be around $25,000 while the government pays between $50,000 and $75,000.

He also said that he expects the program to result in cost savings for the district.

“We save money because we only pay half the salary of the teacher and it takes the place of an elective course,” he said.

“The Air Force buys their uniforms, the Air Force buys their equipment,” he added. “We save that money because we have to pay a teacher double that amount of money to teach an elective.”

Master Sgt. William Wilson will head the program.

According to the contract between the Air Force and the district, 40 percent of class time will be spent covering leadership education, 40 percent of the time will be spent covering aerospace science, and 20 percent will be spent on wellness training.

Ferraina said that for the first year, he expects the program to include 50 to 100 male and female students, but if the program is a success the district may expand it.

“We are looking at anywhere between 50 and 100,” he said. “The way it’s going right now, we are going to have a waiting list.

“We are not going to go over 100 students at this point,” he said. “It depends on the interest; we will play it by ear.

“If we have an extremely successful beginning, we may have to add a teacher.”

Ferraina explained that the program officially starts during the 2010-11 school year, but there will be programs during the summer.

“We are going to kick it off this summer,” he said. “The program officially starts in September, but we will start some summer programs.”

Long Branch High School Principal Alvin Freeman said he is pleased to have the program for students.

“It is a great program. It gives the kids tremendous opportunity,” he said, “the essential components being citizenship, character, communication, leadership, life skills — everything we reinforce at school.

“It is really a great opportunity. This is the first time we are having an ROTC program.”

Freeman explained that the district is educating students about the program.

“We are always looking for the programs that give our kids the guidance in these areas and reinforce what we teach here,” he said. “This is a perfect opportunity because it’s a very prestigious program that affords us a lot of opportunity.

“It starts in September, and at this point we are advertising for the program, making everyone aware.”

Ferraina said the program is open to all high school students and that a student can drop the program at the end of each semester.

He also said the district is targeting younger students for the initial program.

“We started talking to eighth-graders this year,” Ferraina said. “We are going to start by really targeting the younger group.”

Freeman described the format of the JROTC program.

“During the day, the instructors will teach classes, and then after school we will have different activities such as the drill team and color guard, [and students] will participate in physical fitness,” he said. “They will attend sporting events and do the colors and march in parades.”

According to Ferraina, there will also be activities before and after school in conjunction with the program.

“They have drills they do in the morning and after school,” he said. “The program is an elective course, but it has before-school and after-school parts.”

Freeman described some of the academic portions of the ROTC program.

“They will deal with the history of the Air Force, life skills and career opportunities, ceremonies,” he said. “In addition to that, they will talk about aerospace science, which will include global and cultural studies, the science of flight, exploration of space, astronomy.

“It really goes along well with our current STEM academy, which is our science, technology, engineering and mathematics academy,” he added.

Freeman said the initial feedback from the students has been positive.

“We already have a few students that have begun to sign up, and when they make their schedules, they will choose the classes that go along with the ROTC curriculum,” he said.

Contact Kenny Walter at

kwalter@gmnews.com.