Apollo High School is one of 30 schools across the country selected to pilot a new Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (JROTC) initiative to prepare the next generation of computer science and cybersecurity professionals.
The pilot, led by CSforALL with support from companies including Intel Corporation, is working to bridge the computer science education access gap at JROTC schools across the country, giving students improved access to the education they need for the high-tech jobs of the future. As a participant, Apollo High School will receive professional development for teachers and internship, mentoring and scholarship opportunities for students.
Earlier in the week, CSforALL, the national hub of the Computer Science for All movement, and Air Force Junior ROTC, one of the largest character development and citizenship programs for youth, announced the 30 schools selected to join the JROTC-CS Demonstration Project, a new public-private partnership aimed at bridging the CS education access gap at Junior ROTC schools.
Today only 32 percent of Junior ROTC high schools offer an Advanced Placement (AP) computer science course.
The contributions of the piloting schools will inform the development of a scalable model for CS and cybersecurity education to be deployed across the nationwide JROTC network of more than 3,400 high schools. The initial cohort of 30 schools represent 16 states and were selected from nearly 900 Air Force Junior ROTC host schools across the United States.
These schools will receive school-level capacity building training, professional development for both teachers and Junior ROTC instructors, and internship, mentoring and scholarship opportunities for the students.
“The Junior ROTC offers a uniquely scalable opportunity to rapidly grow and diversify the pool of talent entering computing and cybersecurity careers,” said Ruthe Farmer, Chief Evangelist, CSforALL. “These young people are already preparing to be leaders. In today’s environment, technology must be part of that preparation. ”
“Air Force Junior ROTC is committed to developing young citizens that exhibit responsibility, character and leadership. Whether they enter public service or the private sector, we know preparation in technology will be critical to their success,” said Col. Stephen Sanders, Director, Air Force Junior ROTC. “We are grateful to our JROTC unit leaders and host schools for contributing to this project.”
