JROTC-CS

Welcome to the JROTC-CS Demonstration Project

AIR FORCE JUNIOR ROTC SCHOOLS

About The Project

There are approximately 545K Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) cadets attending 3,400 high schools across the US. This group of students represents a significant pool of untapped tech talent, and is comprised of a highly diverse population–with a majority-minority student population and 40% of JROTC cadets being female, and JROTC is strongly represented in schools serving economically disadvantaged populations (over 50% Title 1 schools). Yet today, 68% of these students do not have access to AP computer science in their school.

To address this gap, CSforALL is collaborating with the US Air Force JROTC HQ and an Advisory Consortium of industry and non-profit partners on a demonstration project to design and test implementation models for the long-term scale up of evidence-based computer science (CS) and cybersecurity education at schools serving Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) youth.

This project is authorized by the PROMOTES Act of 2020, which became law in December of 2020 as part of the National Defense Authorization Act Section 512 of the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act. This act authorized a grant program to bring high-quality STEM training and education to JROTC cadets and their schools. At scale, the JROTC-CS Demonstration Project has the potential to engage as many as 545,000 JROTC cadets in computer science and cybersecurity education pathways, as well as build CS and cybersecurity education capacity at over 3,400 high schools, serving 4 million students overall.

The JROTC-CS Demonstration Project includes 30 Air Force JROTC host high schools from 16 states, collectively serving 60,000 students overall. The participating schools have received school-wide capacity building training and professional development for teachers, counselors and JROTC instructors. See the full list of participating schools here.

An interactive map of the schools is found here at this link.

JROTC Demonstration Project Participants include:

  • 30 schools and their districts will participate in capacity building training
  • 30 high school teachers will receive professional development in CS and cyber
  • 200+ JROTC instructors will be trained as tech career advisors
  • 400 JROTC Cadets will directly participate and 4000 will benefit.
  • 60K additional high school students will benefit from this project, as the capacity for CS and cybersecurity is increased at their schools.

2020 JROTC-CS Demonstration Project Schools map
Visit the interactive 2020 JROTC-CS Demonstration Project Schools map here

30 Air Force Junior ROTC Schools

JROTC members at the summit 2019
JROTC Members entering the Summit 2019
JROTC Members onstage
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Preliminary Project Outcomes

  • Despite academic disruptions disruptions over the past year due to COVID-19, several schools have added an Advanced Placement Computer Science Principles (AP CSP) course, including Aberdeen High School in Mississippi, highlighted in this EdTech Article. This increased enrollment in AP CSP in schools aligns with a key goal of the JROTC-CS program.
  • In 2020, 24 cadets from various JROTC-CS partner schools graduated from the pilot offering of the Air Force JROTC Cyber Academy. This prestigious program will expand to five locations serving 100 cadets in summer 2021, in partnership with multiple institutions of higher education, funded through the National Science Foundation.
  • There has been an increase in the number of cadets taking CS and Cybersecurity courses, thanks to the advising efforts of JROTC instructors in the participating schools.
  • Throughout this past school year, students have gained an understanding of the relevance of CS and have become more fluent with technology. Overall, they have also indicated an increased interest in taking additional CS courses. Two female cadets expressed how their participation in a cyber experience and course has increased their virtual skills and technical skills as a result of participating in this project.

Read more about our progress and outcomes on our Medium page and look for additional outcomes after the 2021 academy year comes to a close.

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JROTC-CS Advisory Consortium Members

Member Representatives

Greg Bianchi

Greg Bianchi

Senior Program Officer for Microsoft Philanthropies

Tina Boyle Whyte

Tina Boyle Whyte

Project Director, JROTC-CS CSforALL

John Cook

John Cook

DoD oversight Representative

Rebecca Dalton

Rebecca Dalton

Director of Program Engagement, CyberPatriot (AFA)

Ruthe Farmer

Ruthe Farmer

Founding Member, Chief Evangelist, CSforALL

Brian Gonzalez

Brian Gonzalez

Senior Director, Public Sector Policy, Intel Corporation

Oona King

Oona King

VP of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Snap Inc.

Allyson Knox

Allyson Knox

Senior Director of Education Policy, Microsoft

Karen Lanning

Karen Lanning

Executive Director of Federal Relations and Advocacy, The College Board

Sarah Lee

Sarah Lee

Director of School of Computing Sciences & Computer Engineering, The University of Southern Mississippi

Erin Madden

Erin Madden

Community Affairs Consultant, Capital One

Kevin Nolten

Kevin Nolten

Director of Academic Outreach, Cyber Innovation Center; Director (Outreach), CYBER.ORG

Alan Paller

Alan Paller

Founder and Research Director, SANS Institute

Sean Perryman

Sean Perryman

Director of Diversity and Inclusion Policy and Counsel, Internet Association

Dr. Davina Pruitt-Mentle

Dr. Davina Pruitt-Mentle

Lead for Academic Engagement of the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

Maureen Reyes

Maureen Reyes

Executive Director of AP Program Management, The College Board

Joe Rice

Joe Rice

Director of Government Relations, Lockheed Martin Space

Dr. Chris Stephenson

Dr. Chris Stephenson

Head of Computer Science Education Strategy, Google Inc.

Todd Taylor

Todd Taylor

Founding Member, Chief, Program Development National Director, Air Force Junior ROTC

Tony Woods

Tony Woods

Fellow, Schmidt Futures

Monica McGill

Monica McGill

President/CEO, CSEdResearch.org

KEY LEGISLATION IN SUPPORT OF THIS WORK

JROTC Cyber Training Act H.R. 3266 / S.R. 2154

National Defense Authorization Act H.Rept. 116-120 / S.Rept. 116-48 / Conference report

MEDIA COVERAGE

Announcements:

Articles:

12/9/2021
ABC Columbia
SC Governor Recognizes Columbia High School Computer Science Program

6/30/2021
Chicago Tribune
‘Our role was to share our story’: Shepard JROTC Program a Role Model in National Effort to Widen Access to Computer Science Education

3/4/2020
ABC 2 Tulsa
Muskogee High Selected for Pilot Program in Computer Science

3/3/2020
The Owensboro Times
AHS selected for CSforALL workshop

3/1/2020
The Madison Record
Bob Jones AFOTC Pioneers, Attends Computer Initiative in Alexandria

2/28/2020
The Owensboro Times
AHS participating in JROTC program to increase computer science training

2/27/2020
Monroe Journal
Aberdeen High School selected for A.P. computer science pilot program

2/27/2020
Harry S Truman High School
Truman JROTC Selected to Pilot New Initiative to Prepare the Next Generation of Computing and Cybersecurity Workers

2/26/2020
The State
Midlands school is the only one in SC to get an Air Force cybersecurity pilot program

2/25/2020
Newburgh High School
Newburgh Free Academy Selected to Attend Prestigious National Air Force Program

2/24/2020
WSFA 12 News
Cyber Security Training Coming to Prattville

10/28/2019
US Air Force Blog
Air Force Junior ROTC partners with CSforALL to bring computer science, cyber education to classrooms

10/23/2019
EdSurge
Partnership to Bring JROTC Students More Computer Science Courses

Partner and supporter announcements:

Get Involved

To support, partner or learn more, please contact our Project Director, Tina Boyle Whyte.

If your high school offers a JROTC program and you would like to be considered for future participation, please complete this survey.

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