Ross S. Sterling High School’s new Army JROTC instructor, Daniel Velasco SFC and Cadettes, Valeria Cardenas-Sandoval and Jasmine Cardenas, are excited about the new program.
Photo by Carrie Pryor-Newman
By: Susan Passmore, Special to magazine
The Board of Trustees of the Moody Foundation has approved a $310,475 grant to establish a U.S. Army Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (Army JROTC) program at Ross S. Sterling High School (RSS). Susan Jackson, deputy superintendent of curriculum and instruction, and Dr. Shannon Ramirez, coordinator of advanced academics and special projects, received the news from Courtney Rogers, director of education strategy and impact for the Moody Foundation, and are awaiting the official notification.
Col. Kenneth R. Jones, director of the Army JROTC for the Department of the Army in Fort Knox, KY, notified Dr. Randal O’Brien, Goose Creek CISD superintendent, in early August that RSS was approved to establish a National Defense Cadet Corps (NDCC) unit, which is similar to a JROTC except that it is fully funded by schools that choose to pursue a JROTC unit without financial assistance from the Department of Defense. This to be staffed with a minimum of one officer (Senior Army instructor) and one non-commissioned officer (Army instructor). The 5th Brigade staff will work with the RSS faculty during the establishment process.
A requirement of establishing a JROTC is that the district must be fully financially committed to sustaining the program in the out-years and meeting the requirement to maintain the NDCC program.
“Goose Creek CISD and Ross S. Sterling High School greatly appreciate the letters of support to the Moody Foundation from Briscoe Cain, Texas State Representative, House District 128, and Mayes Middleton, Texas State Senator, Senate District 11, as well as the letter from Cain to the Office of the Secretary of the Army, which helped us obtain funding for this program that will positively impact the futures of so many of our students,” O’Brien said. “We are grateful to the Moody Foundation for investing in this program by providing this generous grant.”
The program will replace the Marine Corps JROTC at RSS. Goose Creek Memorial High School and Robert E. Lee High School will continue with their MCJROTC programs. The grant from the Moody Foundation will pay for dress uniforms, field uniforms, physical fitness uniforms, uniform accessories, parade items, such as flag carriers, other necessary equipment and the salary of one instructor. Traditionally, the JROTC programs serve approximately 100 students. SFC Daniel Velasco is the new non-commissioned officer instructor at RSS.
“This is my first time to build a program from scratch, but it is my second year of instructing at a school district,” Sgt. Velasco said. “In my previous district last year, it was a rebuild year for the JROTC, so I have had some experience. We are working in the classroom and getting ready for our equipment to come in.”