In the 2017-2018 school year, Freedom will no longer offer students the opportunity to participate in the Junior Reserves Officer Training Corps (JROTC). Previously, students from Freedom participated in Ambridge Area School District’s program, in which they learn “the principles and traits of leadership and how to apply them” in regards to the United States Marine Corps, according to the district website.

The cutting of the program was the result of what principal William Deal called a “three-prong” problem involving student interest, changes with the agreement between Freedom and Ambridge and the increased cost.

Because FHS is considered a smaller school with less than 500 students, only two to three students are interested in JROTC each year. Currently, the only FHS student in the program is senior Jacob Leonberg, who is enlisted in the Marine Corps and intends on making a career in it after high school.

Financially, the cost to send students to the JROTC has increased. When Freedom students began to attend Ambridge for JROTC in 2007, the cost was paid by a five-year grant through the Regional Choice Initiative (RCI), according to FHS guidance counselor Rita Kaplin. In the 2013-2014 school year, it cost $150 per student and $1,200 for a full-time student. This school year, the cost increased to $300 per student, $1,800 for a regular-education student and $2,500 for a student with an Individualized Education Plan (IEP).

According to Kaplin, new personnel and administration within Ambridge Area School District resulted in changes in the program.

“In terms of logistics and bus transportation, it got to be kind of hard, difficult these days,” Kaplin said. “Ambridge was having some difficulties in terms of the coordination of [JROTC] and planning of it.”

As part of the personnel changes, junior Callum Heavens said that a weaker leadership and less discipline led to him leaving JROTC this school year.

“I believe that the idea of a JROTC program is great and I loved it before, but they need to be sure that they can keep it handled when kids get out of hand,” Heavens said.

Deal also added that the cutting of the program for this upcoming school year will not eliminate the possibility for students to participate in a similar program in the future.
“Rather than just trying to kind of stretch [JROTC] out and put it on life support, we’re saying, ‘OK, this has lived its life for right now, let’s do away with the program for the time being,’” Deal said.
According to Deal, within informal conversations with Beaver Area School District, they discovered that Beaver’s JROTC program is currently full. Additionally, Kaplin said that the program is too expensive and there is not enough space on campus to hold a JROTC program at FASD.

“We certainly see the value in ROTC, we like the JROTC program kind of globally, but, as a result of that, we’re going to have to find maybe alternate ways or alternate places for that to take place,” Deal said.