San Francisco, CA (March 26, 2025) - More than 200 students from six San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) high schools with Army Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC) are preparing for their JROTC Cadet Leadership Challenge (JCLC), which will take place March 27-April 2.
The six-day STEM Leadership Academy will happen at Camp Parks Reserve Forces Training Area (RFTA) in Dublin, CA. The Army provides funding for lodging, transportation, training, and meals while SFUSD will provide STEM teachers, classroom supplies, and field trip support for students from Washington, Galileo, Lincoln, Mission, Lowell, and Balboa High Schools. JROTC teachers and SFUSD STEM teachers will collaborate to provide students with an innovative STEM and leadership experience. SFUSD JROTC teachers are retired officers and NCOs who now coach, teach, and mentor high school students about leadership, teamwork, and post-graduation life skills for over 900 students across the six high schools.
The JROTC STEM Leadership Academy is a residential camp that helps meet
today’s workforce needs by engaging a wide-ranging population of high school students— JROTC Cadets going into 9th-12th grades —in activities that open pathways to STEM learning and careers.The foundation of the Academy lies in the JROTC culture and character education curriculum.The Academy seeks to increase Cadet awareness of local high-paying, in-demand STEM career opportunities and in their understanding about what it takes to secure these jobs. To do this, the Academy integrates several activities aimed at informing JROTC Cadets about STEM jobs, piquing their interest to pursue these jobs, giving them hands-on application of STEM concepts in a team setting, and developing 21st Century workforce skills. The JROTC STEM Leadership Academy will engage Cadets in developing and valuing teamwork, communication, and leadership skills needed to be successful contributors and collaborators.
This year’s focus will be STEM on the Water where Cadets will design, build, and test remote-controlled LEGO apparatuses to conduct three increasingly challenging missions. Academy Cadets will apply STEM concepts of simple and complex machines, gear ratios, inverse relationships (lifting force versus speed), and the engineering design process during their team design challenges. Pre- and post-assessment results will be conducted to measure Cadet gains in STEM content knowledge overall, as well as gains in math and science.
Cadets will also challenge themselves, working in mixed teams as they take on physical fitness activities such as constructing and crossing a One Rope Bridge over water, leading their teams at the Leadership Reaction Course, and honing their skills in Land Navigation and First Aid.
The STEM Leadership Academy will conclude on Wednesday, April 2 with cadet group presentations, lunch, and a closing ceremony beginning at 11:00 AM at the Parks RFTA Chapel.
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