Ms. Thomas said she and other students who were forced into JROTC often heard from recruiters who floated the idea of signing up for the military to help pay for college. One of Ms. Thomas’s classmates joined the military, and Ms. Thomas filled out early recruiting paperwork one day, lured by the promises of recruiters visiting the school. But she was never serious, she said, and ultimately stuck to her plan to pursue a civilian career in health care.
Ms. Thomas, now a freshman in college, said she no longer responded to the recruiter, though she still heard from him.
“He still texts me today,” she said.
Schools with at least 75% enrollment in some grade of JROTC
Alabama
Lanette City School District: Lanette High School; Mobile County Public Schools: Blount High School, LeFlore Magnet High School, Raines High School, Vigor High School, Williamson High School; Pike County Schools: Goshen High School, Pike County High School; Shelby County Schools: Vincent Middle High School
California
Los Angeles Unified: Los Angeles Senior High; San Diego Unified School District: Kearny Biomedical Science and Technology
Florida
Lee County Schools: Ida S. Baker High, Lehigh Senior High, Mariner High, Riverdale High; Polk County Schools: Ridge Community High
Georgia
Atlanta: Best Academy
Illinois
Chicago Public Schools: Bowen High School, Clark High School, Fenger High School, Harlan High School, Manley High School, Spree High School
Louisiana
Caddo Parish: Green Oaks, Woodlawn; East Baton Rouge: Bellaire High School, Northeast High School
Michigan
Detroit Public Schools: Communication and Media Arts High School, Denby High School, Detroit Collegiate Preparatory High School at Northwestern, Pershing High School
North Carolina
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools: Hawthorn Academy
oklahoma
Oklahoma City: Starr Spencer High School
Pennsylvania
Philadelphia: Martin Luther King High School
Tennessee
Memphis-Shelby County Schools: Hamilton High
Texas
Fort Worth Independent School District: Young Men’s Leadership Academy; Spring Independent School District: Spring High School 9th Grade Center