I am reaching out to you to express concern regarding a recent decision to drastically reduce the available classroom space assigned to the Fayette County High School JROTC program.
I am attaching a letter I sent to Dr. Lane, the principal at Fayette County High School, plus his response to other parents expressing our concerns:
Dear Dr. Lane, I was disturbed to learn this week that a significant portion of the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) space in Fayette County High School is being converted (back) into a broadcast production classroom/studio. In addition, several offices currently used by JROTC Staff are to be used by the newly reconstituted broadcast production program.
This decision surprises me, as the JROTC program has grown over the last three years from 150 participants to the current 215, with additional growth projected for next year. This growth represents an average of at least 10 percent growth each year.
The result of this dramatic change will see a significant reduction in the available space required to support a strong, growing program which currently has 215 participants and has competitive Drill, Raider, Rifle and Academic Bowl teams.
This reduction in space for the JROTC program would most likely result in the elimination of the Rifle Team sponsored by the JROTC program and impact the day-to-day operation by eliminating office space for daily staff activities and storage space for the Raider Team.
In addition, the loss of the opportunity to participate in the Rifle Team would impair the ability for cadets to compete for rifle scholarships to various colleges and universities.
I recognize this change is designed to support the previous introduction of the NEW WTGR Student Broadcasting Network which was designed to provide FCHS students with an opportunity to “… focus on creative storytelling through digital or video media for our target audiences. The WTGR student broadcasting network’s target audiences are the students, staff and stakeholders of Fayette County High School. WTGR produces a daily morning news show called ‘The Morning Roar’.“
Sadly, I note; that, since November 2014, WTGR has posted a total of four videos on their website and no tweet has been posted since April 1. Meanwhile, the JROTC program has seen a great deal of activity, including:
Nov. 14 – State-wide Raider meet in Griffin, Ga., and two Rifle Team meets.
Dec. 14 – Two Rifle Team meets.
Jan. 15 – Four Rifle Team meets.
Feb. 15 – One Rifle Team meet and one Academic Bowl meet.
Please note: I have not listed the activities of the JROTC Drill Team but I do know they “turned out” for events and competitions during this time.
Of further note: Raider Team members normally practice until approximately 6 p.m. on weekdays plus attending meets on Saturdays, and Rifle Team members start their practice at 6 a.m.
If your child was fortunate enough to be selected for both teams simultaneously, they could find themselves at school from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Wednesday with Thursday being even later as they would be at a meet in the evening plus an all-day Raider meet on Saturday.
In addition, a select group of JROTC cadets are currently preparing to attend JCLC competition at Ft. Benning this month.
Again, one cannot minimize the level of commitment these FCHS students demonstrate by their committing their personal time during their summer break to training for and participating in this JROTC competition on behalf of FCHS.
The camaraderie and esprit de corps felt by these young men and women cannot be overstated. They take great personal pride in representing Fayette County High School in competitions with schools from across the state. I have personally witnessed this in different meets at various locations throughout this past school year (and last school year).
One can only wonder if an alternate solution could be found to accommodate the Broadcast Production program and their facility requirements, especially as the technical support and requirements for video production continue to reduce (the use of PCs/laptops combined with hand-held HD recorders are driving down the costs and complexity of video production).
This combined with a Millennial generation which relies heavily on their mobile devices and have had their media expectations shaped by YouTube means there are a host of opportunities for engaging our young people through various social media platforms while leveraging new, inexpensive technologies.
I welcome your thoughts on alternate options to best support the JROTC program and the entire FCHS community.
Tom Meyer
Fayetteville, Ga.
