30 Jun 2024 State’s only full JROTC school looks forward to second year
By Donna Lampkin Stephens
The Arkansas Military & First Responders Academy (AMFRA) is off to a successful start, with ambitious plans for the future.
AMFRA, a charter and Arkansas’s first full JROTC school, opened last year in southwest Little Rock, attracting 70 cadets in grades 9 and 10 as well as 15 faculty members. For 2024-25, the school will expand to grades 9-11 and will enroll 300, with 25 to 30 faculty. For 2025-26, the goal is grades 9-12, with an enrollment of 600.
“What we were able to do this year was grow cadets—academically, socially and with their character,” said Lt. Col. Jason Smedley of the United States Marine Corps, commandant of AMFRA. “We aim to continue that with innovative classroom work and innovative and progressive staff.”
He said the first year offered the opportunity for the community to see cadets in action. The school provided a color guard group for various entities, including the Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs and the Arkansas Veterans Hall of Fame. Students also provided more than 1,800 hours of community service across the 501.
Smedley said cadets’ reading skills increased by two grade levels, and math skills were bettered by almost three years. “That’s a huge win for us,” he said. “We will grow our children. We will grow our students, our cadets.”
The inaugural group of cadets came from Little Rock, North Little Rock, Bryant, Benton, Jacksonville and Vilonia, the commandant said. About 20 percent have plans to go to college, with other groups of 20 percent aiming for the military, first-responder training or trade school. The final 20 percent are unsure of their plans. About 70 percent of the first group was boys, but starting in the fall, Smedley said the ratio would be about 60-40 male to female.
According to their website, the goal of the school is to “create and nurture the next generation of community leaders in Arkansas” with the goal of delivering “college prep education, exposure to the military and first responder services.” The school has partnerships with the Little Rock Police and Fire Departments, MEMS (Metropolitan Emergency Medical Services), Arkansas National Guard, Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office, Boy Scouts of America, Girl Scouts, Boys & Girls Club, Arkansas Fire Training Academy, Arkansas State Police, Arkansas Department of Emergency Management and Forge Institute.
Smedley said cadets took about 10 field trips over the school year to augment their studies of math, science, history, government, English, computer science, first-responder training and JROTC.
“We took them to the (UA-Little Rock) law school—how do you know you don’t want to be a lawyer unless you’ve been out to meet professors, lawyers, students?” he said. “All of our 10th graders are certified in CPR. All cadets have had Stop the Bleed training. We also bring a variety of people to come in and talk to them.”
AMFRA also won its first JROTC fitness competition, and its girls won the state title while the boys finished second. “Keep in mind these are ninth- and 10th-graders competing against ninth-through 12th,” Smedley said.
The school also hosted a national JROTC fitness competition, competing against cadets from New York, Florida, New Jersey, Texas and California. In addition, it hosted AMFRA Fest, described by Smedley as a “fun community event to celebrate our first year, with games and bouncy houses, music, vendors and food trucks.” He even entered the dunk tank.
AMFRA will offer its first official athletic teams in the upcoming year, with wrestling, basketball, volleyball, soccer and cross country.
“Another unique piece is we have probably the only indoor shooting range for high schools in the state,” Smedley said. “Our cadets are all able to train on air rifles, shooting pellets. The ones who excel are going to be part of marksmanship teams and will compete against other schools in the state and country.”
For more information about the Arkansas Military and First Responders Academy, including enrollment for the upcoming academic year, visit amfra9-12.org.
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