WWYD / How Upset? High School Schedule - JROTC Related

[cheekywife]

i'm child free and i'm LIVID for you. if this were happening to my kid, i'd be very ready to burn that shit all the way down.

[abs]

OP after your update I would be like at an 27 on the enragement scale. I am so mad for you. There are other options they just have to find them. WTF.

[wanderingback]

Aug 14, 2025 7:42:46 GMT -5 abs said:

Aug 14, 2025 6:14:17 GMT -5 maudefindlay said:

No, its an afterschool extra curticular. Do your sport practices happen during the school day then?

Both! Like if you play volleyball you have a class during the day and then practice/games after school.

Same for band. It’s a class during the day and during marching season they do marching practice during class and then again after school (thus counts as PE). After marching season it transitions to concert band (fine arts credit) but you get both fine arts and PE credit for it after 2 years.

Truly didn’t realize how different it is everywhere else. Our days are also long. School day is 7:10-2:35 so that probably explains it a bit, too.

Whoa that’s interesting!
I played 3 sport seasons in high school, would’ve def had enough credits haha. Who teaches the classes during the day and what do they learn? It’s for each individual sport? Is it separated in to boys and girls sports or the boys basketball team takes a class during the day and the girls basketball team takes a separate class? Track and football teams are notoriously large so that’d be hard to fit in 1 class! I think our days were 730-230 and practice started at 3.

[abs]

Aug 14, 2025 7:47:51 GMT -5 wanderingback said:

Aug 14, 2025 7:42:46 GMT -5 abs said:

Both! Like if you play volleyball you have a class during the day and then practice/games after school.

Same for band. It’s a class during the day and during marching season they do marching practice during class and then again after school (thus counts as PE). After marching season it transitions to concert band (fine arts credit) but you get both fine arts and PE credit for it after 2 years.

Truly didn’t realize how different it is everywhere else. Our days are also long. School day is 7:10-2:35 so that probably explains it a bit, too.

Whoa that’s interesting!
I played 3 sport seasons in high school, would’ve def had enough credits haha. Who teaches the classes during the day and what do they learn? It’s for each individual sport? Is it separated in to boys and girls sports or the boys basketball team takes a class during the day and the girls basketball team takes a separate class? Track and football teams are notoriously large so that’d be hard to fit in 1 class! I think our days were 730-230 and practice started at 3.

Separated into each individual sport! Then also by freshman/JV/V. In the off season you do more strength and conditioning things from what I understand. If you play more than one sport you switch classes after the season ends. So you could do XC in the fall and then switch to tennis in the spring. The coaches/directors teach the class. DD is in marching band and even with their class and allotted 8 hours of UIL practice the directors always think it’s not enough, lol. Texas.

[cmeon]

I suspect this is not really about a scheduling conflict at all. USAF helps pay for JROTC, which makes it pretty attractive to schools when funding is low. I imagine there's also a participation threshold that needs to be met.

JROTC exists in high schools (and apparently some middle schools!!), because that kind of make-no-waves pliancy is so common with younger teens. They are easy to hook when saying "no" is so uncomfortable that they will do something they really don't want to do- just to avoid it.

Help him say "no". And tell the school they can accommodate his P.E. requirement through his original schedule or in a subsequent year.

I am just so angry that he was put in this position. It was not offered in his interest.

[stuffandthings]

After the update I am about to personally burn it all down myself, and again, I don't even know you or your kid. FUCK. NO. Absolutely not.

I would advise marching in there and demanding a reasonable, non-JROTC alternative, with a clear threat of "I will bring this to the media, the NEA, the ACLU, and a private lawyer if this is not resolved to my satisfaction." I am generally a make-no-waves, don't-wanna-be-that-mom type of person, and I would 100% morph into all three of the Eumenides over this.

[scm1011]

Ditto, cmeon. This is incredibly manipulative move on the part of the school. Burn it down.

[litskispeciality]

OP your most recent update has me ready to reach for blood pressure meds. Burn it all the way down. JFC there are soooooo many things wrong in this situation. I truly don't care if they just want to fill a JROTC class to minimum enrollment to keep the program alive, THEY CAN'T FORCE KIDS TO JOIN THE G-D MILITARY!

What happens to kids who don't have parents/guardians who can help as much as OP? They just sign up for this class if the school can find a way to meet the JROTC permission slip and voila you're in? Thank goodness OP's kid spoke up instead of just doing this to not make waves and a few weeks later OP finds out "oh mom I need more uniforms and a hair cut" (and obviously more)...and now it's too late to switch. Oh I'm fuming mad about this! AD is being completely unreasonable and whoever's in charge of schedule has to get this fixed for every student effected.

[litskispeciality]

Also I might have missed something, but do the parents/guardians have to sign off on JROTC PE, or students who get switched are just in the class and potentially fail for not meeting requirements they never signed up for? Ugh I'm more mad as I write this. Students are going to get screwed here and the school and JROTC program literally don't care (I've seen the posts above, I get it.)

[shauni27]

Aug 13, 2025 13:24:45 GMT -5 bbdoll said:

I can't fathom a school asking students to take a lower level core class, just to be able to take PE.

right?! The fuck.

Aug 13, 2025 13:42:19 GMT -5 penguingrrl said:

I’d be livid. The school needs to find a solution that doesn’t permanently lower his English track and doesn’t force ROTC.

holy shit, the way I would be burning it down, especially after that update! So, your child needs to join ROTC or drop AP English? Absolutely the fuck not. ROTC and the military in any way, especially right now, but honestly, ever, should never be forced on students or offered on school grounds. WTF.

[ellipses84]

Aug 13, 2025 14:16:17 GMT -5 gretchenindisguise said:

Aug 13, 2025 12:16:51 GMT -5 ellipses84 said:

It’s CA. Freshman PE is mandatory all year. I don’t think there’s a waiver option for this year but we will ask. They told him they might be able to switch him to normal PE next quarter but IDK how that will work because it seems like they will always have the same issue…

Do you guys not do ISPE in your district?

Yes, and I’ve offered that as an option. He’ll also be doing college courses and could take a community college PE course at some point. Despite how many hours they spend over the summer for football, apparently that can’t count that because there’s too many different volunteer coaches…

[meanie]

I would keep going up the chain, getting the acknowledgement that this was handled poorly is nice but doesn't fix anything. It is well within the schools power to waive PE or give PE credit for some other activity your kid is already doing, they are choosing not to go this route in hopes that the 5 kids will just go along with this.

The JROTC requirements are a LOT more than what a PE class would entail, essentially for the same credit. Giving up an advanced class for PE would impact the student's education trajectory. Both "choices" create some hardship for the student, which is unacceptable.

I guarantee the superintendent has no idea this is happening. Guess how much a superintendent enjoys getting calls about BS like this?

[ellipses84]

Aug 14, 2025 8:33:30 GMT -5 litskispeciality said:

Also I might have missed something, but do the parents/guardians have to sign off on JROTC PE, or students who get switched are just in the class and potentially fail for not meeting requirements they never signed up for? Ugh I'm more mad as I write this. Students are going to get screwed here and the school and JROTC program literally don't care (I've seen the posts above, I get it.)

We got the syllabus and consent forms last night and they are pretty crazy. I pointed out to DS that it could totally impact someone’s GPA (even for having the wrong haircut) and it is way more difficult than normal PE in terms of how it is graded. The consent form is an official military form which I had a very strong reaction to but also says nobody can be forced or coerced into participating in JROTC by the military, school officials or their parents!!!

[jinkies]

Ok I was firmly in the "wait and see" boat yesterday. But if they are actually saying that he has to fully join JROTC in order to be in Advanced English, that's not acceptable.

I would just keep repeating "We do not give permission for him to join JROTC and he needs to remain in Advanced English" until they figure it out.

It does not sound like he even remotely has time for the JROTC commitments with his other activities. They need to find another solution.

[heygrey]

Aug 14, 2025 8:42:19 GMT -5 ellipses84 said:

Aug 14, 2025 8:33:30 GMT -5 litskispeciality said:

We got the syllabus and consent forms last night and they are pretty crazy. I pointed out to DS that it could totally impact someone’s GPA (even for having the wrong haircut) and it is way more difficult than normal PE in terms of how it is graded. The consent form is an official military form which I had a very strong reaction to but also says nobody can be forced or coerced into participating in JROTC by the military, school officials or their parents!!!

The way I would highlight that - literally - and throw it on their desk.

[ssmjlm]

So basically they're drafting kids under the age of 18 into the NJROTC.

Nope, I would expect at a minimum the principal and counselor at today's meeting. There is no way my child would be enrolled into a program like this and they need to come up with a solution that does not affect his english class.

[wildrice]

Absolutely the fuck not. Especially in the current political climate. This sounds like some Hitler youth shit. These are not "normal" times to be getting involved with the military machine in the US. And I would have been livid about this even a decade ago.

On a macro level I'm actually a bit alarmed that this is happening anywhere. I wonder what other schools/programs are doing right now?

[livinitup]

Aug 14, 2025 8:42:19 GMT -5 ellipses84 said:

Aug 14, 2025 8:33:30 GMT -5 litskispeciality said:

Also I might have missed something, but do the parents/guardians have to sign off on JROTC PE, or students who get switched are just in the class and potentially fail for not meeting requirements they never signed up for? Ugh I'm more mad as I write this. Students are going to get screwed here and the school and JROTC program literally don't care (I've seen the posts above, I get it.)

We got the syllabus and consent forms last night and they are pretty crazy. I pointed out to DS that it could totally impact someone’s GPA (even for having the wrong haircut) and it is way more difficult than normal PE in terms of how it is graded. The consent form is an official military form which I had a very strong reaction to but also says nobody can be forced or coerced into participating in JROTC by the military, school officials or their parents!!!

This is JROTC recruitment. Your son has been recruited and you are about to sign parental consent forms.

It’s entirely possible that this was deliberate because enrollment numbers were down. It’s entirely possible there is a quota # or target # the program has to hit. Someone may be getting a cash incentive.

It was framed as the only “PE” that fit into your kid’s schedule. A solution for HIM. It’s not. Someone is working hard behind the scenes to get that class enrolled.

I would switch your questions from how to get your kid the appropriate PE class/credits to :
- What is the JROTC quota numbers for the school
- Why are students being recruited under the threat of being bounced from advanced classes
- Who approved these recruiting practices
- Is the principal, superintendent, and board of ed aware of these recruiting practices and do they approve them?


—>> If this isn’t coercive recruitment, what is?

[mommyatty]

Hoooooo boy. That update is something else. Burn it all down starting at the superintendent and school board level. I would cc the principal but the to line would be every member of the school board and the superintendent. This isn’t a PE class. They need a second PE class. Sounds like there’s plenty of room to share the gym with the JROTC kids, they just need another teacher.

[stuffandthings]

Aug 14, 2025 9:15:57 GMT -5 wildrice said:

Absolutely the fuck not. Especially in the current political climate. This sounds like some Hitler youth shit. These are not "normal" times to be getting involved with the military machine in the US. And I would have been livid about this even a decade ago.

On a macro level I'm actually a bit alarmed that this is happening anywhere. I wonder what other schools/programs are doing right now?

I had this exact same thought.

[campermom]

Wild they are answering you by phone and not email. And that it’s not an admin doing it? Athletic doctors are not building administrators (some are included in the bargaining unit but they do not have the same authority)

I agree you don’t need to provide a deep rationale or explanation for your personal reasons why-it could take away from the same simple point (it’s coercive) for other parents who may not have the voice, capacity, language, mental bandwidth etc to question this. This isn’t just for your kids at this point it’s for all kids

[windyseas]

Absolutely fucking not. I would be absolutely livid and standing on someone's desk until this is resolved. You are absolutely the fuck not taking my kid out of advanced classes to meet a PE requirement, and you are absolutely the fuck not threatening to take my kid out of advanced classes unless they agree to joining the JROTC. Just fucking no. I have no problem turning the whole fucking boat over, including going to the media to discuss unethical recruitment practices by the JROTC in the schools.

[cap]

Your update would make me even more mad. Ditto the PP who said she'd literally highlight the part in the paperwork that states nobody should be forced or coerced to join, because that's absolutely what they're doing. I'd probably go ahead and escalate this to the principal and the superintendent because this needs to be resolved quickly.

[litskispeciality]

OP I won't quote you, but I'm horrified at the consent form. Again so many questions like how long do kids just stay in this PE class until the school realizes they don't have the permission slip? Again so many families will just sign it not understanding the ramifications, or maybe even a kid forging a signature so they don't get in trouble.

I want to be wait to take this to the media, but this has to be addressed as this can't be the only school trying to pull this (as stated above.) At the very least email (for the paper trail) then call the Superintendent over and over until you have confirmation that they're aware of this and are going to get it fixed. Honestly though you and other parents shouldn't have to do this much work! I know I keep going back to those without a voice, but there's probably a lot of families who can't make calls during school hours so they just say sign up for whatever the school needs as long as I don't have to pay more or add extra commitments after school.

[campermom]

It’s rare that I feel things need to go over people and straight to a superintendent and all board members, but this one needs to go to all the above along w principal. I dk how big your district is but other schools might be having the same issue and people need to be made aware.

[campermom]

If you to to TikTok and put “coerced into JROTC” there’s a post from 2022 about a NYT article about this exact dynamic and even speaks to parents coming to the school to address it.

[waverly]

I was burn it down already but burn it all the way down some more. WTAF?

No. Absolutely not. No.

[maudefindlay]

Aug 14, 2025 7:42:46 GMT -5 abs said:

Aug 14, 2025 6:14:17 GMT -5 maudefindlay said:

No, its an afterschool extra curticular. Do your sport practices happen during the school day then?

Both! Like if you play volleyball you have a class during the day and then practice/games after school.

Same for band. It’s a class during the day and during marching season they do marching practice during class and then again after school (thus counts as PE). After marching season it transitions to concert band (fine arts credit) but you get both fine arts and PE credit for it after 2 years.

Truly didn’t realize how different it is everywhere else. Our days are also long. School day is 7:10-2:35 so that probably explains it a bit, too.

That's so interesting!  Our band is a class with practices outside school times for marching band, but the sports are just outside school hours either before or after or sometimes before and after for the hardcore ones.

[shauni27]

Aug 14, 2025 8:38:34 GMT -5 meanie said:

 Giving up an advanced class for PE would impact the student's education trajectory. Both "choices" create some hardship for the student, which is unacceptable.

THIS. Highlight this.

Aug 14, 2025 8:52:20 GMT -5 jinkies said:

Ok I was firmly in the "wait and see" boat yesterday. But if they are actually saying that he has to fully join JROTC in order to be in Advanced English, that's not acceptable.

I would just keep repeating "We do not give permission for him to join JROTC and he needs to remain in Advanced English" until they figure it out.

and then say this.

[mcsangel2]

Given the wording on the consent forms, and that it does seem like he would be required to fully participate in the program, and the anectdotes that JROTC is trying to bump up enrollment via threat of removing your kid from an advanced class:

I would find a lawyer. You/your kid are absolutely being coerced into this.

I don't mean this in a "I don't know you and it super easy to express outrage on the internet and suggest all kinds of extreme actions that actually very difficult to follow up on in real life". I mean I would literally

Get. A. Lawyer.