Thousands of Teens Are Being Pushed Into Military’s Junior R.O.T.C.

Ms. Thomas said she and other students who had been forced into J.R.O.T.C. often heard from recruiters who pitched the idea of signing up for the military in order to get help paying for college. One of Ms. Thomas’s classmates joined the military, and Ms. Thomas filled out initial recruiting paperwork one day, lured by the promises of the recruiters who had visited the school. But she was never serious, she said, and ultimately stuck with 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 to this day,” she said.

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Schools With J.R.O.T.C. Enrollment of at Least 75% in Certain Grades

Alabama

Lanett City School District: Lanett High School; Mobile County Public Schools: Blount High School, LeFlore Magnet High School, Rain 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: B.E.S.T. Academy

Illinois

Chicago Public Schools: Bowen High School, Clark High School, Fenger High School, Harlan High School, Manley High School, Spry High School

Louisiana

Caddo Parish: Green Oaks, Woodlawn; East Baton Rouge: Belaire 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: Hawthorne Academy

Oklahoma

Oklahoma City: Star Spencer High School

Pennsylvania

Philadelphia: Martin Luther King High School

Tennessee

Memphis-Shelby County Schools: Hamilton High

Texas

Fort Worth Independent School District: Young Mens Leadership Academy; Spring Independent School District: Spring High School 9th Grade Center

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