UMA IS JROTC ON STEROIDS! U TA H M I L I TA RY ACA D E M Y CA D E T S L I V E T H E L E A D E R S H I P M O D E L 'E V E RY DAY, E V E RY WAY' by Loren R. Webb and Michelle Bridges fo r va lo r m aga z i n e
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he Utah Military Academy (UMA) exists to help students become well-rounded cadets by providing leadership and life opportunities. “We try to find opportunities for our cadets to do things they never thought they could do, to compete at the highest level, whatever the activity is,” said Maj. Kit Workman, one of the school’s original founders. “We try to help them graduate with more than a diploma—to graduate with a future.” UMA is based on a Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps ( JROTC) program that was officially recognized as part of the National Defense Act of 1916 and that made it a high school program designed to provide students with citizenship training and personal development skills. Prior to the Vietnam War, it was a mandatory two-year program for all boys entering high school. Currently, only a few Utah high schools have such programs: West, Provo, Dixie; and most notably, Ogden and Ben Lomond that have continued their programs for more than 100 years. Today’s JROTC programs across the country are mostly considered “extracurricular,” follow guidelines of a specific military branch and have open enrollment—nationally nearly 40% of cadets are female. UMA enrollment is approximately 72% male and 28% female, but it varies from year to year. As a charter school, the Academy is not tied to school boundaries or to a military installation, and school officials find this a plus. UMA is the largest Air Force JROTC in the western US.
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va l o r : a s a l u t e t o u ta h ’ s v e t e r a n s a n d m i l i ta r y
The Academy sets itself apart because it is built upon the military culture which is “part of life, every day, every way. We live the leadership model.” Workman adds that cadets every day, in some sort of uniform, represent the culture UMA tries to teach. “UMA is JROTC on steroids!” Workman exclaims.
BUILDING A DREAM In the 2013 Utah Legislative session, Sen. Howard Stephenson, an advocate of charter schools in Utah, helped pass a bill to create an avenue for specialized charter schools— agriculture, fine arts, all-girls or military--that were built around a core focus and given a chance to develop. For years, Workman had envisioned building a charter school around a military culture and had shared his interests with Rep. Curt Oda. In July, Stephenson, Workman and Oda got together to get the ball rolling. They had about five weeks to put together an initial application. Only six schools received approval to move forward, including the Utah Military Academy. They were then given until December to submit a full application. UMA proponents met with the Utah State School Board in February 2014, where they were approved. However, the key to approval was they had to be ready to open by the start of the coming school year. When they first met with the state charter board, the UMA team was asked if they really thought there would be interest in a august
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