Royal ISD is so proud of our MJROTC cadets for their hard work during the 2022-2023 school year 2022-2023 and for being nominated as a Naval Honor School for the THIRD year in a row. Region 5 consists of 67 Marine programs, of which Royal was named 2nd place.
First Sargeant LaShan Bland stated, "The Naval school honors could not have been possible without the hard work, commitment, and dedication from Gunnery Sergeant McGill. I started at Royal 2019-2020 school year as a 1 man fighting hole. It was not until the 2020 school year that I was allowed to hire another instructor. McGill has been a blessing and is my right hand. Our combined vision and leadership led to our Naval School honors during his first year at Royal and my 2nd year. We have been going strong since then. We extend much thanks to all those who have supported our program." See below to learn about the history and symbolic significance of this award.
NAVAL HONOR SCHOOL
Royal High School, Marine Corps Junior ROTC has been designated a Naval Honor School as of August 1, 2023.
The selection is based on several criteria, including the number of cadets active in school activities and clubs, the number of community service hours for the unit as a whole and per cadet, the number of organizations assisted by the unit, and scholastic achievements including the number of academic awards and scholarships given to cadets. The units are also measured by participation in public affairs events, community service, drill/color guard team competitions, marksmanship competitions, academic competitions, leadership camps, physical fitness team competitions, and field trips.
Because of this prestigious status, we will have the opportunity to send nominations to the U.S. Naval Academy, U.S. Air Force Academy, and the Military Academy at West Point. The award also provides students who have a desire to join a service academy the significant advantage of earning recommendation letters from their Senior Marine JROTC instructor; who under this award designation carry just as much weight as a letter from a U.S. Representative or Senator.
So what exactly does that mean? Simply put -- it means that our school has one of the best Marine Corps JROTC programs in the country!!! How did we get to be so good? Our students did it the old-fashioned way -- they worked hard and earned it along with the long hours and leadership by our Jrotc Instructors.
Scoring a 96.0 percent on a comprehensive inspection (IG) of our students, instructors, administration and activities is just the beginning of the process. Add to that, an abundance of community service activities, participation in numerous community/school events and program-related trips and you begin to see the level of effort required to earn this honor. Five categories are looked at closely for this award: extracurricular activities (drill, marksmanship, academic, and PT competitions), scholastic achievement, cadet citizenship, unit participation and unit inspection. "Our supervisors look at these reports from all the high schools in our region and select the top schools to be designated as a Naval Honor school."
The report details the activities and accomplishments of the cadets in the JROTC program from their participation in school organizations and sports, to community service, color guard, marksmanship, physical fitness test scores, and academic honors. "One of the key areas in the review process is always unit participation. We give our cadets the opportunities to be involved on a larger scale not only in the school, but also in the community and we highlight their success (Jrotc Awards Day, Color Guards, Support Staff, Marine Corps Cake Cutting ceremony, and this year the Marine Corps Ball). When the kids enjoy what they are doing, they are going to tell their friends and that is when we start seeing the new faces, empowerment, teamwork, and competitive prowess.
The fact that many of these endeavors take place on weekends or outside of normal school hours speaks volumes about our students' dedication and leadership by the Jrotc instructors. Earning the designation of Naval Honor School brings our school a Certificate from the National Marine Corps Jrotc Director and a Plaque to display in our Jrotc Hallway of Honor. More importantly, our students become eligible to compete for "Honor School" nominations to attend our military service academies.
We are not content to rest on our laurels, our cadets continue to work hard and lead by example. Please know that our cadets are out there making a difference in our school and the community. Our cadets do not just learn about citizenship and leadership -- they live it, embrace it, and wear it as a badge of honor. I am very proud of them and their accomplishments. We hope the Royal family will join us in congratulating them on their outstanding achievements and accomplishments! Our Jrotc program is about leadership and character development. The camaraderie and family structure of the program makes all the difference as seen by numerous accolades received and our Top Honor of being award a Naval Honor School for a second straight year.