Beginning with the 2019–2020 school year, Catawba Ridge High School will offer a Navy National Defense Cadet Corps (NNDCC) unit to students, according to a school district press release.
“The NNDCC will allow Catawba Ridge High School the opportunity to provide a program designed to expand student opportunities in order to gain the values of citizenship, service to the United States, personal responsibility, and a sense of accomplishment,” the release says.
The program is structured to provide the same curriculum, training and competition opportunities to students as Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (JROTC) programs offer. All JROTC programs currently have wait lists for the addition of units and an active program must be ended before a new program can be initiated.
In an effort to provide equal program offerings to all students immediately, the district submitted an application to the NNDCC program. After a rigorous evaluation process, Catawba Ridge was awarded a unit for the coming school year. This program will allow the district to offer the same experience to students while we continue to seek a JROTC unit.
“We are proud to be partnering with the Navy to offer this program to our students with the opening of Catawba Ridge,” Catawba Ridge Principal Dee Christopher said. “The NNDCC program offers an outstanding and challenging curriculum and is modeled directly on the NJROTC program.”
“This is a great opportunity for studentsat Catawba Ridge to have access to the JROTC curriculum,” said SuperintendentChuck Epps. “We are looking forward to welcoming our first Navy program to thedistrict.”