CPS, the Chicago Public Schools is the largest JROTC program both
in number of cadets and total programs, with 9,000 cadets in 63 schools across
the city.
The percentage of Chicago high schools affiliated with the military is 32.8
percent, with 43 out of 131 city schools affiliated with a JROTC program.
Of the 63 schools with JROTC programs, 20 are middle or elementary schools.
There are as many military instructors as there are international baccalaureate
teachers in the CPS.
The operating budget of the JROTC, which includes salaries and benefits, in
FY07, the most recent year for which data is available, was $9 million,
compared with $4.7 billion for CPS overall that year.
All six full military academies in Chicago
were opened in the last 10 years
And will it continue to grow? The JROTC website says it plans to “lobby for
more expansion funding.”
Sources: Chicago JROTC, Chicago Public Schools