AMBRIDGE — Students from other school districts who aren’t enrolled at Ambridge Area School District will not be allowed to participate in the district’s Marine JROTC program next year.
The move, approved in May, was made so the district is in compliance with the general Marine order that governs such programs, said Ambridge High School Principal Janice Zupsic.
“It was something that was mentioned (by the Marine Corps) that we needed to address,” Zupsic said. “This is something that’s been in place.”
Through this year, the district had offered out-of-district students to participate in the program on a part-time basis.
There were eight such students in the program this year, Zupsic said.
There are 65 Ambridge students in the program, plus five from other districts who pay tuition to attend Ambridge full time to participate, Zupsic said.
The change was made because the Marine Corps requires that JROTC students “Be enrolled in and attending a regular course of instruction in a high school where a MCJROTC unit is located. Students may not attend one high school and participate in the MCJROTC program of another high school,” according to the Marine order governing the program.
“It’s a great program and we want to keep it,” Zupsic said. “We want to make sure we’re in adherence with all of their policies.”