HISD to start military academy in 2024-25

A military academy will open at Cullen Middle School for the 2024-2025 school year, Houston ISD Superintendent Mike Miles announced Thursday at an event at Delmar Fieldhouse.

Cullen Military Academy aims to help middle school students develop discipline, leadership, teamwork and physical skills, as well as Mandarin language skills and career and college exploration. Miles worked with officials at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and the U.S. Naval Academy as he built this program to support students interested in joining the military.

“Most Americans believe that there’s an aspect of service the military provides that’s good for society but also good for young adults. So, if it leads to a military career, especially focused on leadership, character building and academics, I don’t think there’ll be that much pushback,” Miles said. “It’s (also) voluntary. We’ve got kids with interests in all kinds of different things, so we’re promoting that, a district of choice.”

Miles is a U.S. Army veteran who spent five years as a Ranger and joined the U.S. State Department as a diplomat in 1990. He was also a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point with an engineering degree.

The superintendent emphasized during the press conference that any student can have the opportunity to enroll in the Cullen Military Academy, as part of the school choice application that will open next week. Students who are given a seat will be ask to to commit to the program for two years, starting at the sixth or seventh-grade level.

If students do not want to attend the academy, they can continue their education at Cullen Middle School.

HISD Director of Junior ROTC Programs Cornell McGhee said the military academy can help prepare students’ minds and bodies for success in any career.

“There are other school districts around the country that have been doing this for years,” he said. “So, we’re hoping that community gets on board with what we’re doing and will understand that we’re not creating soldiers, we’re recreating responsible citizens that are prepared to be successful in any other career fields that they choose.”

McGhee said he has seen positive changes in the attendance, behavior and discipline of students who participate in JROTC and similar programs, and is confident those benefits will extend to the military academy.

Scarborough High School junior Esmeralda Hernandez, cocommander for the JROTC armed drill team and captain of the academics team, said she struggled to complete her schoolwork during her freshman year. Joining JROTC was key to helping her learn discipline.

Bringing that structure to middle schoolers would be even more beneficial, the now 17-yearold said.

“It also helps them in the future, like starting young helps you with your future,” she said.

Junior Ruben Ayala, 16, agreed that middle school students sometimes need guidance before starting high school. As a student at Scarborough, the guidance from JROTC helped him become a member of the armed drill team and left guard for color guard.

“High school is a really weird time, and they could get like really lost if they don’t have the proper guidance with the proper parental figures or the proper resources for them,” he said.

Heights High School student Sophia Contello, 17, said she has benefited from being in programs involving military structure, including receiving a fulltuition ROTC scholarship.

“This is an awesome opportunity for students coming out of elementary school and going into middle school to really have that foundation to learn the military values. (It’s) not even just about military, this is academic, this is discipline, these are principles that make a great student and person,” she said.

The program will be a “specialty” program offered under HISD’s school choice umbrella that also includes magnet schools.

Students can apply through the school choice application process on Jan. 18. Although physical fitness is part of the military academy, there are inclusive accommodations for different abilities. The academy is accepting 100-120 students between sixth and seventh grades.