Covid concerns may keep some high school students out of Plum's JROTC program - TribLIVE

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Penn Hills High School students who participated in Plum School District’s Junior ROTC program due to their district no longer having one may not be able to continue their extracurricular education due to covid-19 concerns.

Junior William Phillips and senior Abdulbasit Odunoye went before the Plum School Board on Tuesday night to ask how they can remain cadets.

“With it being covid, we don’t know when it’s going to end,” Williams said about not participating in the program. “We might miss the whole year and miss out on the benefits of ROTC.”

Penn Hills’ Navy Junior ROTC program was eliminated last year due to a lack of cadets and money.

Both districts had an agreement for the 2019-20 school year to permit Penn Hills cadets in Plum’s Air Force program. That deal has since expired.

Penn Hills Superintendent Nancy Hines said Plum officials notified her district in either May or June that the deal would not be renewed.

“We understand their concerns,” Hines said. “I feel for the kids. We have to be realistic, too. If the situation were reversed, I can’t tell you that Penn Hills would be 100 percent comfortable to have kids from another school come here. … I feel their concerns are legitimate. The pandemic kind of changed the circumstances.”

Hines said she hopes both districts can come to another ROTC agreement.

William said they were only made aware of not being able to continue at Plum a few days before this school year started.

Both school districts are operating out of a hybrid model, meaning students would be in school a few days a week and have online learning the other few days.

“We don’t see what the problem would be just for two students to come to the school for one period out of the day,” Abdulbasit said.

Both cadets said there were some initial challenges transitioning from a Navy to an Air Force program, but they loved their experiences in Plum.

Plum Superintendent Brendan Hyland said he will speak with the students Wednesday, and that they did a good job advocating for themselves.

Some board members said Tuesday’s meeting was the first time hearing about the ROTC issue.

“ROTC is a big thing for me,” Joe Tommarello said. “It was a big thing for me when I was a student. I always appreciate what they did. It shapes our young men and women into great leaders. If we can get levels of attendance up, get other kids involved from other districts, kudos to them. Hopefully we get it done.”

Plum board President Mike Devine said student safety is always top priority, and he would support Hyland’s decision on the matter.

“If he makes the recommendation to approve them here, I trust his judgment and I will back him,” Devine said. “If he sees anything that makes him question the safety of our own students, (we’ll) take a look at that as well.”

Retired Air Force Col. Richard Peterson led Plum’s JROTC program for years. He recently moved with his family to Virginia.

Retired Master Sgt. Kevin Butler worked with Peterson the past two years and currently leads recruits while the district searches for a senior aerospace science instructor to take the reins.

William and Abdulbasit were among eight Penn Hills cadets in the program, which now has 96 cadets, all from Plum.

Butler said he was also told shortly before school started that Penn Hills cadets would not be allowed in the building due to covid, and he would welcome the two back should administration approve the move.

“They are amazing young men,” Butler said. “Both of them are well-spoken, very polite with tons of potential … I hope to continue mentoring them so they can fulfill their life goals and dreams.”

He noted William was in charge of the archery team, and Abdulbasit was working toward starting a Black student government program.

Cadets in the first few weeks of the school year are taught the proper way to wear their uniform, do drills, basic rules and traditions.

Butler said William and Abdulbasit should have no problem remembering those tasks, but they are missing out on leadership opportunities.

About 30 other students from Penn Hills were reportedly interested in joining the program this school year.

“That hasn’t materialized,” Butler said.

Michael DiVittorio is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Michael at 412-871-2367, mdivittorio@triblive.com or via Twitter .

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Covid concerns may keep some high school students out of Plum's JROTC program - TribLIVE

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