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Mesquite ISD JROTC highlights robotics, drones, certifications and community service
Summary
Colonel Steve Cino told trustees JROTC programs expanded college‑credit opportunities (NOCTI leadership/cybersecurity), received Department of Defense equipment and grants, and reported high student service‑learning totals and scholarship earnings.
Colonel Steve Cino outlined new credential opportunities, competitive successes, and workforce pathways for Mesquite ISD JROTC cadets. He said NOCTI now offers a JROTC leadership and employability certification and a cybersecurity certification that together can translate into college credit for participating cadets, and he noted the district was allocated 40 slots for the West Point LEADS workshop at UNT on Nov. 8.
Cino also described competitive and grant outcomes: JROTC robotics teams advanced at the VEX World Championship, drone teams reached nationals, the program received more than $13,000 in drone equipment from the U.S. Army and $38,000 in robots from a recent grant, and a summer STEM grant exceeded $141,000. He reported students collectively contributed over 20,000 hours of service learning and earned more than $2.74 million in scholarships. “We are nationally recognized for a lot of our efforts,” Cino told the board. Trustees praised the program and asked about ASVAB testing and pathways to post‑secondary opportunities; Cino said the program provides certificates and advantages for students entering military service or career pathways.
