Cadet Corp program new to YHS
MALISSA TRENHOLM

The school board has approved a new addition to Yosemite High School. It will benefit not only the students but the school and community as well. This addition is called the California Cadet Corps Program (CACC) which Principal Steve Raupp plans to have as an after school program, (an extra curricular activity), this spring and a one period course next year as an elective or as a substitution for a physical education class. He says the program will “provide other opportunities for us to connect with and engage students much like with the fine arts programs, athletic programs and vocational programs.”

The CACC was established in 1911 to promote school safety, dropout prevention, and gang avoidance in middle schools and high schools across California. It is based on military framework and is a leadership program for all students. The CACC inspires each cadet to develop quality leadership skills, enhanced academic performance, self-confidence, and physical well being.

There are a number of schools in the Central Valley, Raupp says, who have this program such as Madera High School, Independence High School in the Madera Ranchos, 29 Palms High School in Twenty-nine Palms, Indio High School in Indio, and Monache High School in Porterville.

CACC students in these high schools, as well as many other high schools and middle schools, were interviewed about the program and were put in the CACC evaluation report pamphlet. The interviews were taken in April and May of 2002. Almost all the cadets who were interviewed stated the CACC was their single and most important reason for going to, and staying in school, which improves in the area of dropout prevention, one of the core tenets in the CACC.

Concerning the school's safety, another core tenet, principals said that cadets are used as “the eyes and ears of the campus ... wish we could clone them,” and “these cadets are the leaders on campus,” for they were always voluntarily assisting the school police, school nurse, city police, and the fire departments on and off campus.

The third core tenet CACCs live by is gang avoidance. In the survey of at least 15 schools few (0.06 percent) admitted gang membership and 0.3 percent admitted they were involved in gang activities.

However, the vast majority of the other cadets said they would report gang participation and actions as well as weapons and drug abuse they saw around the campus for it is the honorable thing to do.

Academically, the CACC benefits students who have poor grades. The students who were in the CACC reported an increase of grade point averages of up to two full letters. It is known the students grades went from D’s and F’s to A’s and B’s within the first semester of being in the CACC.

After looking at these statistics, Yosemite High School students who would like to enroll in the up and coming CACC will possibly have the life changing opportunity to say what this proud cadet said in the survey: “I am having a great year, time of my life, things couldn’t be better.”