Arkansas Military and First Responder Academy expands ahead of school year

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The Arkansas Military and First Responders Academy is gearing up for its second year of school.

Lt. Col. Jason Smedley, commandant of the AMFRA, said they’re expanding this upcoming school year, going from 70 student cadets to now 250.

“Last year we had 9 to 10th grade and this year we will have 9th, 10th, and 11th grade so we will continue to grow our school,” Smedley.

He said the growth is also reflected in other parts of the school beyond the classroom.

“Our school is unique in a few ways, one that always stands out is that we are the first  full JROTC program in the state.”  Lt. Col. Smedley goes on to say, “we have a new brand new gym, brand new weight room and brand new marksmanship range.”

Smedley said the academy recently partnered with Arkansas Tech University to be able to provide more courses.

“Regarding our emergency medical services, we are partnering with them to allow our cadets to get dual credit not only for high school but college,” Smedley said.

On top of an academic curriculum, military education and first responder classes, cadets also have college preparatory courses.

“So, they will also get classes on cyber security, coding and pre-engineering,” Smedley said.

He said tuition will remain free and the cadets’ uniforms and laptops are also free. He also said cadets are not required to join the military after they graduate from the academy and the school is not a bootcamp.

“This is about giving them exposure to as many opportunities as possible,” Smedley said. “Here at AMFRA we care about you, we care about your future, what you want to pursue in life and we want to encourage you and make sure you’re prepared for life.”

He said he looks forward to seeing all the new student cadets and how much they will grow next year.

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