Military Information
Military Education Enlistment Requirements and
What Our Students Can Do About It
Do you have a student interested in the military? Getting into the military for CWCS students has become increasingly selective. Students coming from an Independent Study program such as ours must meet certain criteria to qualify for entrance, and the entrance requirements are much different than what it takes to get in directly from a traditional high school.
If your student is interested in the military, you should give this information to your parent and advise the parent to call a recruiter. Once the parent speaks with a recruiter, a phone conference should be scheduled with Guidance to develop a 4 year high school plan for the student. To schedule the phone conference, please contact Guidance at mhalter@cwcharter.org or 209-874-1119.
Please read this information below which is a compilation of an April 2010 email from Jeff Rice (Director, APLUS+ the Association of Personalized Learning Schools & Services) and Tonja M. Ochonma (MAEd, Education Services Specialist,US Army Recruiting Battalion- Sacramento).
This information comes from the US Department of Defense regarding students interested in joining the US Army. There are several ways students can join the US Army. While each branch of the Armed Services has its own policies, it seems to be common among them that they classify schools in three "tier" categories. Connecting Waters Charter School is a Tier 2 school:
The Tier 1 category is always open for enlistment and more jobs and
incentives are available to students enlisting from Tier 1 schools.
Generally speaking, this category is limited to schools that require four
years of full-time attendance and follow the state's requirements for
graduation. Any school or program that makes it considerably faster or
easier to obtain a high school diploma will not be Tier 1. An applicant can
also qualify as Tier 1 with 15 semester credits from a recognized college or
675 clock hours from a recognized vocational college. Courses below the 100
level (refresher courses), credits awarded for life experience, and credits
earned online will not count towards the 15 credits or 675 hours.
The Tier 2 category is for alternate high school diplomas. This includes
GEDs, approved online or correspondence courses, and some schools with
attendance or curriculum requirements that are not as strict as what the
state requires of its public high schools. Sometimes public school diplomas
are classified as Tier 2. For example, some public alternative schools allow
students to complete classes online from home; some adult programs award
large amounts of credit for life experience. The Tier 2 category, although
valid for enlistment, is not always open. There is a limit on the number of
applicants we can enlist from this category.
The Tier 3 category is less than a high school diploma. Diplomas from these
schools cannot be used for enlistment. Quite a few online high schools fall
in this category.
So what can CWCS students who seek to enter and serve in one of the Armed Services branches do about this in the meantime? Actually, there is positive news for our students. The policy states that "an applicant can also qualify as Tier 1 with 15 semester credits from a recognized college or 675 clock hours from a recognized vocational college. Courses below the 100 level (refresher courses), credits awarded for life experience, and credits earned online will not count towards the 15 credits or 675 hours." The flexibility provided through our program enables students to qualify as Tier 1 for the Armed Services upon high school graduation by fulfilling either the 15 credit college requirement or the 675 vocational technical institution clock hour requirement concurrently during high school. High school students wishing to enter the Armed Services upon graduation simply need to plan in advance to attend a local college or vocational program concurrently and fulfill the requirements in time for graduation.
