Arkansas Military and First Responder Academy Expands for School Year

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

Lt. Col. Jason Smedley, AMFRA commander, said they will be expanding next school year, from 70 student cadets to 250 now.

“Last year we had 9th through 10th graders and this year we’re going to have 9th, 10th and 11th graders, so we’re going to continue to grow our school,” Smedley.

He said the growth is also visible in other areas of the school, outside of the classrooms.

“Our school is unique in a number of ways, one that always stands out is that we are the first full JROTC program in the state.” Lt. Col. Smedley continues, “We have a brand new gym, a brand new fitness room, and a brand new shooting range.”

Smedley said the academy recently partnered with Arkansas Tech University to offer more courses.

“As far as our emergency medical services, we work with them to have our cadets earn dual credits, not only for high school but also for college,” Smedley said.

In addition to the academic curriculum, military training, and first responder classes, cadets also take college-preparatory courses.

“So they also get lessons in cybersecurity, programming and pre-engineering,” Smedley said.

He said that tuition will remain free and that the uniforms and laptops of the cadets will also be free. He also said that cadets are not required to join the military after graduating from the academy and that the school is not a boot camp.

“This is about giving them 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 seeing how much they will grow next year.