Gold Star School

THE PHILADELPHIA MILITARY ACADEMY BECOMES A GOLD STAR SCHOOL
Congratulations to the Philadelphia Military Academy (PMA) for becoming a GOLD STAR JROTC program.  PMA has been awarded an Honor Unit with Distinction for the 2022-2023 school year. An Honor Unit with Distinction (HUD) is one that has demonstrated exceptional performance in all areas of program operation. In order to be awarded this rating, the JROTC program must score between 90-100% on the annual Unit Report, and 95-100% on the JROTC Program of Accreditation.

The Philadelphia Military Academy earned this honor during the JROTC Program for Accreditation (JPA) as evaluated by an inspection team led by the Philadelphia Director of Amy Instruction, LTC Myron Young, on Tuesday, March 29, 2022. The JROTC Cadets were evaluated in the following areas:

  • Battalion Staff Continuous Improvement Briefing
  • Service Learning Briefing
  • Cadet Portfolios and Interviews
  • Unit Report
  • Platoon Level Drill
  • Color Guard, and
  • Army Instructor Portfolios
    The PMA Army JROTC program received a 98% score on the overall JPA evaluation. A score of at least 95% is required to earn HUD. Programs can either earn a rating of HUD, Proficient, or Unsatisfactory. The unprecedented virtual environment PMA faced last school year made the preparation for and execution of the inspection extremely challenging for the cadets, but they did a fantastic job led by the PMA cadet leadership team consisting of C/COL Keyleisha Diaz, C/LTC Christopher Sarpong, C/LTC Cristopher Espinal, C/LTC Asya Miller, and C/CSM Justin Collazo.

The PMA JROTC Program is headed by Commandant, LTC Russell Gallagher. The PMA cadets worked very hard every day collecting data, creating slides and charts, and presenting their Continuous Improvement Plan briefing and Service Learning Projects. A Continuous Improvement Plan assists instructional leaders, through creating curriculum content and co-curricular activities that help the unit stay on top of trends and remain ever adapting.

Congratulations to the PMA cadets for all their hard work!