Military leery of cyber-school grads

Associated Press

PITTSBURGH

Justin Merrill had wanted to join the military for as long as he could remember.

“Everyone on my mom’s side of the family was a Marine, and everyone on my dad’s side was in the Army,” explained Merrill, 18, of Danville, Montour County, in central Pennsylvania. “I wanted to do something to help my country.”

But Merrill’s plan was jeopardized last year when he learned that the Army did not approve of the high-school diploma he was on track to earn from Agora Cyber Charter School.

“When I told my recruiter, the first words out of his mouth were, ‘I’m not sure you can join the military because you’re not going to a brick-and-mortar school,’” Merrill recalled.

As enrollment in Pennsylvania’s 11 cyber charter schools swelled to about 25,000 students statewide last year, Merrill and others who hope to enlist in the military after graduation are finding their plans derailed by an obscure Department of Defense policy.

Cyber-school diplomas are categorized for recruiting purposes as “Tier 2,” a classification that includes GEDs and is seen as less desirable than “Tier 1,” which includes a traditional high school diploma. Each branch limits the number of Tier 2 recruits that it will accept each year.

For the Army and National Guard, the limit is 10 percent; for the Navy, 5 percent; for the Air Force, just 1 percent.

An informal survey of cyber school officials showed that about 10 percent of graduates had tried to join the military and run into the policy, said Jenny Bradmon, executive director of Pennsylvania Families for Public Cyber Schools. However, she added, “some of them have found ways to get around it,” such as enrollment in a military academy.

Merrill eventually was able to enlist in the Army Reserve as a Tier 2 candidate, and he planned to start basic training this month. However, because of his Tier 2 status, he was not allowed to pursue a special-forces career.

“If our Department of Education recognizes these diplomas as just like a regular diploma, why doesn’t the Department of Defense agree with that?” Merrill said.

“What we’re looking at is attrition rates, the stick-to-it-iveness, as opposed to a student who dropped out and moved to a cyber school,” explained Tony Castillo, an education services specialist with the Army Recruiting Command at Fort Knox, Ky. As advocates try to get the policy changed, cyber-school officials often work with students and recent graduates to find ways around it.

Samantha Malik of Salem Township planned to join the National Guard after she graduated from Chester County-based 21st Century Cyber Charter School in 2009.

When her recruiter told her there were no available slots for Tier 2 enlistees, Malik signed up for classes at Westmoreland County Community College. But she was worried that by the time she had the necessary credits to earn Tier 1 status, she would have lost her nerve.

Luckily, Malik said, the Guard recruiter was able to enlist her with a Tier 2 diploma after all. She has since graduated from basic training and a course on helicopter repair.

Though her cyber-school education made enlisting more difficult, Malik said she does not regret it.

“This is the 21st century,” she said. “You have to grow with the technology and grow with the times. Everything’s on computers now.”