The first U.S. Marine Corps JROTC program in HISD history was announced at a press conference held on Aug. 8, 2013, at the Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center. The program, which will be launched at the district’s Energized for STEM Academy (E-STEM), is the first to include cadets in grades 6 and 7, allowing students in grades 6 through 12 to participate.
“HISD is only one of six locations across the country with this program,” said U.S. Marine Corps JROTC Program Director William (Bill) E McHenry, who came from Washington D.C., with a check for a million dollars to kick off the program and review JROTC program preparation. “Eventually, we expect to have 1,200 participating students at STEM. Including uniforms, the Marines are actually investing $1.7 million.”
More than 700 educators from HISD and neighboring districts gathered at 
HISD’s 
A man who wanted to be a teacher since he was in middle school proves that it’s never too late to realize your dreams. The 
Editor’s note: This profile is part of an occasional series on minority or women-owned companies that do business with HISD. The district’s minimum M/WBE goal levels are 20 percent for all levels of purchasing and construction, and 25 percent for professional services. In the 2007 bond program, that commitment reached nearly 34 percent. In the 2012 program, the contracts awarded to date reflect a nearly 51 percent M/WBE commitment.
The derailed train and overturned school bus may have looked like a scene out of a disaster movie, but it actually was part of a very real hands-on training exercise for HISD’s Transportation Services Department.