ARLINGTON, Va., Oct. 06, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Air Force Association's (AFA) CyberPatriot Program Office has announced Red Bank Regional High School District (RBRHS) as its newest CyberPatriot Center of Excellence.
CyberPatriot, the nation's largest and fastest growing youth cyber education program, is AFA's flagship science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) program dedicated to strengthening cyber skills among American youth. The Center of Excellence designation is awarded to communities and institutions that provide leadership and support to further the educational experiences of their students through the CyberPatriot program. CyberPatriot established the Center of Excellence program in 2011, and has since then recognized ten other entities – Los Angeles Unified School District, the City of San Antonio, Spokane Public Schools, Rose State College (Okla.), Fairfax County Public Schools (Va.), STEMspark East Tennessee Innovation Hub, Huntsville City Schools (Ala.), Lee’s Summit R-7 School District (Mo.), Souther California Cybersecurity Community College Consortium, and Elk Grove Unified School District (Calif.).
RBRHS is a comprehensive secondary institution in Monmouth County, NJ, that offers a wide array of academic and extra-curricular programs for students out of Little Silver, Red Bank Borough and Shrewsbury. Most unique about RBRHS is its academies of special studies which includes the Academy of Information Technology and Pre-Engineering program.
“CyberPatriot has opened up a world of opportunities for all of our students even outside of the specialty academies,” said longtime RBRHS CyberPatriot Coach, Mandy Galante. “From techies to music majors to athletes to AP geniuses, there is a spot for everyone on a CyberPatriot team to have fun and become cyber savvy. They may decide to focus on a career in technology or they may just benefit by using their cyber expertise to make their own lives digitally safe.“
Over the course of RBRHS’s eight-year involvement in CyberPatriot, team coaches have coordinated with AFA NJ leadership to host a “How to Start a CyberPatriot Team” workshop, and they continue to respond to requests for start-up assistance from new coaches in and outside of the state. Additionally, the District has made efforts to improve diversity in its teams by participating in STEM summer programs that directly target recruitment of females, African-American and Latino students.
RBRHS has been highly successful in creating a real sense of excitement around the CyberPatriot program through recognition at Board of Education meetings, Town Council meetings, recognition from the County
Freeholders, and congratulatory visits from the Lt Governor. This type of support inspires more students to view CyberPatriot as a competitive activity that provides rewards similar or equal to those of varsity sports.
For more information on Red Bank Regional High School District and CyberPatriot's Center of Excellence program, visit http://uscyberpatriot.org/about/centers-of-excellence.
The Air Force Association is a non-profit, independent, professional military and aerospace education association. Our mission is to promote a dominant United States Air Force and a strong national defense, and to honor Airmen and our Air Force Heritage.
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