This annual event to honor servicemen and women includes five categories for Patriots of the Present awards – business, community service, civic service, education and public safety. SJUSD’s Col. Sick was selected from three final candidates in education at event held on March 10, 2017, at March Field in Riverside.
Colonel Sick is a 28-year U.S. Air Force veteran that retired from active duty in 2007. He served in Operation Desert Storm and Iraqi Enduring Freedom, commanding more than 25 combat/combat support sorties. Upon retirement, he joined San Jacinto Unified School District (SJSUD) as commandant for the San Jacinto High School’s Air Force Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (AFJROTC). Under his direction, the high school program’s enrollment increased by 220%, beginning with 70 students to 225 in just three years, and named to the top 3% AFJROTC programs worldwide.
In 2011, Colonel Sick opened San Jacinto Leadership Academy (SJLA), SJUSD’s first middle school (grades 6-8) magnet school with a focus on training student ‘cadets’ to lead with character and develop strong intellectual capacities. In 2013, the Academy was a recipient of a Models of Academic Excellence Award by the Riverside County Office of Education for leadership education.
SJLA has scored as one of the top public schools in Riverside County two years in a row on the Smarter Balance Assessments, the new online testing for the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) System. CAASPP replaced STAR, the previous California standardized testing program in place since 1997. The Smarter Balance test scores provide another example that the Academy is one of the most desirable places to learn.
“I am especially proud that San Jacinto Leadership Academy was twice selected for the Campaign for Business and Education Excellence (CBEE) California Honor Roll,” said SJUSD Superintendent Diane Perez, “which speaks loudly of the Colonel’s dedication to education.” Schools that receive this honor have demonstrated high levels of student academic achievement and reduced achievement gaps among student populations.
“Colonel Sick’s leadership and patriotic demeanor has made a difference for all our students at San Jacinto Leadership Academy, and it was no surprise he was selected by Senator Morrell for Patriot of the Present - Education,” noted Superintendent Perez.