Dr. Tom Washburn, founder of the Career Tech Law and Justice program in Fulton County Schools in Atlanta, Georgia, sees career tech education as a framework for gains in reading comprehension, public speaking, math, and science. “It’s a holistic approach to learning framed by law and justice. Behind the scenes we’re reading novels, improving organizational and study skills, and doing real life math equations. CTE (career and technical education) is the concrete that holds the bricks together. It gives subjects relevance, and is applicable in a real-world way.”

Fulton’s Law and Justice program, started in 1997, was the first program in the country to combine law, law enforcement and forensics. “Right away other school systems took notice and began copying our model,” says Washburn. The program has been recognized repeatedly as one of the best in the country, and Washburn himself has dozens of awards and recognitions to show for it.

Hands-on is the byword describing the program, which serves about 500 students in four Fulton County high schools, including Cambridge High, where Washburn is establishing a new program this fall. The curriculum takes abstract concepts and applies them in math, science, writing, reading, public speaking and history. A popular field experiment involves comparing the decomposition of three little pigs: one is left in a field, one protected in plastic wrap, and a third in lab conditions. “It’s frighteningly parallel to decomposition in humans,” says Washburn. “The experiment involves watching the decaying pigs and taking notes for 60 days, to see how bone, muscles, and tissues deteriorate in different conditions.” Then students write a full lab report (a task new to many in CTE classes), a required part of the updated curriculum, which is heavy on science and math.

“Career tech also contextualizes math,” says Washburn. “We do a blood splatter analysis, using trigonometry to triangulate and predict the location of an accident, quickly answering the age old question of ‘Why do I need to learn math?’. In another class we calculate jail bond. I ask them ‘what is 12% of $10,000?’ (Bail is set at 10 – 15% of the fine).” Students also go outside to calculate MPH the old fashioned way, using a stopwatch to time how long it takes to run from point A to B, as part of a traffic code unit.

“We also write police reports and do research papers using appropriate vocabulary, which we call the SAT word of the day, such as ‘delineation’. There’s little whining; they don’t realize what we’re doing, because it’s a subject they’re interested in. We do a lot of reading in class, from police magazines to crime novels, and have seen reading levels shoot way up. Public speaking is part of the curriculum in our law class, from a prepared speech (opening statement) to extemporaneous (arguing in court), which also prepares students for the SKILLS USA CTSO competition. We had 4 national bronze medalists last year!

“CTE is cool; the students learn more because it’s a subject they choose, and they see the application then and there. We sort of ‘bait and switch’, teaching them science and history and math and language arts within this curriculum. We will do anything to get the kids excited about school and learning. We rotate taking a group one year to visit the FBI Training Center in Quantico, Virginia, and the Capital Police and Supreme Court in D.C. And then the next year we have a trip to Mycenae, Greece and Rome to see the beginnings of the legal system.”

“For entry into the program, a student submits a ‘request for registration; we’re looking for career interested kids. We have two entry level classes, and rotate the upper level each year. We have very high retention for completing the two year program. We have up to 30 in a class — when you’re handcuffing you can’t have too many kids in the room at once!

The program has a stellar advisory group, which advises the programs at all four high schools. “Ten years ago I made a wish list of community, law enforcement and educational leaders that I would like on my committee,” says Washburn. “I sent them self-addressed envelopes and response cards. The response was overwhelming! For ten years now we’ve had support from the area police chief, sheriff’s office, DA’s office and the regional FBI. They help with job placement and senior year internships. The police department lends us squad cars whenever we need them. These community partnerships keep us relevant and up to date, and keeps CTE applicable in a real-world way.”

Primary contact: Dr. Thomas Washburn, PhD, Cambridge Law and Justice Program, 2845 Benthany Bend

Milton, Georgia 30004, WashburnT@fultonschools.org, https://sites.google.com/site/chslawjustice