MAKING THE GRADE SCHOOL SUCCESS STORIES
Students take their studies to streets
Clayton students cover neighborhood to offer residents safety tips.
Kenny Glisch may be a freshman at
Drew High in Riverdale, but he’s already thinking about the future. The
14-year-old is getting a head-start on exploring a career in law and
justice through the Clayton County system’s Career, Technology and
Agricultural Education initiative.
“This program spoke to me the most
since my dad was a cop for 25 years,” said Glisch. “It’s one of the few
classes where you can go right into the field out of high school while
working on a post-secondary education.”
Clayton’s CTAE program offers 23
courses in topics ranging from culinary arts and carpentry to financial
services and technology. Glish’s law enforcement class is part of a
cluster that gives students insight into what it’s like to be a security
or police officer.
“The idea is to prepare students for a skill or train them so they can continue their education
at a 2- or 4-year college or
university,” said Eboni Chillis, the CTAE coordinator for the school
system. “Or they can obtain an entry-level position in the field of
their choice. And they can take different programs at our nine high
schools and open campus.”
The law and justice area is popular due to what Chillis dubs “the ‘CSI’ effect.”
“Students are so interested in ‘CSI’
that they believe the field is as fun and exciting as it is on
television,” she said. “This program gives them the opportunity to delve
into the curriculum and study the skills needed for public safety,
corrections and security fields. It helps them visualize what they might
do in a particular field.”
One of the important elements of the
CTAE program is its hands-on approach. Through internships and projects
with local business and organizations, they get to see the subject as
it operates in the real world.
Glisch and about 20 fellow students
from Drew, Riverdale and Forest Park high schools got a taste of
community policing on De. 11 when they took part in Shining Light, an
event organized by the school system.
In the early evening, students and members of the Clayton
Neighborhood Revitalization
Coalition, the school district, Southern Crescent Habitat for Humanity
and the county police department walked the streets of the Normandy
neighborhood in College Park. They talked with residents about safety
issues, particularly those that arise around the holiday season.
Toting flashlights donated by Lowe’s
and led by police cruisers with lights flashing, the teens passed out
flyers offering tips on crime prevention that they had designed
themselves.
“I loved it,” said Glisch. “At
first, when people saw cop cars with lights on coming through the
neighborhood, I think they were wary. But as they came out to see what
was happening, we told them it was a safety-related event, and we talked
about security measures, like leaving lights on and not posting your
whereabouts on social media. I think they really appreciated what we
were doing.”
The event also fulfilled research
and reporting requirements students must meet for the class. And it gave
neighborhood residents a chance to interact positively with students
who might be the next generation of uniformed officers.
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