Some students in Wisconsin are graduating high school with more than just a diploma these days.  Thanks to a distance education program that enables high schoolers to take college courses from a classroom in their school, students are heading into the world of higher education armed with college credits and advance knowledge about their intended field of study.

The Youth Options program offers high school juniors and seniors who are in good academic standing an opportunity to participate in classes at other high schools and some Wisconsin colleges.  The distance learning program is run through the KSCADE (K-12 Schools/College Alliance for Distance Education) network, a consortium, which began in northeast Wisconsin in 1998 to link high schools and colleges in the region so they can share resources.

According to Mary Hansen, KSCADE Network Manager, students in the Youth Options program can take classes in a variety of subjects, like psychology and business, but many choose to expand their knowledge about the criminal justice field. 

"We run quite a few kids through the [criminal justice] courses," said Hansen.  "They're very popular."

Currently, Hansen said, there are about 90 students from 14 different high schools taking criminal justice courses via the distance learning network.  Those classes are physically being taught at Fox Valley Technical College (FVTC) in Appleton, but students take part in them from specially-designed classrooms in their own high schools.

Learning from a Distance

During the distance education classes, students sit at tables in front of microphones, which are spread throughout the room.  They watch several screens, one with the instructor at FVTC and others, which link the classes from various high schools, which are all participating in the class at the same time.

According to Hansen, all of the students can communicate with each other and with the instructor throughout the class.  Also, there is a facilitator in the room who provides students with any other materials they might need and oversees the class.

"The classes they are getting [are] basically the same courses that full-time [college] students would receive here," Hansen said.  "It's not watered down."

Students have the option to take three criminal justice classes: Introduction to Criminal Justice, Law Enforcement Issues and Careers in Criminal Justice.  The courses, which run for three hours a week for about four and a half months, earn the students three college credits per class.

"[They get the] same credits [and] they're expected to do the same amount of work [as college students]," Hansen said.

Because the classes are ao rigorous, students must be selected by staff at their high school in order to participate in the Youth Options program.

"Generally, they're hand-picked kids who the counselors or the principals will know are interested in the law enforcement field or kids who are just doing career exploration," Hansen said.

If school officials allow them to, she added, students can take all three courses and graduate high school with nine college credits.

Getting a Feel for the Criminal Justice Field

In the introductory course, students get an overview of the criminal justice field, covering everything from corrections to the court system and police procedure, Hansen said.  The Legal Issues class, she said, focuses more on timely issues in criminal justice, including current legal cases.

"It's sort-of a look at the world right now and how law enforcement plays a role in it," Hansen said. 

The Careers in Criminal Justice class is the newest course offering, according to Hansen.  It just started this semester with the goal of giving students a taste of various jobs in the law enforcement arena.

"[Our instructor] is bringing in a ton of speakers so the kids are getting real-life contact with people who are working in corrections, forensics [and other professions]," she said. 

Having a chance to talk with people who are actually out working in the criminal justice field helps the students to figure out if it is a profession that they really want to enter, Hansen said.   That is one of the benefits to the program - it gives students a realistic glimpse into the law enforcement world.

"Kids think that law enforcement is what they see on CSI or NYPD Blue," Hansen said. "They come into this and probably get the most education," she said.  "It's not going to be glamorous.  It's going to be hard. [Sometimes] it's not what they expect it's going to be."

While the Youth Options program is an effective way for students to rule out careers in criminal justice, it is equally valuable for those students who already know what law enforcement is all about and are sure they want to someday work in the field.  It gives them a head start on getting a college degree in criminal justice.

"You've got a real wide spectrum of students coming into the program," Hansen said.  "[They all] benefit in many different ways."

Resources:

http://www.kscade.k12.wi.us/