Whitewater High is the only school in the county that offers a career pathway in Law, Public Safety, Corrections and Security, which prepares students for postsecondary study and employment relating to emergency and fire services, legal services, protective services, and homeland security.
Instructor Scott Schmitt, a former Peachtree City police officer, and his class ended an unit on public safety careers by receiving firsthand accounts of what actually happens in the field from three law enforcement officials: Investigator Manuel Rojas from the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department, Tom Kirkbride of the Federal Air Marshal Service, and Special Agent Bill Weston of the State of Georgia Criminal Investigations Fraud Division.
The speakers shared many stories with the students, including how they handled adversity on the job, situations of distress, and positive accounts of helping citizens. They also talked about their education, and the duties they perform in their current roles.
This is the second full year that Whitewater has offered the public safety career pathway, a three-year program that covers topics such as the court system, fire safety, disasters, search and rescue, forensics, terrorism, stress management, criminal law, sentencing, corrections, security, and use of force, to name a few.
Currently, there are 160 students enrolled in the pathway. Schmitt says most students who take the course have an interest in a potential public safety career, but some are just curious and want to learn more.
A permanent fixture in the classroom is Officer Pat, a mannequin that wears Schmitt’s old police officer uniform. Officer Pat helps Schmitt share his experiences and stories from his law enforcement days as they relate to the various topics covered throughout the year.
Schmitt, center, is pictured with Kirkbride and Officer Pat.
