The Legal Studies Academy
at First Colonial High School

View a brief video overview of the Legal Studies Academy Program.

The Legal Studies Academy provides students who have an interest in and curiosity about the law, law-related fields, and legal and ethical issues the opportunity to extend their knowledge beyond the typical high school program. The academy offers students the opportunity to embrace not only an academic curriculum that will prepare them for post-secondary education but also will allow them career exploration within the area of legal studies.

The academy has two major components: Law and the Administration of Justice, which are further divided into special areas of study. At the end of the second year in the Academy program (sophomore year), all students must declare their major strand.

The Law component is divided into the two academic strands of Pre-Law and Administration of Law. Pre-Law offers students the opportunity to explore a law career with courses centered on occupational options open to lawyers.

The Administration of Law strand provides students with the coursework needed to pursue varied options within the field of law, such as legal secretary, paralegal, and court reporter.

The Administration of Justice component offers strands in Law Enforcement and Corrections. Law Enforcement introduces students to career possibilities such as police officer, criminal investigator, forensic scientist or private investigator. The Corrections strand focuses on such careers as criminal psychologist, criminal social worker, sheriff’s deputy and corrections officer. All students take the Core Academy curriculum that includes English, mathematics, science, social studies and foreign language (optional for Standard Diploma) . At the end of the second year in the Academy program, all students declare their major strand. The Academy curriculum goes beyond the basic four-year high school requirements by infusing law-related units in the core subject areas of English, science and social studies and by providing students with specialized course work, through job shadowing, training, mentoring, internships and volunteer opportunities. The course of studies is extended through seminars and field trips on law-related subjects such as character education issues, law and medicine, law and literature, cyber law, forensic science and criminal justice. In addition, the Academy gives students the opportunity to experience the reality of law careers by emphasizing active learning in criminal investigations, job shadowing, and mock trials in our courtroom/classroom.

In order to promote active learning and the importance of community involvement, all Legal Studies Academy students are required to participate in job shadowing, internships, and community service.

During the senior year, students complete a major senior project that is a hands-on experience focused on their chosen strand of study. The senior project requires consultation with the Academy coordinator, the initiation and completion of the project, a research paper describing the project, and an oral presentation of the project to a panel of adults prior to graduation.

The Legal Studies Academy
Typical Course of Study
Sample Student Schedule
For detailed course descriptions, please refer to the 2007-2008 Secondary School Curriculum Guide.

All LSA students have the opportunity to take Advanced Placement courses which meet LSA requirements in art, English, foreign language, mathematics, music, science, and social studies.

For additional information please call the Academy Coordinator at 757.496.6711 ext. 57407, or e-mail Paige Scherr pdscherr@vbschools.com at First Colonial High School.