Over the past five years, the course catalog at St. Joe’s has grown through the addition of several elective courses. The hope is to create and offer courses that connect in relevant ways to real-world issues while appealing to the vast interests of our students.
Two new elective courses this year are The Wrongfully Accused: Exposing Injustices Through Literature and Forensics: The Science of Crime.
The Wrongfully Accused is an upper level English elective taught by Mrs. Kristina Billoni that “delves into the unfortunate reality of wrongful convictions, shedding light on the flaws embedded within the legal system.” Already this year, students in the course have been able to connect by Zoom with the author of one of their books, with an exoneree who was released after several years of wrongful imprisonment, and with a lawyer who worked for several years with the Innocence Project.
Our Forensics course is a sophomore-level elective taught by Mr. Chris Serra that is using scientific inquiry to learn more about the methods, techniques, principles and forensic processes being used to investigate and solve crimes. The students are engaging in a variety of creative, hands-on activities and case studies, all while making connections to a number of scientific principles.
We encourage you to take a look at the course catalog on our website to learn more about the wide range of compelling and relevant courses that are being offered to today’s students.