At its Jan. 14 meeting, the School Board of the City of Virginia Beach elected Kathleen Brown as chair and Carolyn Weems as vice chair. Brown has served on the School Board for two years and Weems for 22 years.
Required Courses
Introduction to Law
Introduction to Law is a required class for all academy students. Students learn the skills necessary to understand legal principles. Students then use these skills to explore four areas of law: transactional law, contracts, trial procedure, and constitutional law. The class provides both the essential content and the critical tools necessary to understand legal principles. The class is designed around two main themes:
- Understanding legal principles requires a knowledge of how the legal system operates, as well as a knowledge of how legal professionals understand legal issues and advocate for their clients, and
- The law as a whole constitutes an expression of conduct set forth within the social contract.
Emphasis is placed on understanding and advocating for a position regarding a legal principle through the use of research, writing and oratory. Extensive research, reading and writing are required.
Introduction to Criminal Justice
Introduction to Criminal Justice is a required class for all academy students. Students learn the elements of criminal law and the application of the Constitution to criminal procedure. The class provides both the essential content and the critical tools necessary to understand criminal law and procedure. The class is designed around two main themes:
- Criminal laws are expressions of conduct that are considered inherently harmful to society as a whole and are therefore statutorily prohibited, prosecuted and punished by the government, and
- Criminal procedure is the safeguard against the indiscriminate application of criminal laws through the enforcement of constitutional rights of criminal suspects and defendants.
Emphasis is placed on understanding criminal law and procedure from multiple perspectives, discovering ethical issues, and preparing for oratory and debate. Extensive research, reading and writing are required.
Ethics and Law
Ethics and Law is a required class for all academy students. Students synthesize understandings that they learned in ninth and tenth grade classes to analyze ethics as an overarching sociological construct that directly impacts the social contract. The class provides both the essential content and the critical tools necessary to understand ethical issues. Emphasis is placed on understanding ethics from a variety of sociological viewpoints and preparing for the Senior Project Seminar. Extensive research, reading, and writing are required.
Oratory and Debate
Legal Oratory & Debate is a required class for all academy students. Students synthesize understandings that they learned in ninth and tenth grade classes to use oratory as a functional construct which impacts the evolution of the social contract. The class provides both the essential content and the critical tools necessary to understand and discuss complex sociological issues. Emphasis is placed on understanding oratory as a communications discipline and preparing for the Senior Project Seminar. Extensive research, reading, writing and oratory preparation are required.