The Shadow Ridge forensic science program will soon be undergoing a major change. Previously, the program was three years long with an option to participate in a fourth Advanced Studies level. However, starting during the 2024-2025 school year, it will change to two years.

This change comes after a struggle to retain students throughout all three years. Counselors and the teacher alike have tried to encourage and push students to follow through on their commitment to the class, but recently it has become apparent that students aren’t interested.

This new two-year program will increase the retention rate throughout the years and the number of students who complete the program. It will also allow students to start the program later in high school. In the past, the program had to be started during freshman or sophomore year. This allowed students to finish all three years before they graduated. With this change, the first year will also be open to junior students now that they can finish it before graduating high school. The teacher of this program is currently working to rearrange the program to fit into two years rather than three.

A Shadow Ridge senior and Forensic Science Advanced Studies student, Kaitlyn Wolf, stated, “I think it is a bad idea. In order to have a full understanding of the content, three to four years are necessary.”

Cramming three years of knowledge into two years will hurt the students. They won’t fully understand the subject and may feel stressed enough by the lack of time to drop the class. This will lower the program’s overall grades and retention rate.

Melyssa Soloman, a Shadow Ridge senior and a forensic science student, said, “I think it was an awful decision to make Forensic Science CTE a two year program because that is not enough time for students to learn the content and learn the leadership skills that come with the program.”

The program not only teaches forensic science topics, but life skills too. Cutting the program down reduces the time they will spend developing these skills.

Wolf also said, “It is also beneficial for students to practice career readiness skills up until graduation.”

The career skills forensic science teaches are not just important for a few years. These skills need to be practiced continuously to have the best effect. This change in the program will cut down the student’s ability to excel in a career.

Khushi Patel, another senior and forensic science student, said, “I think it’s dumb, because the teachers now have less time to teach all the material before the CTE tests.”

By changing the length of the program, students will not get the time to properly prepare for the test, which the teacher stresses greatly. Many may fail, which will reflect poorly upon the program and school.