Course enrollment for the 2024-2025 school year opened up to Grand Ledge High School (GLHS) students on Feb. 28, 2024. One new class in particular has stirred up lots of conversation. Forensic Science, a brand new course being piloted for the 2024-2025 school year, will be taught under Erin Marsh, a GLHS science teacher and the primary Anatomy and Physiology instructor.
Marsh got the idea for this type of class years ago, but first took on the challenge of restructuring the old Anatomy and Physiology course she taught. Her reasoning for introducing the course now? Science education is something that she wants more students to get into.
“We just don’t have as many science course offerings in such a big high school. Most schools our size have many more science offerings, and this will be a class that is just interesting, and I hope students will sign up for it and take it as just an elective and not necessarily as a science requirement because we just need more science education,” Marsh said.
The course will be offered for students in grades 10-12 who have successfully completed Biology A and B, and will cover a variety of topics like deductive reasoning, crime scenes, and DNA testing over the span of 10 units. The class is still undergoing changes to details and requirements for what can, and can’t be covered in a public school.
As of April 3rd, 2024, there are over 262 students enrolled in the course for next year, but that number is expected to change, with alternates and scheduling conflicts coming into play. There is still time for students to enroll in the course, even into the 2024-2025 school year, as it is expected to be offered all three trimesters of the year.
When asked who the class is for, Marsh responded,“I think this is a class for everybody, and I think it will be really interesting.”
Shelby Mercer, a GLHS student, who has taken every basic science course the school has to offer and signed up for Forensic Science as soon as she learned about it being offered. Mercer shared some of her expectations for what she sees in the class next year, “I’m hoping something to do with fingerprints because that’s always fun.”
