RESA’s new Law and Public Safety program to empower high school students for the future

The St. Clair County Regional Educational Service Agency (RESA) has always been focused on helping the next generation of students get a jump on deciding their future careers.

Recently, RESA announced a new Law and Public Safety Program that will aid students and local agencies across the county. The new program will be available to high school juniors and seniors when it begins this fall. The goal will be to give students hands-on training while establishing a career path in the various branches of public safety.

“Our leadership and administrative team have been talking for a while about adding more options for students in our county,” says Lesley Murphy, the career technical education director and principal of St. Clair County RESA. “We asked our students what they were interested in and took a survey among students so they could share what they were feeling. We wanted to make sure we kept in touch with them and took care of their needs. Their overwhelming response was to include public safety.”

The St. Clair County Technical Education Center is operated by RESA, targeting career-focused programs for high school upperclassmen. The programs provide opportunities to earn high school and college credits and industry certifications.

In past years, RESA has laid the foundation for numerous programs that continue to give local students a head start on their future. Programs offered by RESA include automotive technology, collision repair, computer programming, construction trades, cosmetology, culinary arts, cybersecurity, digital media, education, engineering and robotics, health, machinery, and welding.

St. Clair County RESA's TEC culinary students.

The new Law and Public Safety program will add another branch to the current offerings. It will feature training in law enforcement, emergency dispatch, drone technologies, corrections, and emergency medical services. Other fields for the program will include medical services,  investigations, and forensics, with a potential addition of firefighter training. 

The program will be able to accommodate 20 students in both the morning and evening class sessions. After the first year, depending on interest, RESA hopes to expand the program. As part of the programs, students will engage in hands-on training. While training for emergency dispatch, students will learn specific simulation software and practice responding to real-world emergency scenarios. They will also learn protocols for medical services.

“I am really thrilled by this,” says Brenda Tenniswood, the superintendent of St. Clair County RESA. “We have spent several years expanding CTE opportunities. We really felt like public safety had a lot of areas for growth. For Port Huron Schools to be such good partners and house it played a big role in moving forward. It was great to see how the community has supported this. 

“We took a small team from RESA on a field trip last year to Centerline Public Schools last year, and they were very helpful to share their experiences. After that, everything kind of came together and helped us progress to this point.” 

A key portion of launching the new program came with partnering with the Port Huron Area School District. The Law and Public Safety program will be held at Woodrow Wilson Elementary School in Port Huron. Being near the new Port Huron Fire Station on 1400 10th Street. RESA hopes the proximity to the fire station will provide students with additional access to industry equipment and community partnerships.

“The new Law and Public Safety program is an exciting opportunity for students to gain real-world skills while exploring in-demand careers in our community,” says Port Huron Schools superintendent Theo Kerhoulas. “We’re proud to partner with St. Clair County RESA in expanding career-focused learning opportunities for local students.”

A recent study of the labor market data for Southeastern Michigan’s law, public safety, corrections, and the security sector showed how important programs such as law and safety can be. The field provides jobs for over 3,200 workers, with further growth expected in the coming years. With that comes the need to fill those jobs and prepare the next generation for those positions.

RESA has already developed partnerships around the community and the state to help prospective students reach their goals. The program has established articulation agreements with colleges and universities such as Oakland Community College, Baker College, and Northern Michigan University.

These articulation agreements are meant to create seamless educational pathways for students who wish to continue their education after high school. RESA will continue to pursue articulation agreements with St. Clair County Community College students to continue their education upon completing their training and certification in its programs.

“We are really happy with how things are coming together,” Murphy says. “Port Huron Schools has been such a wonderful partner. We hope this program is going to make a difference where we can continue to build it and add more to it. We hope that the kids who complete the program are able to go on and have full-time work-based placement with an employer. It’s so rewarding to see our programs make a difference.”

For more information about the new Law and Public Safety program or to learn how to enroll, call the St. Clair County Technical Education Center at (810) 455-1010.