I. Organization and Administration

Riverdale High School Mission: To prepare students to become productive members of a global society through rigorous instruction.CCPS Mission: The mission of Clayton County Public Schools is to empower scholars to achieve academic, professional, and personal goals by providing equitable access and experiences that build skills in literacy, creativity, critical thinking, and collaboration.

Riverdale High Program Goals

Our mission is to educate and motivate our students in the search of their "E". The 4 E's are Employment, Enrollment, Enlistment, and Entrepreneurship.

Our vision is that each student who completes our pathway graduate knowing their E and have a network to help them reach their goals.

We accomplish this mission by:

Providing our students with hands on experiences that mirror those work experiences in careers under our pathway umbrella.
We expose our students to guest speakers who are professionals in a multitude of industries.
We constantly teach employability skills that focus on adaptability, effective communication, conflict resolution, and networking.
We require participation in mock panel interviews that provide our students with a networking opportunity in their field of choice.

SkillsUSA Program of Work

2025-2026 SkillsUSA Program of Work (1).pdf

2025-2026 SkillsUSA Program of Work 25-26.xlsx - SkillsUSA-HS.pdf

Rosters

Program Student Statistics

Students with a 504 plan: 0Student who have an Individualized Education Program: 23Students who are English Learners: 13
Number of Instructors: 2
Student Teacher Ratio Introduction to Law 1:73Criminal Justice Essentials 1:31Forensic Science 1:10 *Teachers utilize Career Technical Instructor (CTI) assistance for students who require additional support
Number of Students Enrolled in each classIntroduction to Law: 73Criminal Justice Essentials: 31Forensic Science: 10

RHS Program Marketing

The Riverdale High School Law and Public Safety teachers market the program utilizing technology that includes a class website and social media. The website highlights classes offered within the forensic science pathway as well as past guest speakers, teacher bios, SkillsUSA activities and our monthly newsletters. The guest speakers we invite into our classrooms, activities we engage in and accomplishments of our students are also shared via LinkedIn for external stakeholders through our monthly newsletters. Our newsletters are sent to school administration for distribution to all faculty and staff to be placed on their canvas platforms, in an effort to garner student interest. We also participate in open house, curriculum night, PTSA, Fall Festival and other activities to promote our pathway.

We have collaborated with our feeder schools to educate the rising freshmen about our pathway by providing information and guided lab tours. We purchased posters that included all pathways at Riverdale High School and encouraged counselors to use the QR code to get to our school CTAE website, which included our Law and Public Safety website.

We collaborate with our school counselors by being involved in the scheduling process to ensure students are in the right pathway classes and are on track to become pathway completers.

Both teachers have open dialogue with counselors and the CTAE Assistant Principal, Mr. Baker regarding scheduling or any other issues concerning students. Our CTAE Department Chairperson, Ms. Harris is also an integral part of our program. She is the Lead SkillsUSA Advisor and acts as a liaison between the state/national SkillsUSA personnel. She ensures all field trip documentation is correct and submitted properly, in addition she disseminates correspondence and communications from the district CTAE office.

Our Advisory Committee was regularly attended by Riverdale Fire Department; however, after the department was dissolved we have depended on Clayton County Fire and Emergency Services to provide us with best practices in the fire industry. We are also partners with Riverdale Police Department, Clayton County Police Department, Clayton County Sheriff's Office, Clayton County District Attorney's Office, Clayton County Solicitor General's Office, Clayton County Emergency Management, Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Atlanta Police Crime Lab, Atlanta Police 911 Communications, Federal Bureau of Investigation. While all of these entities do not show up for our advisory meetings, they contribute in the education process of our students by providing training, notice of changes in the industry, guest speakers, supplies, field experiences, internships and job shadowing.

Accountability

The budgeting process is set by the district and is consistent across all pathways; however, the budgeted amount varies from program to program. The equipment purchased at Riverdale High is based on educational experiences that relate to the standards taught in each class. Each class promotes hands-on learning to expose real career-related skills. As it relates to consumables, students at Riverdale High School have access to Siegell Introduction to Criminal Justice, Siegell Essentials of Criminal Justice, and Bertino Forensic Science Fundamentals of Investigations, where they are exposed to case studies and case laws. Moreover, at Riverdale High School, students who are enrolled in Introduction to Law, Essentials to Criminal Justice, and Forensic Science/Criminal Investigation gain experience with hands-on activities that require different equipment such as radios, safety gear, courtroom simulation setups, and classroom technology. Finally, the local school budget funds consumables and small classroom supplies, the Perkins Grant funds larger equipment, specialized software, and pathway-specific instructional resources. Federal grants provide funding for Career and Technical Education by providing updated curriculum and instructional technology. Riverdale High School has various partnerships with law enforcement agencies, courts, and legal professionals.

The Law and Public Safety program at Riverdale High School allows students to experience and engage in academic instruction that is aligned with real-world career activities. Students are exposed to topics like civil law, criminal law, citizens’ rights, ethics, conflict resolution, emergency response, and employability skills which coincide with the Riverdale High School mission of equipping students to become productive, globally capable individuals through in-depth and rigorous instruction.

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