Just before spring break kicks off, juniors and seniors from the forensic and law enforcement courses will travel to Washington D.C. to experience it behind the scenes. The trip is March 7-11 right before spring break, which is the 11-17.

Forensic teachers Ms. Loving and Mrs. Viars, Law Enforcement officer and teacher Mrs. Alexander and Coach Ryan will accompany 43 students to Washington with the program Explore America. Students will be given a handbook with all the guidelines and policies of the trip as well as a backpack, lanyard, luggage tag and itinerary.

Viars took initiative to plan this trip by herself in hopes of benefitting her students.

“The trip was organized strictly by me to give students a real world experience,” Viars said. “My expectation and hope for the trip is to excite students about the endless possibilities of the field of criminal justice that they could become involved in.”

The itinerary for D.C. includes visiting the following:

• Guided Sightseeing of Washington, D.C. (Viewing the FDR Memorial, the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial, the Jefferson Memorial, the WWII Memorial, and a photo stop at both the Washington Monument and the White House)
  
• Smithsonian Museums
• Guided Night Sightseeing of Washington, D.C. (Viewing the Lincoln Memorial, Korean War Veterans Memorial, and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial)
• United States Capitol Building Tour and Visitor Center
• Photo stop at the Library of Congress and U.S. Supreme Court
• Pentagon City Mall
• White House Tour
• FBI Education Center
• International Spy Museum
• Photo Stop at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial
• Walking Tour of Tidal Basin
• Ford’s Theatre (Museum, Theater Walk, Center for Education)
• Air Force Memorial
• Arlington National Cemetery
• Photo Stop at United States Marine Corps War Memorial

For Wesley Preston, this trip was meant to be memorable for his last year of high school.

“My parents thought it would be good for me to go out and have fun with my friends,” Preston said. “It’s also for the experience of going on a field trip out of state that was educational.”