Students who go through the Academy of Law and Homeland Security (ALHS) at The St. Augustine High School graduate prepared to start a career in law enforcement. Almost twenty members of last year’s graduating class of ALHS are currently working in law enforcement locally and around the globe. In addition to working as a police officer or a deputy sheriff, these careers include a game warden, a 911 dispatcher and more.
Retired law enforcement officer Marty Westall, who is beginning his sixth year as a teacher in the ALHS, beams with pride as he talks about the transformation of a “young lady who was so very shy…I couldn’t get her to go up in front of the class and say anything at all” who is now a military police officer for the United States Army currently stationed in Korea. “That is a success story, and I love telling it! She stays in touch with me and lets me know how much she learned (in the ALHS).”
The personal growth of the students in ALHS has also been mirrored by the program’s growth. ALHS had 16 students seven years ago and will have nearly 250 students enrolled for the start of the 2024-25 school year. Westall, who also serves as Vice President of the St. Johns County Education Association, attributes the program’s growth to “Showing the kids that someone cares about them and that they have opportunities.”
As Westall tells his students, no matter what they are passionate about, they can turn that passion into a career in law enforcement. “If you like to cook, they need a cook at the jail. If you like math, they need someone in payroll. If you like to talk to people, they need 911 dispatchers. There is a whole gamut of positions at the sheriff’s office or police department.”
Whatever they decide to do after high school, Westall wants all of his students to know that they are a part of one big family. The family bonds start even before the school year when upperclassmen and graduates of ALHS speak to incoming freshman during orientation. “One of the reasons for the orientation is so they (freshmen) get to know other students, so they know (on) the first day of school they have a familiar face in the hallway… they know they have an attachment there.”
The strength of the bond between the students and their teacher became apparent even to Westall’s healthcare providers as he was recovering from cancer. For example, there was the student who knitted a blanket for her beloved teacher because she heard that chemotherapy treatments can make the patients feel cold. It was the first blanket the student ever knitted. Then there are the students who skipped school and “showed up at the cancer center to be with me when I rang the bell (to signify the end of chemotherapy treatment). That was a very special moment…those students came with me and we rang the bell together. They brought me gifts. They brought me flowers and a very special, sweet card.”
Though some of the students were worried about getting in trouble for leaving campus that day, Westall assured them they didn’t need to worry about that. “If someone says something to you or they won’t excuse you because you came here, I’ll handle that for you. Don’t worry.”
When Westall’s students look back at their time at The St. Augustine High School, they will no doubt remember the lessons they learned in proper law enforcement procedure, the technology and simulators they were able to use and the appreciation they gained for the wide variety of paths a career in law enforcement can take. Most of all, they will remember they are part of one big, loving and supportive family.
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