Enrollment in pre-law and the arts program at Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School has nearly doubled in size from last year, according to the program director.
Pre-law currently has 23 students — including four juniors and seniors — up from 13 enrollees when the program initially opened last year.
“The students who are newer likely heard through word of mouth,” said Mia Frank, director of pre-law and the arts. “Some of them had friends that go here and just loved the idea of a pre-law program, and wanting to be more academically challenged,”
Frank has worked to build the program and expand upon the offerings. She said bonds are being formed in the classroom, where she witnesses unity, camaraderie, and team building.
She gave her students an exercise at the beginning of the school year that involved partnering up and pretending to give a “best man” speech at a wedding. This required learning more about another person and the result was unexpected, she said.
“You find a person, talk with them, and you craft and deliver a speech — not just a bunch of questions and answers. You’re writing a speech about them. What they wrote was uplifting, poignant, maybe with some humor. They were so beautiful. They were bringing tears to everybody’s eyes. It was way better than I ever thought it would be,” she said.
Currently students are doing a semester of criminal law and advance-level speech, where they delve into reciting poetry. Poetry is applicable to pre-law because it gets to the idea of understanding close reading, analyzing, and finding the meaning in what you’re reading, she said.
Students are given about a week to combine several poems that relate thematically, write an introduction, and practice delivering the piece.
“If you want to be a persuasive speaker in any way, or a good trial lawyer, you need to connect with your audience, and find emotion, and be able to convey it through your voice, through your gestures, your eye contact. Poetry is one way that we can practice that,” she said.
Students are looking forward to competing, which is part of the course. Speech and debate begins with the first novice tournament in late October. Those with experience from last year have a better understanding of what to expect and are helping to prepare students who are unfamiliar. These contests can be tough for students when they must go up against students and coaches who have been doing this for decades, she said.
“We learned so much last year, just in class. I think more students have the confidence and sense of preparedness that they’re a little more eager to participate in a few of the tournaments this year for speech or debate.”
Beaver County Mock Trial releases the new fictional case on Nov. 1. Mock trial gives student teams the opportunity to argue a case before a professional judge inside an actual courtroom. The jury is usually made up of lawyers who pick the winners. During the trial, students act as lawyers, witnesses, defendants and plaintiffs, guided by teachers and coaches. Tournaments start mid-January to February.
Students are waiting in anticipation to see if the new case is criminal or civil, Frank said.
“We see what the case is about, who the parties are, and then we can start preparing,” she said. “We actually know how it works, how it’s run, what to plan for, how to prepare, what the good teams look like. We are just going into this year with so much more knowledge. There is so much excitement and the expectation to do well this year.”