GAVC’s fire science and criminal justice programs show high school students another path

Not every kid takes the fire science and criminal justice classes at the Grundy Area Vocational Center knowing that they’ll become a firefighter or police officer, but both programs have churned out recruits at a high rate.

Even if it didn’t, the courses show the students what a day in the life of a first responder is like and there’s value in that, too. The GAVC doesn’t just show kids how to change the batteries in the smoke detectors. It’s teaching them life skills that transfer everywhere.

“It’s rewarding, and there are some great days and there are some really, really bad days, too,” said Joe Vish, a GAVC instructor and battalion chief with the Joliet Fire Department. “I tell the kids about the bad days. You have to at times because people think this is ‘Rescue 911′ and ‘Backdraft’ and all that other exciting stuff. There’s a side of this job that you don’t understand until you get in it.”

Vish said the instructors treat the kids like adults and talk to them like adults, and over the course of two years, there are adult conversations about the things he sees on call. This extends to the criminal justice program, which is taught by former Morris Police Chief Brent Dite, himself a GAVC success story.

“I took auto mechanics,” Dite said. “I liked working on cars, but during those two years, I learned that I don’t want a career in auto mechanics. That’s a success story.”

Vish views the fire science course similarly – not every student who comes through decides they want to become a firefighter. Dite said oftentimes, the students that come through his door aren’t planning on becoming cops.”

“I have students that want to be lawyers,” Dite said. “I have students that want to be correctional officers. I have students that want to be forensic psychologists. I have students that want to work in parole.”

Some students, Dite said, have plans to become divorce attorneys and prosecutors and criminal defense lawyers, and he said the programs at GAVC are unique because they aren’t pigeonholed to steer students toward one career. It focuses on what career opportunities are available and provides them with an educational component to give them an idea of what being a police officer is like.

“What’s neat is the relationships that we’ve built around here.”

—   Brent Dite, former Morris police chief and GAVC instructor

Dite said he’s had about 10 students decide to become police officers in the Grundy County area in his eight years, which may not sound like many, but students can’t take the test to become an officer until they’re 21, and others may end up as officers later. Students may become correctional officers or security guards while they look for the job they want.

Craig Mateski is another instructor who has made a career as a first responder. He started with the Troy Fire Department in Shorewood as a volunteer when he was 19 and now has 32 years in the fire service. He joined the Aurora Fire Department when he was 24.

Vish has been a firefighter for 27 years and started when he was 20. Dite started with the Morris Police Department as a part-time patrol officer and part-time dispatcher in 1988 rising through the ranks to become chief in 2007, when he was appointed by former Mayor Richard Kopczick.

Mateski said experiences as a firefighter help connect the book material to real-life applications, and he’s been able to tell stories about incidents he’s been on that relate to the material.

“That helps the kids put two and two together to help them understand why it’s useful or important information they need to know,” Mateski said.

One lesson came in the winter when Mateski and Vish had the students clearing snow from around the fire hydrants because seconds count in the case of a fire. If the fire hydrants are accessible, the firefighters can use their hoses more quickly.

Mateski said it’s gratifying because the kids want to learn and they want to be there. They’ve taken to the content even if they’re still on the fence about firefighting as a career.

The students have listened to Vish’s advice on taking their education seriously, although he admits he stole the advice from Morris Fire Chief Tracey Steffes.

“When somebody calls 911, they’re expecting whoever shows up to bring their A-game,” Vish said. “If they’re having a medical emergency or they’re delivering a baby or their house is on fire, they don’t care that the fireman is tired, that he just worked a 48-hour shift or that he’s got personal things going on in their life.”

Vish has applied this to his students. He expects them to show up to class and be professional, just like they expect the same from him.

Not everything in the courses is book learning, however. Students from both courses get to do ride-alongs with local departments to see what a day in the life is like. Vish said students will know soon after taking a ride-along with the Joliet Fire Department whether or not the career is for them, and they won’t have to spend money on college or leave another more stable career to do so.

“What’s neat is the relationships that we’ve built around here,” Dite said. “We’re fortunate to have a public service family in Grundy County. I know if I call someone and say I have a student interested in this thing or that thing, they’ll provide some kind of extra education for them. I know the 911 Center director has offered students opportunities to go sit with them to see what a day looks like.”

Dite said it’s good for students to see that first responders are out there every day, living and breathing the career. Once they start to understand that, they begin to put things together.

Students also put what they’ve learned to use in SkillsUSA competitions. Dite is preparing his criminal justice students for the state-level competition.

“The students take what they’ve learned at a very basic level and compete against every other career center in the state of Illinois to see how they’ve taken to that base level and how they progress,” Dite said. “They do traffic stops, and it can go from ‘I can do a traffic stop’ to ‘I can do a traffic stop effectively. I can do a traffic stop understanding what officer safety is instead of just going through the motions.’”

Dite spends time after school with students helping them prepare, and he brought in Bobby Osborn, a former state champion in the SkillsUSA competition, to assist him. Osborn helped put students through the motions of a traffic stop, teaching them how to place their feet properly, apply handcuffs and conduct searches.

Vish said they try their best to have the criminal justice and fire science students work together because police and firefighters often have to work together in real life. He also divides the students as a real fire station would. Every class has a lieutenant, a captain and a battalion chief.

“Those spots are not given,” Vish said. “They’re earned through grades and attendance and character and everything else. We’re teaching them the structure, the yes ma’ams and yes sirs and handshaking and all those soft skills.”

Both classes even take the students through career planning such as sending in applications, keeping their finances in check and saving for retirement.