CSI: Wilton — WHS Students get a Dose of Reality in Forensic Science

Ms. Victoria McVie, the august STEM instructional coach at Wilton High School, has been murdered!

With cameras, notebooks and a spool of yellow caution tape in hand, students saunter into the workroom to examine the crime scene, look for clues and record evidence that might help solve the mysteries surrounding this most heinous act.

“There’s been a terrible murder reported and they came to us, as the forensics class, to investigate,” Brett Amero, a 23-year veteran of the district, announces to his students.

Welcome to Forensic Science — a semester-long course offering hands-on experiences related to criminal investigation, with students taught the background and skills of the profession through “inquiry-based” activities.

“I’m really interested in crime,” said Kody Manners, 16, a junior. “And I think it’s really interesting to know how people who commit crimes work and how to secure a crime scene and investigate it.”

The course has proved so popular that next term there will likely be three different sessions.

“It used to be an elective here at Wilton offered every other year … But this thing got so wildly popular, they had to end up offering it every single year, every semester,” Amero said.

The class was originally created 18 years ago by teacher Matt Hoyt, who took time to learn stage makeup in order to give the experience more reality.

“I thought if we’re going to teach kids to solve a crime scenario, we might as well put them in a crime scene,” said Hoyt, who along with other department colleagues helps play out the semester-long mystery of who has committed these crimes.

When forensics students arrived for class, they’re immediately met with Amero’s announcement of Ms. McVie’s murder. After gathering up their wits and notebooks, they were then led over to a nearby science workroom to view the crime scene.

With mock blood on her throat and hands, McVie, prostrate across a table, appears to have been strangled during her lunch. A footprint is visible in some coffee grounds on the floor, with other clues visible — and some not so visible …

“It’s a breath of fresh air compared to other classes,” Daniel Lai, 16, said, with this interactive work much more engaging than a traditional classroom setting.

“I like how in-depth the class is, the different sort of subjects in forensics, such as fingerprinting, the hair analysis, and the handwriting analysis,” Lai said.

Amero guided the students with questions, suggesting options and hinting toward clues that may have been missed.

“As she’s being strangled, you can see she has a bunch of bruising on her hands. This is a very violent situation,” he said, noting that the diameter and texture of the marks on her throat provide clues to the weapon.

“It’s really an application science,” Amero said, with handwriting analysis, fingerprinting, and a great deal of deductive reasoning among the skills explored.

A big fan of investigative crime shows, Amero said that many of the students are also fans and enjoy having their own experience as investigators.

“I always said I wish I could take this class,” he said. “This is such a cool class and now I’m teaching it.”

McVie said that in the last school she worked there was also a forensics course, but it was nowhere near as engaging for students.

“This blows it away,” she said. “Just the fact that they get the whole school community involved, I think, is amazing.”

“They actually get to do the work,” she said. “They don’t just watch people do the work.” 

Asked what they like about the class, Danielle Wertgate, a senior and fan of the mystery genre, stated, “Everything.”

“You can really do all sorts of things with this knowledge,” Wertgate said, noting that while a student might not specifically be headed into a career in criminal investigation, the investigative thinking skills can prove valuable.

Many students do, however, find the forensic class a jumping-off point for post-grad studies in law enforcement, lab science, law and psychology.

“Historically we’ve sparked an interest in students to go into the field of forensics and STEM and the world of science,” WHS principal Robert O’Donnell said, expressing pride in the course offering.

“The kids have an amazing experience and generally are very, very engaged … It’s real hands-on learning for our students,” he said.

Likewise, Amero affirmed the value of an inquiry-based learning experience for students.

“It’s magical,” he said. “Some kids just learn so much better just doing it, having it make sense and having it be relevant.”