GAVC Criminal Justice

06/02/2026

Congratulations to the following GAVC Criminal Justice students from Morris Community High School that earned a spot on the MCHS’s Honor Roll for 2nd Semester!!

Hillary Browntwum
Kenzington Lavery
Ivette Sedano
Maddie Wills
Addison Harrington
Brianna Hunt
Gianna Marino
Jace Scalf
Demi Davila
Kassandra Ojeda
Aiden Swan
Olivia Wilhelmi
Julieta Arciniega-Tamayo
Nathalie Cruz
Xavier Medina
Emily Roche
Charlie Voss

Well done!!

05/27/2026

Congratulations to the following GAVC Criminal Justice students from Minooka Community High School that earned a spot on the MCHS’s Honor Roll for 2nd Semester!!

Stephanie Canty
Teagan Nurczyk
Isabella Ponce
Jessica Ragan
Nathan Underhill
Sofia Avila
Alexander Null
Edgar Ruiz
Emerson Wilhelm
Julian Garcia
Noah James
Rowan Stengel

Well done!!

05/09/2026

CPR, First Aid, AED, Stop The Bleed, and Tourniquet Training for Mr. Dite’s Criminal Justice 2 Class!!

This week Troy Fire Protection District, and ILEAS Medic, Lt. Mike Arellano was a guest instructor in Mr. Dite’s CJ 2 class.

Lt. Arellano gave a very impactful lecture and led a very informational discussion regarding the aforementioned topics.

The students then showed off what they learned in a variety of simulated activities!!

Thank you very much Lt. Arellano for such a great learning opportunity for these students!!!

05/05/2026

05/05/2026

GAVC Criminal Justice 2 Students finishing up Job Shadowing at local law enforcement agencies!!

Students in Mr. Dite’s Criminal Justice 2 class, that meet strict academic, attendance, and professional development criteria, have the opportunity to participate in Job Shadowing activities at local law enforcement agencies!

This year, those that met the criteria and requested a job shadowing opportunity were:
Morris High School Seniors Gianna Marino and Jace Scalf, Minooka High School Seniors Alexander Null and Emerson Wilhelm, and Coal City Senior Brent Hanna.

After meeting the criteria, the students submitted a resume and a letter to the law enforcement agencies requesting a job shadowing opportunity.

Once accepted, Morris High School students spent 1 week at the Morris Police Department and 1 week at the Grundy County Sheriff’s Office. Minooka High School students spent 1 week at the Minooka Police Department and 1 week at the Channahon Police Department. Coal City High School students spend 2 weeks at the Coal City Police Department.

Students were assigned to an officer each day and generally speaking the students spent time in Patrol, Investigations, as well as some time with Administration.

The students are required to complete Daily Logs, which include all the activities they observed each day, as well as a Reflection document which encompasses everything they learned over the 2 weeks.

Here is a list of just some of the activities the students were exposed to: Traffic Stops, Taser Training, Drug Arrests, Jail/Booking Subjects, Variety of Community Policing Activities, Drone Activities, Taking a Prisoner to Will County Jail, Jurisdictional Boundaries, Flock Camera Usage, Basic Investigations, and Accident Investigations.

The students were able to see the “behind the scenes” workings of a variety of law enforcement agencies.

Thank you to all the participating law enforcement agencies, and especially the officers the students were assigned to!! They went out of their way to include the students and provided them with an experience they will never forget!! THANK YOU

05/04/2026

Yes!!! Thank you to all the Correctional Officers for all they do! They do a great job!

We would like to take this time to acknowledge our AWESOME correctional officers and thank them for their dedication to the field each and every day! We've got a great group of men and women here at the Sheriff's Office.

National Correctional Officers and Employees Week was established in 1984 by President Reagan, this week recognizes the demanding and often dangerous work correctional staff perform to ensure public safety and maintain security

"No group of Americans has a more difficult or less publicly visible job than the brave men and women who work in our correctional facilities. The important work of Correctional Officers often does not receive the recognition from the public it deserves"- "President Ronald Reagan"

05/02/2026

Such an awesome group of students from all of the programs at GAVC!!

The Grundy Area Vocational Center honored the students who received monthly awards throughout the 2025-26 school year.

05/01/2026

Congratulations to all!!

Especially Criminal Justice Students:
Emerson Wilhelm- United States Air Force
Jace Scalf - United States Army Reserves

The Grundy Area Vocational Center announced during its awards ceremony in Coal City on Wednesday that nine students will be graduating from high school directly into their new careers.

04/29/2026

GAVC Criminal Justice 1 Students learning basic dispatch skills!

Thanks to the Grundy County Consolidated 911 Center and the Coal City Fire Protection District for donating retired police/fire radios, Criminal Justice students get real life experience by using them for basic radio communications.

Recently, the students learned how police officers call in traffic stops to Dispatch, and now the students are learning how Dispatchers document the information and what information the officers will need from them.

In this video, and the additional ones in the comments, you’ll hear students acting as police officers calling in traffic stops, as well as students acting as dispatchers documenting the information the officers are giving them!!

Great job Criminal Justice 1 students!!