Sunset launches growour- own police pathway

DALLAS — Sunset High School is launching a new Criminal Justice Academy in partnership with the Dallas Police Department (DPD).

Upon successful completion of the program, Sunset Law Academy graduates will meet all the educational qualifications to apply for a police officer position in DPD.

Sunset becomes the latest Dallas ISD school to formalize a law program towards an associate degree with law enforcement training. David W. Carter and Bryan Adams high schools already collaborate with DPD to produce police officers who can serve Dallas communities. With Sunset adding the law academy, this educational opportunity will expand to North Oak Cliff.

“Through the pathways program and collaborative efforts with our partners, we will be able to recruit, grow, and shape future public safety professionals that are dedicated to the core values of 21st-century policing, all the while contributing to the workforce development of the City of Dallas,” a DPD spokesperson said.

Sunset High School already offers early college opportunities in a wide range of career interests. Partnerships with Mountain View College and the University of North Texas at Dallas provides Sunset P-TECH students the opportunity to earn up to 60 tuition-free semester college hours upon high school graduation. The Sunset Law Academy adds a Criminal Justice emphasis to the existing Public Health and Teacher Education tracks offered at Sunset P-TECH.

“If you think about it, in the next few years we are going to have graduates from Sunset High School that are going to be willing and able to join the workforce, to become teachers, to serve in public health industry, or to join the police academy, if they choose,” said Claudia Vega, principal at Sunset High School. “It is rewarding for the community and the families because it allows them to change the trajectory of what their lives may look like.”