A new Career Technical Education (CTE) course at Truckee High School received additional learning resources thanks to a grant funded by Excellence in Education.
Teacher Katie Jamison Bensley received an Excellence in Education grant to purchase classroom copies of Surviving Justice: America’s Wrongfully Convicted and Exonerated by Lola Vollen and Dave Eggers. The grant provides funding for 40 copies of the book, ensuring students in the new Law 1 elective course will have access to the supplemental text beginning in the 2025/26 school year.
Law 1 is a semester-long introductory course designed to familiarize students with the state and federal justice system. The class explores different divisions of law, trial practice, and ethics through research, writing, and applied learning. The course also incorporates CTE model standards for the Public Service pathway, helping students build foundational skills relevant to legal careers.
The supplemental text funded through the grant will support classroom discussions and analysis related to criminal law. Surviving Justice is an oral history collection that shares accounts from individuals who were wrongfully convicted and later exonerated. According to the grant application, the stories in the book will help students examine how evidence, legal processes, and sentencing decisions affect outcomes within the justice system.
Students will read the book both in class and at home, using the stories to support project-based assignments connected to units on criminal law and appellate courts. The narratives are intended to provide students with real-world perspectives that complement the legal concepts they study throughout the semester.
The grant covered the full cost of the request, which was $798 for 40 copies of the book, which will remain available for future classes.
The Law 1 course was approved after Jamison Bensley earned her CTE teaching credential in Public Safety, allowing her to develop a course that offers students another pathway within the district’s career technical education programs.
Funding from Excellence in Education helped make it possible to secure these supplemental materials in time for the class launch, ensuring students have access to additional texts that support the course’s curriculum and assignments.
Through grants like this, Excellence in Education continues to support teachers in bringing new learning opportunities and resources into TTUSD classrooms.
