An addition to the choices of science courses at McNeil will be available next year. Chemistry teacher Allison Bouwman will be instructing Forensic Science classes for the 2013-2014 school year.

“The objective of forensic science is to apply science concepts to a court of law or to criminal and civil proceedings. Forensic science can include nursing, psychology, anthropology, document analysis, botany, biology, accounting, computer systems and many other fields,” Bouwman said. “During the class, we won’t be able to learn about all of these but we will focus on some of them. For example, we have a large unit on trace analysis, which includes studying tire impressions, hair, fibers, glass, pollen, and paint. We will be doing a lot of labs in the class and learning about how the subjects we are covering actually show up in criminal and civil cases.”

Bouwman has a passion for the subject and is uniquely qualified to teach this class as she has taken specialized courses about the subject.

“Forensic science has been taught at the high school level for many years, but as far as I know it has only recently come to Round Rock ISD,” Bouwman said. “I have a previous master’s degree in Forensic Anthropology and Museum Studies and have always loved the subject.”

As always with new courses, bringing the class into existence has been a project of its own. It has taken several years for the dream to become a reality.

“In the Spring semester of 2011, I began working to start the class,” Bouwman said. “I talked with assistant principal Courtney Swindle and she told me what I needed to do to bring the class to McNeil.”

For the class to be a success, enough students had to be interested in taking the course. Once students found out the class was being offered, the response was an excited one.

“In general, a minimum of 20 students are needed for a class section to ‘make’ for the following school year,” Bouwman said. “We have well over a hundred students signed up for the class for next year, so it looks like students are excited to have the course at McNeil. The administration, CTE Department and Science Department have been really supportive of trying to start up the class. The class wouldn’t be starting next year without them.”

Many students are looking forward to getting to be in a class that is brand new to McNeil and learning entirely new material.

“Forensic Science interests me because my favorite teacher is teaching it and also because I think it would be an interesting branch of chemistry,” junior Victoria Yell said. “Even though I don’t like dead stuff, I still think it will be interesting. It’s fascinating that you can see how the patterns of blood spatter.”

There are many advantages to taking the class because it encompasses many aspects of science.

“The class counts as a full-year science credit and is a suggested elective class for some Academy Programs of Study,” Bouwman said. “The class was created here as an additional way for students to explore and engage in science. Forensics is unique in that it covers an extremely wide array of sciences all in one class and applies them to the real-life situations we hear about all the time on TV.”

Forensic science is a subject that has gained much popularity with TV shows lately, but it is also a job that many people are interested in doing.

“I’ve always had an interest in sciences and this class happens to be the gateway to the career I want to pursue,” junior Gisele D’Abreu said. “I am thrilled that this class will give me a headstart on the classes I plan to take in college.”

There will also be a Forensics Club next year open to anyone. They hope to bring in cadaver dogs and have other cool forensics-related activities.

“Junior Savannah Davis is in the process of creating a Forensics Club that will meet after school next year,” Bouwman said. “The club will be bringing in forensic professionals to speak at the school, putting on fake crime scenes for students to solve, learning about famous cases, and much more. This will be a way for students to see if they are interested in the subject or to participate if they couldn’t take the class.”