About a year after he graduated with a juris doctor degree from Howard University School of Law in Washington, Clinton Mitchell, a 27-year-old from Miami, decided to go back to school — all the way back to high school.

In August, he started his second year as the lead instructor of the Legal and Public Affairs Magnet Program in Miami’s Carol City Senior High School — the same program that inspired him to pursue a career in law.

He was working as an assistant state’s attorney in Chicago when the former vice principal of Carol City High offered him the job.

“I never thought I would leave my previous job just after one year, but I really felt the calling and the urge to come back here and teach,” Mitchell said. “I had been away for almost 10 years, so it felt like a good opportunity to give back.”

The program, which launched in the mid-1980s as the first legal magnet program in the Miami-Dade school system, offers students an opportunity to explore several law and criminal justice related careers.

“The main goal is to go on to college, and if they decide to go on to law school or to become correction officers or police officers, that would be fantastic,” said Mitchell. “However, if it doesn’t happen at the end of the day, they will at least leave with information that every person should know about their rights, and about how the justice system works.”

To be admitted into the Carol City High magnet program, students must have at least a 2.0 grade-point average along with two letters of recommendation, and maintain at least a 3.0 once admitted into the magnet program.

They start off by learning the basics, but by the time they reach senior year, they are introduced to more specialized material based on their interests, Mitchell said.

Just like in law school, these students participate in mock trials and congressional hearings in a simulated courtroom and deliberation rooms at the school, and they conduct research in the school’s law library. They also receive internship and dual enrollment opportunities and get to participate in law-related community service projects.

“Most of my seniors are pretty secure in the fact that this is what they want to pursue,” said Mitchell.

Though the state considers Carol City High below average in student performance — the school received a “D” last year — Mitchell says that hasn’t affected his students’ success.

“We had students that got accepted to Duke, Harvard, Florida State, and University of Florida, and I really see that happening again this year,” he said.

It’s rare for a lawyer to decide to become high school teacher, but Mitchell isn’t alone in Miami-Dade County’s school system.

Jennifer Brown, the legal studies magnet teacher at Law Enforcement Officers’ Memorial High School, followed a path similar to Mitchell’s.

She graduated from St. Thomas University School of Law in Miami Gardens in 2001. After graduation, she became a trial attorney in the Miami District Office of the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission, where she stayed for six years.

Then, coincidentally, she landed a position at the Schools of Choice Office, which establishes magnet schools in Miami-Dade County.

While in law school, she discovered her love for teaching while participating in the Street Law outreach program, where she had the opportunity to teach law to elementary school children.

“I love being able to interact with the kids, so for me it was a win-win,” said Brown, who has been teaching at the high school for two years. “I always liked education so it was a great way to combine my two passions.”

Like Brown, Mitchell also said he feels the most rewarding place to work is in the classroom. He is glad he made the choice to come back to his hometown to teach.

“This way I feel like I’m giving back every single day,” he said. “As long as they’ll have me and so long as I feel I’m making a difference, I’ll stay.”