Community Emergency Response Teams

Using the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) curriculum, high school students prepared for and responded to school and community emergencies. The CERT training program is a 20-hour course, typically delivered over a seven-week period. The curriculum covers disaster preparedness, fire suppression, basic disaster medical operations, light search and rescue, and team operations. Skill demonstration culminated in a disaster simulation toward the end of the course.

Once they completed the training, the high school students mentored middle school students, helping them acquire skills and knowledge related to disaster preparedness. During Hazardous Weather Week, high school students researched weather hazards and presented the information to middle school students. The high school students also trained the younger students on how to create emergency kits and plan for disasters.

To extend the program's reach beyond the schools, students shared what they learned in the CERT training with their families and made disaster-preparedness presentations in the community.

Throughout the project, hands-on tests assessed student knowledge. Students were also encouraged to read the local newspaper for related news stories on hometown safety. They picked out important facts, synthesized the information, and wrote reports on the subjects.

Adapted from a project by Sarasota County Schools and Florida Division of Emergency Management, as described in A Guide to Engaging Students in Service-Learning Projects Addressing Hometown Safety. Published 2006 by Florida Learn & Serve, a program of the Florida Department of Education, Tallahassee.