Fort Lauderdale High School uses training simulators to prepare students for careers in public safety communications.

Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) High School has instituted a unique program designed to give students interested in a possible career in law enforcement or public service a taste of what they’d be getting into, while also creating a qualified candidate pool for openings in the 9-1-1 communications center.

On Feb. 22, Frank DeRusso, instructor for the school’s Public Safety Telecommunicator course and the coordinator of the Pre-Law and Public Affairs Magnet Program, oversaw the installation of three Save Corp. training simulators. The year-long program for seniors was initiated for the 2008-2009 school year as part of the school’s magnet program for students interested in careers in law enforcement or public service. It’s designed to educate students on emergency communications and dispatch to enhance their overall skills and potential careers in public safety. Thirteen students have completed the course, resulting in 13 certified in police communications and 12 certified for fire service communications.

“We started the 9-1-1 [training program] to give [students who want jobs in law enforcement] an opportunity to … have some formalized professional training,” says DeRusso. “I was looking for something that high schools kids can do. In most cases, many agencies won’t hire kids out of high school as a police officer, for example, but will for dispatch positions. [The idea is to give] the student an opportunity to work for a few years and get an immensely effective public safety education and transition into a different position if they so desire. This gives them a step up. If they like it, they can stay and work in the field.” The program is also intended to give college bound students the credentials necessary to secure part- or full-time employment with their respective college campus public safety agencies while pursuing their degrees. After graduation, they would then have developed a work history with a public safety agency. Hopefully they will choose to stay within that field for employment.

The program was developed in partnership with the Broward County Sheriff’s Office (BSO), and this year, 10 students are expected to complete it. DeRusso, a former police officer, says he is always looking for ways to expand the program beyond its core curriculum of police and fire dispatch to further improve students’ skill sets.One such example:DeRusso recently implemented a typing program to improve each student’s typing speed and accuracy. Students also complete CPR certification, learn about emerging technologies and communications history, and techniques for dealing with hysterical callers. The course also covers geographic information, such as street names and mapping and GIS technology, legal liabilities and personal health. At the end of the course, students take the APCO certification tests for Public Safety Telecommunicators and Fire Service Telecommunicators.

“Our curriculum is basically what the BSO teaches its new hires,” says DeRusso. “We are making the program relevant to Broward County, teaching the students our signals, 10-codes and the phonetic alphabet. They know they would have to learn different information for different areas, but the procedures are what’s important. This curriculum is the real deal.”

Once a month, students visit the BSO communications center to observe live calltaking and dispatching. “We try to connect it to reality,” says DeRusso. “You don’t want to learn just what’s in the classroom. [At the BSO,] students get to experience real-life operations and day-to-day duties and situations. The Broward Sheriff’s Office is very supportive of us. I believe they authenticate this program.”

The students’ experiences at the comm center have helped supplement their work in the classroom. Often during lectures, students describe their observations from the BSO and have directly related it to the lesson. “For example, we were talking about TTY for the hearing impaired,” recalls DeRusso. “I was going through my lecture, and a student said he saw [a call come as a typed message]. Each time I talk about some concept or technique, they can relate to it. [The calltaking observation] reinforces what I’m doing in the classroom.”

In the Classroom
DeRusso also brings comm center reality into the classroom by playing and critiquing real 9-1-1 calls. One such call involved a local car crash into a canal during which three students drowned. “We see tragedies that occur first hand,” he says. “I tell them every day that people don’t call 9-1-1 to wish you a happy day. There is some tragedy, and you are their lifeline. And when units go out there, you are the safety link or lifeline for those response units.”

The new simulators will allow the students to practice their skills and implement techniques and concepts they’re learning in class. The simulators are three-screen units with calltaker and dispatcher positions that can simulateeverything— telephone calls to 9-1-1; radio traffic and communications; CAD and RMS systems; and mapping. The self-contained units are programmed with Broward County’s dispatch information. Students can sit at one unit as the calltaker or dispatcher and communicate with another student acting as callers or fields units.

DeRusso says, “We are able to look at the response and play back the information and evaluate what was said. I can look at a [printout] of the work they completed that lists each task they did. If it as a downing call, you would dispatch fire rescue but might need to call the dive team or public information officer for the media. Did they do all these things? It shows they are thinking [and] were alert and gives me the opportunity to evaluate and critique their performance to get them to where they need to be. They will also be evaluated on their reactions.”

The Results
At the end of this semester, the telecommunications students will have the opportunity to receive national certification in public safety and fire dispatch. They will also have completed the minimum 208 training hours recommended by the state of Florida’s non-mandatory state certification, but will still need to complete two years of job experience.

Two of the program’s graduates have obtained calltaking or dispatching jobs with their campus police agencies, and a few others are pursuing their studies toward careers in the public sector. DeRusso says, “They were more attractive to that agency because of this program. Usually, college police departments are looking for juniors or seniors because, at 18, the students are just too young. [Our] program gives them a foot up on the older students.”

For DeRusso, it’s about more than training certifications. He says, “What I try to do is offer students a broad range of opportunities, in addition to advanced academics, so that they can go on to college. But we offer practical approaches for student to be well equipped to do it all. Give them as many opportunities as they can, and it makes them more marketable when they go into the real world.

“[The program] provides an outstanding economic opportunity for students,” he says. “When they graduate and there are openings at the BSO, these kids are going to be candidates. I tell the kids, ‘While you are going to school and when you graduate from college, you will have a relatively limited work experience. [This program] is a strong endorsement for you for any business or agency that looks at you.’ Some students might decide they want to go into the [public safety communications] field. But if they come through this program and don’t want anything to go with law enforcement, I say, ‘Great, you have eliminated a potential change in your college major, which tends to get expensive. You’re ahead of the game and won’t change your major 15 times like everyone else.’ We have a lot of kids who go on to become accountants and lawyers. [The program] ignites something in them and they pursue it.”

About the Author
Natasha Yetman is the associate editor for APCO International’s Public Safety Communication smagazine. Contact her via e-mail at psceditor@apcointl.org.