HOW ABOUT FRANKLIN COUNTY?
by Bill Walker, W1WAW
From the ARRL Letter of 5/5/06 Vol. 25 No. 18
HIGH SCHOOL TO OFFER "RADIO AMATEURS AND DISASTER OPERATIONS" CLASS
A California high school that's participating in the ARRL Education and Technology Program (ETP--also known as "The Big Project") will offer a year-long elective course, "Radio Amateurs and Disaster Operations" (RADIO), starting this fall. Moorpark High School math and meteorology teacher Tom Baker, NC6B, says the course is the first of its kind anywhere in the US.
The class curriculum was created in conjunction with the ARRL, the American Red Cross and various Ventura County agencies. ARRL ETP Coordinator Mark Spencer, WA8SME, gives the new course high marks and says it has a great chance to succeed.
"This program has in place all three components that will be necessary for
success: a motivated teacher, supportive school administration and strong support and involvement by the local ham community," Spencer said. He attended an April 4 meeting at the school to discuss its "Learn and Serve Program," and he believes the support shown at that session will greatly boost the RADIO initiative.
"The meeting was well attended, and the attendees included representatives of all the emergency management participants in the program, the mayor's office, the school and district office, school support staff and the ARRL Division and Section," Spencer said. Among those on hand were ARRL Southwestern Division Director Dick Norton, N6AA, and Santa Barbara Section Emergency Coordinator Jennifer Roe, AA6MX.
The elective RADIO course is open to students in grades 9 through 12, and it will feature instruction from certified experts in their respective fields.
After studying, testing and meeting any practical skills requirements, all RADIO students will come away with an Amateur Radio license (at least Technician class), American Red Cross First Aid Training Certification, American Red Cross CPR Training Certification and American Red Cross AED Training (Automated External Defibrillator) Certification.
Students will learn about and how to seamlessly interface with the National Incident Management System (NIMS), Incident Command System (ICS) and local government infrastructure. They'll also learn search-and-rescue techniques among other disaster and emergency preparedness skills. RADIO participants will even learn peer mediation skills.
The RADIO course not only will provide service-learning opportunities for students but will make them prime candidates as volunteers for service organizations and, later, as potential service professionals.
Moorpark High School, which has an enrollment of approximately 2700, established its Amateur Radio club, W6MHS, last August, and it became an ARRL-affiliated club in October. In December, W6MHS won an ARRL ETP grant and received station equipment through the program (some 170 schools now participate in the "Big Project"). This August, Moorpark High School will host one of the ARRL ETP Teachers Institutes.
"We are very excited about this program," said Baker of the RADIO course. He has offered to help other schools in the US to establish RADIO curricula.
"This will be quite a challenging and enjoyable class. It will give students skills to become positively and directly involved with their community, and it gives this high school a pool of talented, trained individuals who can assist with many on-campus situations."
Contact Baker (805-378-6305) for more information or visit the RADIO page on the school's Department of Meteorology Web site
.
