This is one of the most heartening stories I've seen in a long time about
kids and ham radio. We need a lot more of this kind of thing.
==>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
http://www.mhsweather.org/pages/10/index.htm
--
Walt Smith - Clearwater, FL
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