DETROIT – Teachers are often the first line of defense when a student suffers a cardiac arrest. However, they can only intervene effectively if they know how to perform CPR or use an AED.
Recently, educators at East English Village Preparatory Academy received hands-on training to equip them with these life-saving skills.
In the choir room, where students typically learn music, teachers and administrators gathered to learn how to save lives. Jeff Forbes, captain of the Detroit Fire Department, emphasized the importance of bystander CPR, stating, “If we get bystander CPR, that is the best chance of somebody walking out of the hospital.”
On Monday, nearly 200 teachers from Detroit Public Schools Community District (DPSCD) participated in a one-day mass training event. Vivian Pearson, assistant principal at East English Village Prep Academy, noted, “It’s surprising how much strength it takes and concentration it takes to get reps correct.”
This initiative is a collaboration between the school district and the Detroit Fire Department. Forbes explained, “We’re learning how to give chest compressions, give breaths and how to use an AED. This is how we save a life.”
Detroit is recognized as the country’s largest HEARTSafe Community, with more than 15% of residents trained in at least Hands-Only CPR. Now, Detroit teachers are joining this group, gaining essential skills to respond to emergencies.
Jon-Phillip Harrold, assistant principal at Emerson Elementary Middle, remarked, “You don’t hope to have to use it, but to be able to say that training makes day-to-day processes easier.”
Pearson added, “It’s better to be prepared, and it gives me a level of comfort knowing I can handle that emergency until professionals arrive.”
This training marks the beginning of a long-term partnership between the Detroit Fire Department and DPSCD, with plans to make it an annual event.
