FRESNO, Calif. (FOX26) \u2014 A mobile classroom is giving Central Valley students a hands-on look at what it takes to answer 911 calls. <\/p>\n
The classroom on wheels is one of only two in the nation, the first in California, and is part of the Fresno Regional Occupational Program\u2019s dispatch pathway.<\/p>\n
\u201cDispatchers are the steady heartbeat of the emergency response,\u201d Fresno County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Michele Cantwell-Copher said during Monday’s ribbon-cutting ceremony.<\/p>\n
California\u2019s first mobile 911 dispatch classroom launches in Fresno (Photo: FOX26 Photojournalist Byron Solorio)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Inside the trailer, students train at real dispatch consoles designed to mimic a live dispatch center.<\/p>\n
The program is a partnership with Fresno City College, creating a pipeline from the classroom to dispatch careers. <\/p>\n
The curriculum is backed by California POST, or the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, which sets minimum training and certification standards for law enforcement in the state.<\/p>\n
It gives students the opportunity to practice call taking and scenario based decision making in a realistic and interactive setting,<\/p>\n
said Michelle D., with POST.<\/p>\n
The system uses realistic audio and artificial intelligence to recreate high-pressure simulations. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf it\u2019s a child that is injured, we can have the child crying in the background, so it really gives them that true, realistic first-hand experience,\u201d said Veronica Cervantes, a Supervising Communications Dispatcher with the Fresno County Sheriff\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n
Dispatch supervisors say programs like this one could help address a growing staffing shortage.<\/p>\n
More people need to be in this profession. We are hurting for dispatchers<\/p>\n
explains Matt Mendes, a Dispatch Supervisor with the Fresno County Sheriff\u2019s Office. <\/p>\n
Officials say the job offers competitive benefits, including a starting salary of about $53,000, overtime opportunities, and the potential to earn six figures over time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FRESNO, Calif. (FOX26) \u2014 A mobile classroom is giving Central Valley students a hands-on look at what it…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":96322,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[112,114,113],"class_list":{"0":"post-96321","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fresno","8":"tag-fresno","9":"tag-fresno-headlines","10":"tag-fresno-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96321","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=96321"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96321\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/96322"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96321"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=96321"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=96321"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}