Who they gonna call?

Michael Miller

Kindergartners at Woodland Elementary School got a unique opportunity

on Wednesday -- to call the police, just for practice.

During an assembly in the school’s multipurpose room,

representatives from SBC Pioneers stressed to students that they

should call 911 only in emergencies -- not if their cat is stuck in a

tree, not if they stub their toes and certainly never as a prank. But

thanks to a bit of technology, students got to make one call to 911,

free of consequences.

In front of the multipurpose room stage, the Pioneers set up a

simulation device consisting of a phone hooked up to a call box,

which in turn led to another phone hidden behind the curtain. As

students dialed 911 and announced make-believe crises, the dispatcher

on the other end asked a few important questions -- “Do you need an

ambulance? Do you know your address?” -- before giving callers

permission to hang up.

“If they know how to do this now, they won’t have to think about

it later on,” said Scott Cleveland, a maintenance administrator for

SBC who led the assembly.

SBC brings the 911-simulation program to kindergarten and

first-grade classes around the nation. Earlier this year, the

Pioneers did the program at Adams and Paularino schools. The company

provides other services as well. Last year, it painted a map of the

United States on the playground of Lincoln Elementary.

The 911 program featured not only the live simulation, but also a

video presentation -- “The Great 911 Adventure” -- which demonstrated

right and wrong circumstances for calling emergency personnel. In the

video, Red E. Fox, “the 911 superhero,” led a group of children

through a quiz show on how to handle crisis situations.

Last week marked the first time that SBC has held the program at

Woodland Elementary. Kristin Fredriksson, a kindergarten teacher

whose class attended the assembly, said her students were at an age

when knowing 911 protocol was important.

“I’ve had kids before who have been in situations where there was

potential for it,” Fredriksson said. “Some of them are home alone

with just a slightly older sibling. Most kids at this school have a

tight family unit, but I’ve had kids living out of hotels.”

* IN THE CLASSROOM is a weekly feature in which Daily Pilot

education writer Michael Miller visits a campus in the Newport-Mesa

area and writes about his experience.