East Liverpool High School Public Safety Service student junior Jaymon Browning and East Liverpool Police Dispatcher Rylan Childs teach second-grade students at LaCroft Elementary what information they should know when they need to call 911 for an emergency. (Photo by Kristi R. Garabrandt)

EAST LIVERPOOL — Students at LaCroft Elementary School started their school day off Friday morning with some special visitors who came to speak with them about how to use 911.

Herman Potts, administrator, St. Clair Township Police Department and board member for the East Liverpool High School’s Career Tech program, was joined by three dispatchers from the East Liverpool Police Department: Madison Lane, Melanie Nalette and Rylan Childs; four students from ELHS’s Public Safety Services Class: juniors Kamryn Youngblood, JayMon Browning, Addison Buchheit and Hadley Dobbins; and school resource officer Beau Tatgenhorst to wrap up National Telecommunications Week by talking to the young students about what 911 is, and when and how to use it.

Potts said he included the Public Safety Services students because he wanted to shed some light on them as they are the next generation being prepared for public safety.

Potts, the dispatchers and Public Safety Service students divided into teams and went into classrooms where they explained that 911 is for emergency only and if they find themselves needing help they should call. They shared with the students what information they should know when calling such as name, location/address and phone number in addition to what the emergency is.

Potts told to the young students that getting mad at mom because she didn’t give you a snack is not an emergency and not a reason to call 911.

The dispatchers and Public Safety Service students also explained to the young students that the 911 system is not a toy, and there are consequences for calling them as a prank or when not needed.

The students were each given a worksheet to fill out with their names, addresses and phone numbers to hang up at home, so they have the information they need to provide to the dispatchers when calling 911.

Kamryn said she felt it was important to teach the younger kids what 911 is, how to reach out to them for help and letting them know that there is someone out there to help them.

Hadley said she thinks it is important for kids to know to call 911 in an emergency and how to call them. She said she believes that letting the younger students know that she, like them, is a student makes her more relatable to them.

Potts said the Public Safety Services students who recently received their certifications for dispatch are doing a great job at what they do in school and at getting into the schools and reaching the younger students.

Lane said that she feels this kind of education is important to the young students because it teaches them how to call and what to say to the dispatchers so they can get help faster to help their family members or whoever may be having the emergency, and help them develop trust with police officers or first responder.

Lane also said that even though the students do learn about 911 in their classrooms from their teachers she feels it beneficial for the dispatchers to come into the school and talk with them so the young students have more of a connection other than just a dispatcher answering the phone, they may remember the face and actually known there is a human on the other end of the phone trying to understand what their emergency is.

Kgarabrandt@mojonews.com