Pender Early College High School Student
Extinguishes a blaze during Teen SERT Program Training

The following students from Pender Early College High School were one of the first high school students in the state of North Carolina to undergo certification as a member of  School Emergency Response Team :  McQurray Newkirk, Curtis Dezso, Mariah Barror, K'wan Hicks, Brandon Rojas, Richard Whitley, Cheyenne Redding, James Lunsford, Alexandria Lyons, Kristina McCoy, Colten Ludlum and James Brooks.  Each student had to earn prior certification from FEMA Emergency Management Institute's Incident Command Systems 1 and 2 in order to participate in Teen SERT.

The Teen SERT program is an in-class, curriculum-based program that provides students with a knowledge base on the effects of natural and human-caused disasters and their emotional, social, and economic impacts. It builds decision-making and problem solving skills and strategies to help students make informed decisions regarding readiness, response and recovery and mitigation efforts to reduce loss of life and property.

If a disastrous event overwhelms or delays the community's professional response, these students/citizens can better protect themselves by applying the response and organizational skills that they learned during training.  These skills can help save  and sustain their/others lives following a disaster until help arrives. Teen SERT skills also apply to daily emergencies.

For additional information, contact Mr. Scott Borah, Career Development Coordinator at PECHS, 910.362.7902.