Avon, Colorado 10/16/23. Douglas County School District has partnered with Colorado nonprofit Starting Hearts to implement a leadership and lifesaving curriculum titled Call.Push.Shock.™ This curriculum will empower students with confidence and capability with leadership and lifesaving skills in the event of a sudden cardiac arrest emergency.
The Douglas County School District is Colorado’s third largest school district with 90 schools serving 63,000 students in kindergarten through twelfth grade, with an additional 41 preschools.
Laurie LaComb, Douglas County School District Curriculum, Assessment and Instruction Coordinator stated, “I'm excited about this partnership and the incredible educational opportunities it offers for our students, teachers, and families.”
Call.Push.Shock.™ is the first of its kind, age-appropriate curriculum in leadership and lifesaving training for students from kindergarten to young adults. Developed over twelve years and presented to over 35,000 students, this course of study offers four classes progressing throughout a child’s primary and secondary education, reinforcing important lessons and skills to last a lifetime.
Contents of this all-inclusive approach include a portfolio of videos, homework, certificates of achievement, as well as lesson plans and instructor guides for each class. The curriculum aligns with state and federal guidelines for age-appropriate education.
Starting Hearts Executive Director, Alan Himelfarb shared his enthusiasm about the partnership. "We are honored to collaborate with Douglas County School District to deploy our engaging, entertaining, and instructive curriculum. We greatly appreciate the district’s leadership in empowering its students to become true lifesavers.”
The Starting Hearts - Douglas County Schools Call.Push.Shock.™ partnership is set to begin in the fall for the 2023-24 school year.
Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) is the nation’s number one cause of preventable death with over 400,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests each year, with less than a 10% survival rate. SCA can happen to anyone at any time and a person’s chance of survival decreases by 10% with every minute that passes without proper bystander intervention; brain damage occurs in just four minutes. The survival rate can increase dramatically when a knowledgeable bystander provides early care.
