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Capital School District tells council it has worked with Dover Fire Department on recruitment and launched emergency-services CTE pathway
Summary
School board vice president Sean Christiansen described multi-year partnerships between the Capital School District and the Dover Fire Department, defended the district against remarks made May 21, and outlined a new three-year CTE emergency services program launched in fall 2024 intended to prepare students for EMT/fire careers.
Sean Christiansen, vice president of the Capital School District Board of Education, told the Dover City Council the district has for years invited the Dover Fire Department into schools for outreach, coordinated virtual and in-person fire-prevention programming during the COVID-19 pandemic and has worked with regional training partners to expand recruitment and career pathways.
Christiansen said the district maintains 13 school buildings, employs about 1,200 staff, serves over 6,500 students and operates on an annual budget "just over $160,000,000," funded by federal, state and local sources. He described multiple joint activities with the Dover Fire Department: donated personal protective supplies during the pandemic, a virtual fire-prevention video sent to thousands of students, appearances at the district's community events and senior recognitions in which some graduates received fire-service cords.
Christiansen also addressed comments from the council's May 21 meeting that he called defamatory. Reading from his remarks, he said a city department head said, "as chief for the past 5 years, I've been trying to get into the high school to do recruitment. I've had no luck," and Christiansen disputed that characterization by listing the district's outreach activities.
The school board described a newly established emergency-services career and technical education (CTE) pathway at Dover High School that began in the fall of 2024. Director of secondary education and CTE, Mr. Montano, and the program instructor developed a three-year curriculum that includes fundamentals of health and science, an EMR (emergency medical responder) course and advanced EMS training. Christiansen said the inaugural cohort started with 86 students and retained about 56 into the first-year completion; the pathway is intended to prepare students for nationally recognized EMT and Firefighter I/II credentials and to encourage graduates to join local volunteer or career fire companies.
Council members asked how recruitment is coordinated. Mr. Montano and Christiansen said fire and EMS recruiters coordinate with school guidance counselors and principals to set tables and sessions on campus and that the CTE instructor encourages students to join local volunteer companies during the summer so they arrive with hands-on experience. Christiansen and Montano said the program leverages partnerships with the Delaware State Fire School and local companies, waiving facility fees for regional training events and using school facilities for officer-level instruction.
Councilman Mark and others raised communications concerns after the district said firefighters did not attend some recent senior events; Christiansen said the graduates did obtain cords and that scheduling or staffing issues may have kept the department from attending some ceremonies. Deputy chief present at the meeting said he would check with Chief Carey about event attendance and staffing.
No formal council action was taken on the presentation. Christiansen said he will continue to press for collaboration and that the school board and district staff are available for site visits and ongoing coordination.
