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Montgomery County schools and agencies explore high-school EMT and firefighting academy
Summary
County schools and emergency agencies discussed standing up EMT and firefighting pathways in high schools — including a three-course EMT sequence, after-school clubs and a proposed combined EMS/fire academy to recruit volunteers and career staff.
Montgomery County Public Schools and local emergency agencies discussed plans to expand career and technical education with EMT and fire programs for high school students.
Megan Atkinson, administrator for career and technical education for Montgomery County Public Schools, told the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Commission the division already has EMT 1 and emergency medical responder (EMR) courses on its program of studies and that the Virginia Department of Education’s EMT pathway is a three-course sequence. She said, “I see that program as a pathway to make sure that our students know how to be civically minded, to give back to their community either through volunteer capacities or through…career pathways.”
Atkinson described the typical structure she has used elsewhere: EMT 1 as a junior-year course (students must be 16 before completion), EMT 2 and EMT 3 across a senior year to prepare students to sit for EMT certification, and the EMR course as a one-semester offering. She said stand-up costs are significant — citing the capital investment needed for an ambulance simulation lab — but that using decommissioned ambulance boxes or available grants can reduce startup costs.
Commission members and agency representatives emphasized two recurring barriers: locating certified instructors who also enjoy working with high-school students and meeting school hiring/clearance requirements for outside instructors. Atkinson suggested a shared-employment model used elsewhere where an instructor is jointly employed by a health system or agency and the school division so the instructor can remain clinically current while teaching part time.
Several commissioners and chiefs supported a more incremental approach. They discussed starting with after-school clubs or seasonal academies as a recruitment tool rather than an initial daytime credit course. The commission agreed informally to pursue a joint “teen EMS/fire academy” for next year that would bring students to agency sites for multiagency exposure. Atkinson said the criminal-justice “team police academy” model — where students attend one day a week for a semester and receive exposure rather than credit — could be adapted for EMS and firefighting.
Atkinson asked agencies to provide contact names if they want to teach or partner; she proposed forming a committee to develop course proposals and logistics. Commissioners and staff indicated support for forming that committee and testing interest with a pilot academy and extracurricular options before committing to full CTE course rollout.
