The role of the teacher is vital to the success of the Fire PALS Program. It requires a commitment of time and resources, which cannot be overlooked or unrecognized. With mandates by school district governing boards, and requirements by state and federal governments, teachers have become inundated with things to teach in the classroom.
Waterloo Fire Rescue understands and sympathizes with the workload placed on teachers. That’s why the Fire PALS Program is designed to be easily understood, flexible and simple to use, while also targeting assorted benchmarks that you are tasked with having your students reach. A full commitment to the Fire PALS Program means that the teacher will be willing to have a Fire PALS instructor or Fire Department representative, such as a guest speaker, if available, spend a reasonable amount of time in the classroom conducting the lessons, which in a normal time frame would amount to a 20 to 30 minute presentation for approximately 4 weeks. Waterloo Fire Rescue will provide printed handouts for all students including a parent packet that includes letters to parents that explain each day’s lesson. We also provide a student handbook for all of the children participating in our program. Use of the student handbooks by classroom teachers is not mandatory. If teachers chose not to use them with their students, we ask them to send them home with the children so that parents can use them as a learning tool. Information for teachers on how to enhance the Fire PALS program for their students can be found at our website at www.firepals.com.
