Vanguards of Cleveland, Inc. 

A Local Chapter of the International Association of Black Professional Firefighters

Martin Luther King, Jr. Firefighting Technology Program

Through a collaborative effort with Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C) and the Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) the Vanguards of Cleveland has developed a vocational school to career training program for students of the district. The objective of the Fire Technology Program is to produce the highest quality graduates prepared to continue on to college or directly enter the workforce as firefighters after graduation. Our goal is for the program to create a pipeline for Cleveland Public School students to high wage, high skill employment opportunities in the fire service. It will also increase the chances of the student success on the fire recruit background checks, criminal checks, and keep the students informed about advantages of leading a crime and drug free life. The entire process will also strengthen the chance of students obtaining a fire career in other municipalities as well as successfully obtaining a college education if they so choose.

The MLK Firefighter Technology Program is housed within the CMSD's Martin Luther King, Jr. School of Law and Municipal Careers. Our program is one of the career tracks inside of the MLK Public Safety Academy. The other career tracks are

Criminal Justice, Emergency Medical Technician, Emergency Medical Dispatcher and Parole Officer. Each career strand is based upon a curriculum that runs through grades 9-12 that teaches universal professional career skills such as resume writing, employment interview skills and life long learning strategies. From there the students move on to a year of exploration of each unique career option within the field of public safety. At the end of that year students are required to choose one career option out of the available career strand choices. At that point the students undergo intensive certification training in their chosen career field. Students that choose the firefighting career strand are enrolled into the State of Ohio's 240-hour professional firefighter training class administered by Cuyahoga Community College. This is identical training that entry level fire recruits for the City of Cleveland have to complete to be employed as a Cleveland firefighter. If successful, students completing the firefighter career training strand obtain the following professional certifications upon graduation from high school:

• State of Ohio Professional Firefighter
• National Registry Emergency Medical Technician
• Hazardous Material Responder - Technician Level
• Nationally certified as an Emergency Medical Dispatcher
• American Red Cross certified lifeguard
• American Heart Association Basic Life Support Provider
  

CAREER ACADEMIES PUBLIC SAFETY  ACADEMY     Fire Technology, Criminal Justice, and Emergency Medical Services Pathways The Public Safety Academy prepares students to enter the workforce of public safety through academic coursework and career technical education.  Students enjoy maximum exposure to real world experiences while getting ready for post high school placement.  Students prepare for the Civil Service Exam and are given the opportunity for various certifications to improve employability.  In the twelfth grade year, students focus their study in a particular career pathway:  Fire Technology, Criminal Justice, or Emergency Medical Services.

Since the 2003-2004 academic year we have graduated several classes of students. We currently have a 100% high school graduation rate of our students with over 70% going on to enroll in college or the military. We have placed several of our students into part-time firefighter positions in suburban fire departments and have one graduate currently working full-time with the city of East Cleveland. Our students are highly qualified and dedicated to becoming role models to those that follow. Our program has been adopted as the template for the State of Ohio for any high school firefighter vocational training program wishing to start operations. We have received national awards for best practice in high school vocational training and our students have been actively recruited by the cities of Atlanta-GA and Dayton-OH. We have established the standard in high school vocational firefighter training programs for the benefit of City of Cleveland residents and their families. Our goal is to have our graduates become heroes in their own communities so as to create a clear and distinct career pathway to city employment for Cleveland residents. City of Cleveland tax dollars working to support City of Cleveland school students in establishing solid and lucrative futures within the field of public safety.

Below is a 10-minute video summary of the program

Send mail to tluke@vanguardsofcleveland.org with questions or comments about this web site.
Copyright © 2008 Vanguards of Cleveland Inc.
Last modified: 09/26/08