Students at Atlantic Community High School in Delray Beach are training to become certified 911 dispatchers, learning to stay calm, ask the right questions and gather key details for first responders. The program uses simulators that make practice calls sound like real emergencies.
Senior Victoria Simpson said dispatchers look for any extra information that could help officers or other responders arriving on scene, such as clothing, weapons or other details. Her classmate Liliana Munoz, also a senior, plays the caller and invents emergencies to test her. “We definitely do really hard calls with each other,” Munoz said.
Twenty-eight students are currently in the course. Michael Byrd, the school’s criminal justice teacher, said it teaches teamwork and communication along with hands-on experience with the simulators. He said it is the same course an adult would take to become a dispatcher.
Students will test for certification at the end of the school year. Those who pass will be career-ready and could start work as dispatchers right away.
