THE local Red Cross administered the standard first aid course examination to 21 teacher aides involved in various special education classes of the Public School System.
Cyndy Tice, Red Cross instructor, said most teacher aides, or related services technicians, passed the examination given last Saturday at Northern Marianas College.
Tice said those who passed the examination will be given a certification valid for at least three years.
“This (first aid certification) is extremely important because they will be with the children on the playground or in the classrooms. When accidents happen, they are the first persons to help the child,” Tice said.
“I think PSS requires them to have a certification,” she added.
Two teacher aides from Rota and one from Tinian also took the exam.
Mack James, a teacher aide from Rota Junior High School, was among those who passed the first aid exam.
“This is for the kids so that in case of emergency we know what to do,” James said.
Rosalyn Aldan, a teacher aide from Dandan Elementary School, also took and passed the exam. She has been with the school for the past three years.
Aldan and five other special education teacher aides conduct one-on-one training with special children enrolled at Dandan.
“My work is okay. We each try to take turns in taking care of the kids,” Aldan said.
Tice said the teacher aides will return this Saturday to NMC for a course in cardio-pulmonary resuscitation or CPR.
The participants were supposed to take the CPR course last Saturday but the dummies were not delivered to them.
On Saturday, the teacher aides will be taught how to perform CPR using the dummies, Tice said. A test is also administered before one can get a CPR certification, which must be renewed every year.
Last school year, about 600 children with special needs were admitted to the special education program of PSS.
