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Proving Public Education Works: Raising a Fire Safe Generation of Children
Track(s): Public Education

Michael Cassidy, Holliston Fire Department;
Jennifer Mieth, Department of Fire Services;
Cynthia Ouellette, Rhode Island College

Audio Sample:




Public fire education is vital to the lives of children and their families, but it is difficult to know whether children really understand what we think we are teaching. This team from Massachusetts will discuss a variety of ways in which they have been successful in documenting what students actually know. They will highlight the user-friendly tools for firefighter-educators that they use to evaluate student learning. In addition, they will showcase their newly developed thirdgrade evaluation tool that will assist in demonstrating statewide success while maintaining local program flexibility.

Chief Michael Cassidy is a 1994 graduate of Harvard University, with a degree in Government; a 2006 graduate of National University with a Masters of Science in Organizational Leadership and in 1999 was certified by the Massachusetts Department of Education as an educator at both the Junior High and High School levels. He has taught at Anna Maria College in Paxton and is an active member of the Massachusetts' Public Fire and Life Safety Education Taskforce.

Jennifer Mieth joined the staff in the Office of the State Fire Marshal in 1984, starting as the research analyst. She is currently manager of the Fire Data and Public Education Unit and serves as the public information officer for the entire Department of Fire Services. She is responsible for coordinating all statewide public fire and life safety education efforts that target a variety of target audiences on a range of life safety issues and for advising the State Fire Marshal on policies and strategies to reduce the human toll fire takes. She administers the statewide Student Awareness of Fire Education or S.A.F.E. Program that provides grants to local fire departments to conduct classroom based education in collaboration with local schools. In the 14 full years of the program the average number of child fire deaths has dropped by 66% compared to the 14 years before the program. Jennifer received her BA from Reed College in Oregon in 1980.

Cynthia M. Ouellette, M.Ed. is an assistant professor at Rhode Island College and a Redesign Coach for the Fall River School Department.  She is a member of the Massachusetts Fire and Life Safety Task Force and has assisted the task force in developing educational initiatives throughout the Commonwealth.  She supports the Fire Service in their proven ability to reduce deaths in Massachusetts.  Ms. Ouellette has presented at a number of conferences, most recently for the North Carolina fire service.