Preparedness Ambassadors

​Welcome to the Preparedness Ambassadors Program! The State of California needs your help. Disasters such as wildfires, floods, and earthquakes can occur in every part of our state. The sad truth is that many people are not ready, nor do they know what to do to be safe. The Preparedness Ambassadors curriculum is designed to engage fourth grade students to develop and promote disaster preparedness guidelines for their homes, school, and local community. This program was created by the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services in partnership with the California Department of Education, CalRecycle, and the Sacramento County Office of Education.

In becoming a Preparedness Ambassador, students will take a journey into the disaster experiences of their community. Like a detective, they will gather community disaster stories and be strategic in mapping where, when, and how they occurred. Like a scientist, they will dig deep into case studies and find out how people reacted to specific disasters. Like a safety manager, they will create guidelines that inform the community on how to better prepare for those disasters. And like a hero, they will take action to prepare their home, school, and community for the next disaster. By being a disaster detective, scientist, safety manager, and hero, students can be a Preparedness Ambassador for their entire community.

Lastly, there is No Registration Required just reach out to the program representative below about requesting materials for your classes!

Video Message for Students and Teachers

Documents

Teacher Guide - Provides the step by step instructional format for the curriculum. The instructional sequence curriculum follows the 5E instructional model of engage, explore, explain, elaborate, and evaluate. This curriculum was designed to focus on the CA Health content area of Injury Prevention and Safety for fourth grade students and emphasizes the standard of Health Promotion. The Teacher Guide includes all seven (7) case studies posted in the section below.

Student Notebook - Designed to provide fourth graders the ability to develop their knowledge on hazards within their communities and ways in which they can be prepared. Students will learn about California’s disasters by gathering and using data, reading case studies about actual disaster events, and reflecting on which behaviors may help contribute to a person staying safe during these nature events.

Family Readiness Guide (English) – A comprehensive preparedness document designed to help families prepare for a variety of disasters in the State of California.

​Case Studies

California is home to a variety of disasters and below are case studies designed to assist teachers and students better understand the types and impacts they have. These case studies can also be found in the Teacher guide and have been posted here as stand alone documents for your convenience.

• Wildfire: The 2018 Camp Fire in Paradise

• Flood: 2017 Winter Storm Flooding
  

• Earthquake: 2019 Ridgecrest Earthquakes

• Tsunami: Japan Tsunami of 2011

• Volcano: 1980 Mount St. Helens Volcanic Eruption

• Tornado: 2013 Tornado Strikes Moore, Oklahoma

• Power Outage: High Winds and the 2019 Public Safety Power Shutoff

​Additional Materials

​Endorsements

• ​“Empowering California students with the lessons and tools they need to understand and prepare for disasters helps our students and our communities stay safe. We’ve seen natural and human-caused disruptions affect the lives of so many students in the past few years—from wildfires, floods, and public safety power shutoffs, and now to a pandemic—and we must do everything we can to prepare for and protect student safety. The Preparedness Ambassadors fourth grade curriculum provides educators an outstanding standards-based method to teach students emergency preparedness.” - Tony Thurmond, State Superintendent of Public Instruction

• "This project is an excellent model for how Project Based Learning (PBL) activities can cross different content areas and have a direct relation to real world situations for students. Particularly, these lessons closely align with CA Health Education standards in the content area of Injury Prevention and Safety and the skill of Health Promotion. While students master the science standards associated with natural disasters and regional effects, students increase their health literacy by creating guidelines to prepare for emergencies as well as practice the skill of health promotion by becoming a 'Preparedness Ambassador' within their community." - Orange County Department of Education Health and Wellness Team
  

• "Preparedness Ambassadors Program is action- and community-oriented, encouraging civic engagement, safety, empathy, and responsibility. This program will lead students to explore careers in disaster and emergency management, health care, and environmental fields." - Nancy Zarenda, Education Consultant
  

Feedback

​For program materials, comments, or questions about the program please contact:

Nick Murray, Emergency Services Coordinator
Cal OES Planning and Preparedness
(916) 845-8753 | nick.murray@caloes.ca.gov