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Preparedness Ambassadors

Planning ＆ Preparedness
​Preparedness Ambassadors Logo

​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

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Documents

Image of Teacher's Guide and link to documentTeacher 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.



Image of Student's Notebookand link to documentStudent 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.



Image of the Family Readiness Guide and link to document

Family Readiness Guide (English) – A comprehensive preparedness document designed to help families prepare for a variety of disasters in the State of California. Below you will find the Family Readiness Guide translated into several other languages for your convenience.



​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.

​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

Cal OES is very interested in your feedback and experiences regarding this program. Please let us know what you think. Additionally, we are interested in the number of schools, classrooms, and students participating in this program. We would like to see pictures of your students in action and hear stories of how students helped to prepare their families, school, and communities to be prepared for disasters. We may even add them to the web site for other teachers to see and learn from your experiences.

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

Danielle Chapman-Huizar, Emergency Services Coordinator
Cal OES Planning and Preparedness
(916) 845-8153 | danielle.chapman-huizar@caloes.ca.gov

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

 
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