Teachers encouraged to learn CPR

Teachers and staff in the Maricopa Unified School District and throughout Arizona are not required to be CPR certified, according to regulations put forward by the Arizona Department of Education.

But to promote the life-saving technique, MUSD’s Health Services Department exposes teachers to CPR and encourages them to volunteer and become certified.

The education department requires nurses, transportation staff, special education teachers and any paraprofessional working in special education to be CPR certified. The Arizona Interscholastic Association also requires that coaches are CPR certified.

Marilyn Wyant, MUSD’s director of nursing, puts together mock drills and works with staff, teachers and students so they know how CPR works. Often, that piques interest in certification classes.

Recently, 200 students at Desert Wind Middle School volunteered to get certified, and so did the whole food service department.

Wyant said she understands that teachers are hesitant to learn, but she wants to show them that it’s not hard and that it can help save a life.

“We don’t want anything to happen to a student when they’re at school,” she said. 

Click here for story on MUSD employees saving the life of a colleague.

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