Cape theatre students create 911 video

When Cape job coach Matthew Verderame asked Adam Goss what type of phone calls he would like to learn to make, he instantly answered that he wanted to learn to order pizza, order Chinese food and call 911. Verderame realized that there was an obvious void in 911 call training for many students including elementary-aged kids. With that in mind, he reached out to Cape theatre teacher Martha Pfeiffer and her directing class.

Welcoming the challenge, the students created a YouTube video coaching kids on how and why to call 911. The students developed a script and worked with the audio class  to perform and record the actual video. The day of filming, Verderame, Goss and an actual 911 dispatcher, Ryan Pickard, senior telecommunications specialist with the Delaware State Police, were all in attendance.

In the video, students presented viewers with multiple scenarios and explained when and how to make a 911 call. The students hope this will not only be viewed by Cape students, but possibly used in 911 call training on a larger scale. Now they are developing scripts for how to order pizza and Chinese food.

Pfeiffer allowed the students to take complete control of the project. "I am so impressed by how these students created this script and made necessary adjustments during the actual filming of the 911 video,” said Pfeiffer.

Verderame says, "This video will serve as a great tool, combined with home and classroom dialog for many kids that don't know or are unsure how the 911 emergency system works." 

After the editing process is complete, the video will be available to view on YouTube.