William A Hough High School Army JROCT Cadets Partner with Red Cross to Instruct Local Students on Fire Safety

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Story by: COL (R) J.G. Howard and 1SG (R) Daryl Hayes
Photos by: 1SG (R) Daryl Hayes

W. A. Hough Cadets Partner with Red Cross to Instruct Local Students on Fire Safety 

On December 14 2023, the W.A. Hough Army JROTC Program (Cornelius, NC) partnered with the American Red Cross to educate kindergarten thru second grade students at Cornelius (NC) Elementary School (CES) on fire safety.   To accomplish this important task the Husky Battalion utilized the Red Cross’ Prepare with Pedro Program.  

Prepare with Pedro is an education program for grades K-2 that uses a story about a penguin (Pedro) to teach students how to “…BE PREPARED and TAKE ACTION for either home fires or a local hazard”, with the goal of the students sharing what they learned with their friends, family, and other loved ones.  It is a well-designed initiative that enabled Cadets to prepare, execute, and evaluate instruction, but it did require the battalion to invest a significant amount of time in this project. Prepare with Pedro not only involved the Red Cross providing the Cadets with teaching materials but also included a significant amount of  training that included online and in-person instruction and evaluation. 

However, the hard work paid off.  Cornelius Elementary School teachers and administrators praised the Cadets for being well prepared, while post-instruction assessments and teacher feedback showed that students learned the material and had fun doing it.  Additionally, Cadet post-event reflections indicated that they got as much out of the event as the elementary school students did and had a lot of fun in the process.  These positive outcomes have encouraged the Husky Battalion to keep the Prepare with Pedro Program as part of its adopt-a-school and service learning programs.