Chatel 1

Abstract:
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is used whenever someone is not breathing nor has
a heartbeat. CPR may be required if a person experiences any of the following: electric shock,
heart attacks, drowning, severe allergic reactions, choking, drug overdose, or suffocation. This
proposal is to promote a 2 week CPR education unit within the sophomore health class and
provide options for juniors, seniors, and staff to become certified if they choose to do so. By
educating Coventry High School students and staff on how to properly administer CPR, this will
enable them to become inspired, heroic, and supportive citizens.
Problem Statement:
One of the most traumatic experiences in life is watching a loved one or friend suffering
and feeling completely helpless because of the lack of knowledge of how to help them.
According to the American Heart Association, 70% of Americans do not know how to properly
administer CPR and 88% of cardiac arrests occur at home (American). With the aid of CPR kits
that many websites and organizations like American Heart Association, equipment is available to
teach students and teachers how to perform CPR in thirty minutes. Teachers in our school even
remember taking CPR classes in their younger school days. For example, Janean Heckman,
Coventry High School nurse took a first aid class when she was in middle school which allowed
her to become CPR certified (Interview). Now that Heckman is a nurse, the first aid training
class she took when she was younger must have had a viable impact on her life that led to her
career as a nurse. This could be possible for our students too, if they wanted to pursue a career
with health, the first step in CPR education would be a door opener for many students. Also, all
coaches are required to be CPR certified, so any students who have an interest in coaching later
in life would need to become certified anyways, and many students do not yet know this. With so

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many people at risk, it would be inhumane of schools to not provide students the option to
become CPR certified when it could increase the life of their family, friends, or even strangers
chance at surviving cardiac arrest and have an impact of their future careers.

Statement of Need:
Each year, the Emergency Medical Service (EMS) treats approximately 300,000 people
who suffer cardiac arrest outside the hospital, and 92% do not survive (Fox News). Schools have
an obligation to teach CPR to all students and teachers as a graduation requirement. Not only
will this help increase the national survival rate, it will also provide an insight for students if they
realize they want to pursue an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) career. For the well-being
of students, teachers, and families in Coventry and across the U.S., it is detrimental that students
and teachers know how to perform CPR to have the skills necessary to save lives in distressing
situations.

Goals and Objectives:

1. Incorporate CPR education into sophomore year Health Class
a. Educate students on cardiac arrest (2 week Unit- 8 Classes)
i. What it is
ii. What can cause it
iii. Who it can affect, the symptoms, procedure, and prevention
b. Have students practice how to perform CPR in case of emergency
situations
i. American Heart Association provides class room sets to teach
students how to provide CPR
2. Require teachers to become CPR certified (Repeat biannually)
a. Have the class during a staff development day
i. Inform teachers on what causes cardiac arrest
ii. Have the teachers practice CPR & become certified (optional, they
are allowed to just observe if they are uncomfortable)

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3. School-wide Assembly on CPR for juniors and seniors excluded from the health
class
a. Discuss what causes cardiac arrest
i. Symptoms
ii. Statistics
1. Educate on how many people die without CPR
2. Question how many people know how to perform CPR
3. Examine how CPR can increase the chances of survival
b. How to treat cardiac arrest
i. Procedure
ii. Practicing CPR
iii. Defibrillator
c. Elaborate on what students can do to prevent cardiac arrest from affecting
loved ones
i. Healthy habits

Evaluating Resources:
Currently at Coventry High School, there is no formal unit on CPR in the schools health
classes. According to Ryan Giberson, Coventrys physical education and health teacher, The
only CPR related unit we have is at the end of sophomore health under the broad topic of Public
Health and Safety, and is usually not reached due to time circumstances and not covered in
depth (Giberson). To allow students the ability to practice CPR, a training kit would be
necessary. The American Heart Association offers training kits to schools for approximately $500
per kit (American). In total, six kits would be purchased totaling $3,000 which will allow for
enough materials for all students in the classes to practice and to account for future assemblies of
CPR education.

Implementing a Plan:
As a Class:

Chatel 4
To create a productive CPR Unit in sophomore health class, the health curriculum
must be rewritten to allow for a 2 week period in which students will learn about the
causes and effects of cardiac arrest and how to conduct CPR. According to the American
Heart Association, the training kit for CPR comes with ten training videos and a training
kit [Appendix A]. The first week would be educating students on what causes cardiac
arrest and all the symptoms. During the following week, students would practice with the
mannequins and view the training videos. The second week would be optional, if students
opted out of becoming CPR certified, they would wright a two page essay on all the
symptoms of CPR and how to correctly perform it. Those students would write the paper
to ensure that they were comfortable as it would not be fair to force students to become
CPR certified if they did not want to. Once the two week period was over, the students
would all be highly educated on CPR or certified. Students would then be able to share
this knowledge with their friends and family outside of school.

To Educate School-wide:
For all students that did not have the opportunity to learn CPR in sophomore
health class, there would be a school wide assembly. There would be an assembly during
enrichment period strictly for seniors and their advisors. The health teachers and nurse (if
available) would present a 10-15 minute PowerPoint on the symptoms of cardiac arrest and how
to perform CPR. Then the students would separate into smaller groups of approximately 5 people
per group and use a manikin from the American Heart Association training kit to practice with
teachers aiding them to ensure they are comfortable and able to effectively provide CPR. Any
students who are not interested in becoming certified would not be forced to conduct CPR and

Chatel 5
would just watch. The junior class would also view the same presentation and utilize the
manikins, but they would do so during another enrichment day.
Preparing Staff:
All administrators and coaches are required to be CPR certified (Heckman). Ryan
Giberson estimates this to be about 25% of Coventry High Schools staff (Giberson).
With students outnumbering teachers, it is unacceptable for only 25% of the staff to be
certified when a life-or-death situation could occur at any moment. To increase the safety
of students and teachers, Coventry High Schools educators must also become CPR
certified. This can be done by utilizing a staff development day to hold a CPR training
session in which all teachers and administrators previously certified will help their fellow
coworkers learn how to properly administer CPR with the American Heart Association
training kit. This will allow teachers to have comfort knowing that they are now enabled
to help students, peers, and loved ones in case of an emergency.
Gaining Support:
This is not unusual for schools to include CPR education as a part of their health
programs. In fact, a school in New Haven, Connecticut has already implemented a first aid
program for high school students (Scinto). The superintendent of New Haven schools even
praises, Its the kind of training that prepares our young people for a career in public safety, but
it also teaches the importance of skills like perseverance and diligence that will help them
succeed in college. Students love it and we love that it creates a relevance in their learning
(Scinto). Knowledge on how to perform CPR will allow Coventry High School students to act in
a traumatic situation in which CPR is needed and may even inspire some students to pursue a

Chatel 6
career in health. Also, in Denmark, people who suffer a cardiac arrest are now three times more
likely to survive than a decade ago since a nation effort was launched in 2005 to teach citizens
how to perform CPR (Szabo). This nationwide effort increased the number of cardiac-arrest
victims who received CPR from a bystander from 22% in 2001 to 45% by 2005 in the same
amount of time, the number of victims arriving alive at the hospital improved from 8% to 22% as
well (Szabo).
School faculty also agrees that CPR education should be offered at Coventry High
School. Janean Heckman, Coventry High School nurse, concurs that providing a class in which
students can have the option to become CPR certified is an excellent and practical idea, As long
as the students and teachers are comfortable, I do not see a reason why we should not have a
CPR unit (Heckman).
Conclusion:
Coventry High School has the moral obligation to teach students and staff on how to
correctly perform CPR. To not do so would demonstrate negligence because keeping this
knowledge from attendants of the high school would result in the loss of a life. Every hour in the
U.S. approximately 48 people will have a cardiac arrest event outside of the hospital, and nine
out of ten times, the victims will not survive (American). Not only will CPR education allow
students and teachers the ability to save lives, but it can inspire them to pursue a career in the
medical field. Educating Coventry students is not only a success for Coventry, but for the entire
country as a whole. One student at a time, one high school at a time, and soonthe entire nation.
The American Heart Association estimates that 7 million adults and children suffer accidents that
may require CPR each year (American). With so many occurrences that require CPR, it is

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imperative that Coventry High School takes the initiative to start its own program in which
students and staff are able to access the skills required to save lives.

Work Cited:
"11-year-old Girl Saves Friend's Life at Birthday Party." NEWS10. Web. 06 Feb. 2015.
CPR and Defibrillator Instruction Mandated in N.J. High Schools. Philadelphia Inquirer
[Philadelphia, PA] 22 Aug. 2014. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web.25 Jan. 2015.
"CPR in Schools." CPR in Schools. Web. 04 Feb. 2015.
"CPR Statistics." CPR Statistics. Web. 04 Feb. 2015.
"Fast Facts on Cardiac Arrest from the American Heart Association." Fox News. FOX News
Network, 25 June 2009. Web. 04 Feb. 2015.
Giberson, Ryan. "CPR Education." Personal interview. 13 Feb. 2015.
Heckman, Janean. "CPR Education." Personal interview. 13 Feb. 2015.

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New Haven Public Safety Academy Gives Students Hands-On Education. New Haven
Register [New Haven, CT] 14 May 2014. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 25
Jan. 2015.
Szabo, Liz. CPR Education Can Triple Cardiac-Arrest Survival Rate. USA Today 2 Oct. 2013:
04D. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 25 Jan. 2015.

Annotated Bibliography:
"11-year-old Girl Saves Friend's Life at Birthday Party." NEWS10. Web. 06 Feb. 2015.
This news article contains qualitative data of a true story that reinforces my main
argument that CPR education is a worthwhile cause for citizens.

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CPR and Defibrillator Instruction Mandated in N.J. High Schools. Philadelphia Inquirer
[Philadelphia, PA] 22 Aug. 2014. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web.25 Jan. 2015.
The article provides more qualitative data on schools near Connecticut and in the
United States that have already implemented CPR Education programs proving that
CPR is a common goal for many schools.
"CPR in Schools." CPR in Schools. Web. 04 Feb. 2015.
This article is from the American Heart Association, a viable source that has massive
expertise on CPR education and how it is helpful for schools, so it contains more
qualitative data.
"CPR Statistics." CPR Statistics. Web. 04 Feb. 2015.
The statistics are from the American Heart Association as well. AHA has done multiple
studies on CPR and has incredible amounts of legitimate quantitative knowledge that
will help prove the significant need for CPR education.
"Fast Facts on Cardiac Arrest from the American Heart Association." Fox News. FOX News
Network, 25 June 2009. Web. 04 Feb. 2015.
The news article is based off of basic facts from the American Heart Association
highlighting the qualitative and quantitative pieces of information providing more
evidence that CPR education is a must.

Chatel 10
Giberson, Ryan. "CPR Education." Personal interview. 13 Feb. 2015.
Ryan Giberson is one of the physical and health educators at Coventry High School.
He received his degrees in physical education, communications, and sports
management through Easter Connecticut State University. His interview pertains to
this proposal because he teaches multiple health classes in which this proposal alludes
to.
Heckman, Janean. "CPR Education." Personal interview. 13 Feb. 2015.
Janean Heckman is Coventry High Schools nurse. She received her degree as a
registered nurse from Greater Hartford Community College. Her information
reinforced the claim that CPR education can lead to inspiration in students who may
want to pursue a career in the medical field.
New Haven Public Safety Academy Gives Students Hands-On Education. New Haven
Register [New Haven, CT] 14 May 2014. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 25
Jan. 2015.
This article is incredibly important qualitative data as it is from a close school in
Connecticut already implementing CPR education, proving that if other schools in
Connecticut are incorporating CPR into their schools, than Coventry High School has
no reason to be excluded.

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New Haven Public Safety Academy Gives Students Hands-On Education. New Haven
Register [New Haven, CT] 14 May 2014. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 25
Jan. 2015.
This article proves that CPR education is not a rare occurrence in schools and makes
this proposal seem necessary since other districts already have CPR education
programs in place.
Szabo, Liz. CPR Education Can Triple Cardiac-Arrest Survival Rate. USA Today 2 Oct. 2013:
04D. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 25 Jan. 2015.
This article provides quantitative data that supports the claim that cardiac arrest is a
serious threat that can be prevented by educating citizens about how it can occur and
what they can do to safely aid victims.