"the People's Paths!" Cherokee News Path - Sequoyah Steps Up Student Safety

***"Sequoyah Schools security officer Clay Troutman practices the skills he learned in the Cherokee Nation’s First Responder training course on Shawna Vann, Sequoyah senior."***

TAHLEQUAH, OK — Sequoyah Schools just got a little safer. Sequoyah security officer Clay Troutman recently completed the Cherokee Nation’s First Responder Course, making him the school’s only certified first responder.

“I wanted to be ready in case we had an incident on the football field or at a basketball game or something,” Troutman said. “You never know when the need (for this training) could arise and I could be able to assist until the paramedics got there.”

The Cherokee Nation First Responder course is a fifty-hour course that covers everything from seizures and car crashes to heart attacks. After course completion, participants may take the Cherokee Nation certification test and the Oklahoma certification test.

Troutman is committed to keeping Sequoyah safe. He has attended trainings on gang violence and reducing student conflicts. He is also CLEET certified and has experience with numerous law enforcement agencies, plus currently serves as one of the Students Working Against Tobacco (S.W.A.T.) sponsors. He also serves as the chairperson for the safe and drug-free schools committee.

“It is definitely an asset to have a certified first responder on campus,” said Gina Stanley, Sequoyah superintendent. “We strive to provide the safest campus possible for our students and this is just one more way that we can ensure their safety. I am proud of Clay’s commitment to our kids and his willingness to better himself to keep us safe.”

Sequoyah Schools currently provides first aid kits in each of the classrooms and has two heart defibrillators on campus. More than ten percent of the certified staff has been trained to use them, including the sports coaches.

Sequoyah Schools, a boarding school for Native American students, originated in 1871 as an orphan asylum to care for children orphaned by the Civil War. Now known as Sequoyah Schools, it is named for Sequoyah, the scholar who developed the Cherokee syllabary, and has been operated by the Cherokee Nation since 1985. It is regionally and state accredited for grades 7-12 and has become the school of choice for more than 400 students every year.

For more information about Sequoyah call 918-453-5400 or visit the Sequoyah Schools web site.