ZEELAND, Mich. — There’s a brand-new program available to high school students with Zeeland Public Schools this year, giving them the chance to wear the hat of a first responder for class credit.
“We actually started this vision about six years ago,” said Nate Vande Guchte, a teacher at Zeeland West High School.
That’s about the same time this teacher took on a second job.
“For me, firefighting was always something that I wanted to do. So, we saw an opening and I kind of said to my wife what do you think?”
Not only did he get the job, that’s also when he started putting the pieces together for this all-new public safety course introduced just this school year.
“We actually have 16 girls, and we have eight guys, and so, it’s been really kind of cool to see that unfold. Honestly, it was really surprising for me,” said Vande Guchte. “As we’ve talked to local departments, they’re like, yes, this is what we want. We need more females in the field of public safety.”
Emily Wierenga is a Zeeland West senior. She told 13 ON YOUR SIDE, “I’ve always had an interest in public safety and stuff and so that really caught my eye.”
She said both of her parents work for local police departments.
“And so, I’ve always been involved in public safety and hearing about things that go on in the community and I’ve always enjoyed hearing about it and always wanted to give back to my community.”
She’s hoping to some day follow in their footsteps as a “police officer, or either FBI or like secret agent stuff.”
Another senior, Tanner Barber, told our crew, “My dad was a police officer and that’s just always been really heavy on my heart.”
He talked about his dad’s reaction to him signing up for the class and said, “He seems really, I want to say proud.”
Barber revealed that he feels called to do mission work in Asia after high school but still found interest in the class.
“I really like helping people and I feel like the one thing that kind of stood out to me was EMS. I just love how they just go into action,” he said.
Students in ninth through 12th grade can sign up.
“We’ve got 24 students this year. We kind of cap it. Not everyone who signed up got in it,” said Vande Guchte.
The yearlong course prepares them for careers in law enforcement, firefighting, emergency medical services (EMS), legal and corrections, and emergency dispatch.
Vande Guchte explained, “There’s a lot of different components that we don’t have in other classes right now. Students are going to be swinging axes. They might be spraying water from a hose and there’s just some different danger elements.”
The students are getting to learn from someone who knows the job firsthand, who says there are similarities to his role as a teacher.
“Firefighting has always been – even though it’s very different in terms of what we do every day, it still comes from the heart, right? And that’s still serving the community that you’re a part of,” said Vande Guchte, who has no doubt these skills will be invaluable. “Even if they go out and do something else, we know the confidence and the communication skills, and the problem-solving pieces are things that are going to translate really well for whatever they end up doing post high school.”
Students finish the course with their 911 dispatcher certification, and Vande Guchte says the program would not be possible without community donations and grants. He gave a special thanks to Community Foundation of Holland/Zeeland Area for a $35,000 grant and the Zeeland Education Foundation for a grant that provided helmets for the program.
There were also several donors, including Quality Car Wash, Gentex, Town and Country, EV Construction and SoundOff Signal, which provided a squad car the students will soon be able to use.
Vande Guchte stays busy. He teaches special education, he started the ZLinks program with Zeeland, he’s a coach and just recently launched this public safety course. He’s been teaching at Zeeland West High School for 17 years and has been working as a firefighter with the Zeeland Fire Department the last six.
If you would like more information on the program, details on how you can help teach or to donate needed equipment, email Nate Vande Guchte at nvandegu@zps.org.