McClane High School students gain life saving skills in class

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A different type of course was taught Monday at one Fresno school.

A select number of students at McLane High School learned some life-saving lessons during a special CPR session. The lesson was part of a new law Gov. Jerry Brown signed that requires hands-on CPR training in high schools.

The law doesn't go into effect until 2018, but McLane was one of a handful of California schools to be selected for this early preview.

"It was really important because, in the case of a situation, if someone is having cardiac arrest or trouble breathing we can now help assist in saving their life," school senior Nancy Del Real explained.

Through a collaboration with Union Bank, the American Heart Association's mission is to train high schoolers to create a new generation of potential lifesavers.

"This is one thing we can do for our students by training them CPR," said Sharon Brockett with the American Heart Association. "It's an easy skill. It's as easy as brushing your teeth. These two hands can actually save a life if someone goes down and they're not breathing."

Monday's CPR awareness wasn't just for students, principal Scott Lamm also picked up some valuable tools during the session.

"There are many times when I'm on campus and at any time something could take place," he said. "And I'm the one called upon to have some kind of plan, so I'm happy that I was here today. So, I have one more strategy that I could use in the event of an emergency."

As part of the program, students received special take home kits with the idea to use what they learned and teach CPR to family members

"The challenge was to go home and teach five family members or friends, and I'm definitely going to take it on cause it was a little fun with the clicking sounds and everything," student Edward Godinez said.

In all, 20 students became CPR-certified during Monday's training event.