Center uses real scenarios to train students for real jobs

April 15--APPLE VALLEY -- Located on a 9-acre plot of land and backdropped by Bell Mountain, a state-of-the-art Victor Valley College center is training students for careers that many of them obtain right after graduating.

The Regional Public Safety Training Center, which opened in 2012, serves roughly 1,700 students who are pursuing degrees or certificates in administration of justice, emergency medical services and fire technology.

The $31.9 million facility was funded through Measure JJ, a $297.5 million bond measure voters approved in 2008, which RPSTC Director Mike Visser clarified "funded the buildings, but not the instruction."

"We were on a pretty low budget," Visser said. "We've sought grants and donations to make it work."

Visser, a retired assistant police chief for Huntington Park, is the only full-time employee within the entire department. A total of 24 adjunct instructors teach the 23 separate programs offered at the center.

One such program, the AJ Corrections Academy, is "very renowned" among employers, according to Visser.

"Many of the students walk right into jobs after graduation," Visser said, naming The GEO Group detention facilities as a common employer of VVC students.

However, getting through the academy isn't as easy as some students expect.

"This class started off with about 60 students -- now there are 33," Visser said, nodding to an 8-unit Corrections class full of students in green cargo pants and black T-shirts. "Everything is done in a constructive way, but they follow a strict code of conduct."

If a student is late or goes against the code of conduct, they get an "opportunity," meaning they fill out a form explaining their error before receiving correction.

"Most have never been disciplined in an academy like this. They have to learn to focus," Visser said, noting that the program is 176 hours, "not counting homework."

"What happens is a transformation in the students."

Mitchell Paszkowski, a 21-year-old Corrections Academy student, said that as the class sergeant for Section 63, he is required to be there earlier than the others, and if something goes wrong in his squad, he gets "the brunt of it."

"We're required to create self-discipline," Paszkowski said. "We must be respectful ... We learn a lot of communication skills, like how to interview."

The RPSTC's indoor gun range offers "people right off the street the opportunity to learn about guns," Visser said.

With adjustable lighting, walls made of ballistic rubber and a "running man" target rail, the range offers a place for students to learn about gun safety and shooting techniques.

"It gives them a lot of confidence," Visser said. "Most have never held a gun before."

In addition, the facility has virtual simulations that provide students with the opportunity to train for active shooter situations, with 500 realistic, interactive scenarios played with surround sound.

Over in the EMT classrooms, materials for lessons range from fake blood and interactive mannequins to a partial ambulance built into the wall.

For Paszowski, who wants to become a deputy sheriff for San Bernardino County, he said the training at the center is "the perfect segway into that."

"We learn all the sort of techniques we need to know for careers," Paszowski said. "It's very safety-oriented, and always on a professional basis."

With 41,500 square feet of buildings, the facility has a few structures specifically for "scenario training," one building acting as a detention facility, while another is adorned with old furniture to imitate a living room and bedroom for domestic violence scenarios.

Outside, demolished cement rubble and an old car lie in a pile for "collapsed structure" training, so first-responders in training can practice rescuing people, while nursing students also come out to treat students who act as victims.

Even with the wide range of advanced programs the facility offers, Visser told the Daily Press that several others are on the forefront.

"We're going to be getting courses for criminal terrorist analysts," Visser said. "That will give people jobs from the federal government."

In addition, training for emergency management and private security guarding are in the process of being added to VVC's course list.

Charity Lindsey may be contacted at 760-951-6230 or clindsey@vvdailypress.com. Follow her on Twitter @DP_Charity.

Copyright 2016 - Daily Press, Victorville, Calif.