ARLINGTON, TX, March, 17, 2021 — The North Central Texas Emergency Communications District (NCT9-1-1) graduated 14 new 9-1-1 telecommunicators in the first in-person/virtual hybrid 9-1-1 telecommunicator academy on March 12, 2021. This class included recruits from eight different agencies, including the Waxahachie Police Department, Collin County Sheriff’s Office, and the Cleburne Police Department, among others.

The graduates completed a rigorous program that taught 9-1-1 equipment use, state mandates and regulations, how to handle crisis communications such as active shooters, and more. This class was the first to experience a hybrid format, where part of the program was taught in-person with COVID-19 restrictions in place and part was taught online via video conference. NCT9-1-1 was one of the first Texas agencies to receive permission from the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) to instruct virtually while still giving credit.

“We worked with TCOLE to adjust to the shifting times during COVID by requesting virtual training, which is the hallmark of a good 9-1-1 telecommunicator,” said NCT9-1-1 Training Coordinator Bret Batchelor. “You have to be flexible, and I think we demonstrated the value of that by continuing to graduate new recruits during COVID when a lot had to shut down. These 14 recruits are a class of exceptionally resilient individuals because they mastered their skillset during difficult times, and I think that experience will help them in their careers.”

The academy has graduated recruits from across Texas and Arkansas since its inception in February of 2016 and continues to grow with classes held twice a year in the winter and summer.

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About the North Central Texas Emergency Communications District

The North Central Texas Emergency Communications District (NCT9-1-1) is responsible for 40 plus Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) in the 13 counties surrounding the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. The district supports these PSAPs through maintaining and upgrading 9-1-1 equipment, providing up-to-date mapping information, training 9-1-1 telecommunicators, educating the public on the proper use of 9-1-1, and monitoring PSAP functionality and compliances. NCT9-1-1 serves a population of 1.7 million and 10,000+ square miles.