I get to take a class!

I just got an email from the coordinator from ACTS Oregon about a class this spring that will only be 1/2hour away!! She said that it will be 3 1/2 days (I am assuming that means 3 and a half days) and then I can get certified!! I am so excited. I have always been told that I can't take the long class until I take the 16 hour class, and they are all 5 hours away from me. She said that they do a review with a local tech before class and then I can just come to the class. I am soooo excited. I have wanted to do this for about 5 years and just couldn't coordinate it right. I will have to plan ahead to take 4 days off, but that shouldn't be a problem by then.

Now I just have to practice and read as much as I can so that I don't go in looking like an idiot. I have never installed a LATCH seat and I have never seen a Regent. I think I am going to go to our local baby boutique and ask to install the Regent to see if it fits. I need to get one eventually anyhow. I am purchasing at least one Radian by then also.

Any other suggestions so that I don't waste this chance?

Woohoo, congrats! Who did you talk to from ACTS? Sandy? She wouldn't let me skip the 8 hour intro class last year, even though I told her all about how I've been involved in CPS advocacy since 2003. I ended up dropping out of the class Sandy taught and taking it from someone else a year later.

Don't stress about never having installed a LATCH seat; I hadn't, either. And I highly doubt more than 1-2 folks in your class will even know what a Britax Regent IS. LOL!

My tips? Try not to sound like a know-it-all (because you'll know more than 99% of the folks there, simply because you frequent this board), but at the same time, if your instructors seem to be glossing over stuff you feel is important, or focusing on "bare minimums" (rear-facing only to 1 year old/20 pounds, harnessing to 30-40 pounds/3-4 years old then moving to a booster), speak up and question that. If it will make you feel better, bring print-outs from reputable sources (carseat.org, SafeRideNews, American Academy of Pediatrics, etc.) to back up your opinions. I WISH I had done that. I ended up looking stupid because I couldn't remember the info to "prove" my point.

It was Sandy who emailed me. She said that she hadn't been requiring the 8 or 16 hour class prior to the long class for the last 2 classes. She said that she would just have me review with a local tech. As long as it isn't the local head of Safe Kids, I will be fine with that. I will try to keep my tongue....I have a bad habit of speaking up.

I have my van and a ton of different seat available to me. Should I install all the different ones in there before I go? Or is that just to geeky for what is probably going to be a class full of people there because they are required to be?

Now I just have to wait until I get the official date. She said spring of 08. I don't know exactly what that means.

BTW....did you have to pay for the class? I have no idea if there is a fee or not.

Well, Sandy is the State CPS Tech Coordinator, Gayle Watts is the State CPS Program Coordinator. Ruth Harshfield is a high-up person, too, but honestly, don't be intimidated by any of them. Gayle is absolutely fabulous.

I installed all my seats before I went. At my 8-hour class everyone checked them out and they even used my Husky, tethered to a third row seatbelt, as a teaching example. At my certification class that Sandy co-taught, no one cared what seats I had or what information I might have to share. At the certification class that Ruth co-taught this past March in Dallas everyone thought my Husky and Compass booster were awesome, and another person in class even had a Husky, too. The reverse belt path on my Futura and Husky threw some people, so it was good in my opinion to have those there.

The class usually costs $60. They provide food and snacks.

The email that Sandy sent me says CPS Technician coordinator , so I don't know then. I don't know who is teaching and I guess I don't care as long as I get certified. I am tired of sending people to uncaring techs around here. As of right now, I have 2 Futuras(for the time being if they can still be used), 3 Cargos, an MA and a CS in my van. My friend owns 2 SS1s and a Snugride, and another friend owns an Apex. The Apex won't work in my van though because of the bench seats. (No headrests) I also own a FPSE that I'm not currently using. I might have at least one Radian by then too. (sooner if I can't use my Futura anymore)

Good to know about the different instructors. Hopefully I will get a good interactive class and not a boring just going through the motions group. We have some pretty bad techs down here, and unfortunately, they are the most often used techs.

Yep, that's what Sandy is: State Child Passenger Safety Technician Coordinator. Gayle is the State Child Passenger Safety PROGRAM Coordinator.

Fingers-crossed for you that your class is informative, progressive, fun and hands-on (it should be!).

Where are you from (you can private message me if you want)?