MIDDLEBURY — In a medical emergency, seconds count. Heritage Middle school in Middlebury is making sure their students are prepared when it matters most.

They're teaching and certifying 7th graders in CPR, heart defibrillators, and first aid. They're the only school in our area that's starting at such a young age.

It’s part of the curriculum. Once they complete the seven-week class, they take a written exam and skill test. If they pass, they become certified.

“They all have to pass the written certification on all the levels that we teach,” explained Jeannine George, CPR and First Aid teacher. “We teach adult, child and infant CPR. We teach AED for adults and we teach first aid.”

"As far as we know we're the only school that is certifying all of our kids in CPR and first aid in the 7th grade,” Assistant Principal Travis Kolter told WSBT News.

"We've learned how to treat heart attacks, how to treat someone that’s choking, if the heart stops how to keep circulating blood,” said 7th grader Ian James.

Nick Sherck, now a freshman, took the class two years ago.

What he learned about the Heimlich maneuver, to dislodge objects blocking air ways, helped save his dad.

He and his family were on a skiing trip over the holidays in Michigan, when they stopped at their hotel to eat. His father began choking on a slice of pizza.

“His face turned kind of purple and we realized he was actually choking and then I got up and, because of the training here with Mrs. George, I was able to successfully do the Heimlich on my dad,” Sherck said.