The Chicago Police and Firefighter Training Academy (CPFTA) is a training program for students interested in careers in public safety, law enforcement, criminal justice, and fire science.

Saint Patrick High School is proud to announce the inclusion of the CPFTA program into our Career & Technical Education Department’s Human and Public Services Pathway where students are able to receive class credit. The CPFTA allows high school students to earn experience through summer internships with Chicago’s Police Department, Fire Department, and Office of Emergency Management and Communications. CPFTA students receive hiring preference for CPD and CFD and are given the opportunity to earn their EMT licenses.

The two-year program was developed jointly by the Chicago Public Schools, the Chicago Police Department (CPD), the Chicago Fire Department (CFD), and the City Colleges of Chicago (CCC). The program recruits and trains up to 125 public and non-public high school students each year. One of the immediate goals is to provide a pool of qualified applicants for the city’s police and fire academies.

The CPFTA program fulfills the two career education or elective credits that all Saint Patrick High School students need in order to graduate. The CPFTA curriculum allows juniors and seniors who are city residents to progress seamlessly from high school directly into any City College of Chicago to complete their associate’s degree.

In addition to high school and college training, students have the opportunity to participate in a paid summer internship between junior and senior year to promote a better understanding of all aspects of careers in public safety. After completion of the two years in high school and two years at a city college, students will have met the minimum educational requirements to take the Chicago Police and Fire Department examinations for entry into their respective academies.

**Applications from interested sophomores are taken by CPFTA annually in beginning in February. Students can receive SPHS credit upon successful completion of the course and when also participating in the SPHS Human and Public Services Pathway.