Representatives from 12 New Jersey school districts received training in CPR and the use of automated external defibrillators this week through a partnership between the New York Jets and the American Heart Association.

The training took place Nov. 4 in Wayne and included instruction in Hands-Only CPR and AED use. Organizers said the effort aims to improve emergency response to cardiac arrest in schools and communities.

Each participating school received a CPR in Schools training kit containing CPR manikins, AED training tools and educational materials to help train students, staff and parents.

Three schools also received AEDs: Governor Livingston High School in Berkeley Heights, Wayne High School and Bridgewater-Raritan Middle School.

According to the American Heart Association, nearly 9 in 10 people who experience cardiac arrest outside a hospital die. Immediate CPR can double or triple a person’s chance of survival.

Participants included representatives from the Livingston, Bergenfield, Byram Township, Wayne, Parsippany-Troy Hills, Cranford, Roselle Park, Hoboken, Nutley and Elizabeth school districts, as well as Governor Livingston High School and Bridgewater-Raritan Middle School.

The program is part of the Jets’ support for the American Heart Association’s Nation of Lifesavers initiative, which seeks to expand bystander CPR training and improve survival rates from cardiac arrest.