Free Swim Lessons!

The school I work at is one of the rare few in Missouri that has a pool attached to the high school. In Alaska, it was very common, but in the midwest it is exceptionally rare. Our pool is busy from 5am to 9pm every day, all year, with swim teams, water aerobics, lessons, PE classes, community open swim hours... you name it, we probably offer it. If other school districts could see just how much use we get in our small town, there is no doubt they would see that if they invested in a pool, they would get their money worth. It is not just an asset to the school district; it is extremely valuable to the entire community.

When students enroll for Kindergarten in our school district, they are given the option to sign up for two weeks of free swim lessons. Since the lessons are in July, this is one of their first school experiences, and often I have high schoolers in class who tell me they still remember coming in to learn how to swim way back before they even started school. It always feels good to know that the experience left a lasting impression. We run about two hundred swimmers through our five stations, and many of them are able to swim in the deep end and jump off the diving board in ten lessons or less. The rest will leave the program at least a little more "water safe" because we emphasize the daily safety lessons just as much as we do the swimming skills. The parents take home coloring sheets every day to help teach and re-teach common sense water safety to their children.

I added the little part on the end, just in case you want to use this video to help convince your community to get started on a bond issue to build a swim facility. If they have any questions about all the ways a school system can maximize their water time, feel free to have them contact me. Enjoy.