Monday, December 16, 2024
Throughout the school year, Milwaukee Recreation is using critical water safety lessons to build upon the traditional school curriculum for third grade students in Milwaukee Public Schools.
After working with community partner organizations to introduce a pilot program several years ago, Milwaukee Recreation is now leading a water safety program for third grade students from participating MPS schools. In fall 2024, students from Forest Home Avenue School, Allen-Field Elementary School, La Escuela Fratney, and Gaenslen School participated in introductory swim lessons with certified water safety instructors and lifeguards at South Division High School and Gaenslen School.
Prior to this program, many of the students had never previously received formal swim instruction or even been in a pool. According to a study conducted by USA Swimming, if a child does not learn to swim by age 10, there is only a 10 percent chance they ever will.
“We know that water safety is just as imperative as fire safety or tornado safety, but it is missing currently in our school curriculums,” Milwaukee Recreation’s citywide programs manager Nicole Jacobson said. “We just needed to do our part to get water safety into the curriculum for all third-grade students. We know that 8-9-year-old level at third grade is the perfect fit for our pools and their maturity. Everything else just falls together.”
Through the program, each classroom of third grade students visited a nearby school pool for four lessons. Milwaukee Recreation strives to remove as many barriers for participation as possible, establishing free transportation for schools, eliminating registration fees for families, and supplying swimsuits, swim caps and towels for students.
Before and after the in-person lessons, a Water Safety Instructor visits the students in their classroom to prepare them for the experience, educate students on pool rules, and conduct a pre-test and post-test. The final classroom visit also includes a literacy activity for students to write about their experiences at the pool.
Milwaukee Recreation uses the curriculum from the American Red Cross' "WHALE Tales" to help participants learn essential water safety topics, including: “Swim as a Pair with a Lifeguard There,” “Look Before You Leap,” and “Reach or Throw, Don’t Go” (into the water after someone in distress, as the same conditions causing distress will likely compromise your safety as well. Instead, call for help.)
“When the kiddos first come, they are very timid and shy,” Milwaukee Recreation aquatics supervisor Elyse Escobedo said. “Throughout the weeks, after they get to see the small groups, our swim teachers who are in the water helping them, encouraging them, supporting them, they open up, little by little.”
Click here to watch the video featuring highlights and interviews detailing the water safety lessons program.