Kids typically put away their swimsuits well before October. But for Franklin Elementary second graders, they dusted off their swim trunks and hopped in the water at the Downtown Spokane YMCA for a month of water safety education.
The students were the beneficiaries of a grant from the YMCA’s Safety Around Water program and generous donations for transportation from the Franklin parent-teacher organization. Twice a week, kids hopped on a bus and headed to the YMCA to general water safety for both backyard pools and the local lakes and rivers. Students who had fewer experiences with water activities also gained familiarity with blowing bubbles and floating on their backs.
Students learned how to assist when someone is in the water alone and how to call for help in the event of an emergency. They also practiced staying afloat in the deep end with an instructor, swimming out to an instructor and how to enter and exit a pool safely.
"We thought it would be a good opportunity for our students with all the waterways we have in Spokane," second grade teacher Shellsea Hunnel said. "Creating confidence with water and an ability to be comfortable learning new things (was important)."
Hunnel said students’ confidence grew around water throughout the month. Students learned patience and teamwork, helping each other follow water safety rules. Students who were initially hesitant around the water began to show excitement on swim days.
This experience was available thanks to a grant from the YMCA, which has also supported swim and water education safety for Audubon Elementary students.
To increase access to water safety education and swimming lessons for Spokane youth, SPS has partnered with Spokane Parks and Recreation to propose a renovation of a pool at Spokane Community College to create an indoor public aquatics center. This facility would allow SPS to develop a second-grade swimming program for all second graders and expand high school swim team opportunities, while also providing Parks with a year-round space for lifeguard certification training, aquatics exercise classes, adaptive swimming lessons for individuals with special needs, and public lap swim.
This proposal is one of more than 200 projects outlined in Together Spokane, which aligns a City of Spokane Parks and Recreation levy and SPS school bond that will be considered by voters on Nov. 4.
Lewis and Clark High School swimmer Ava Swigart shares how a public aquatics center in Spokane would impact her team:
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Franklin Swim by Spokane Schools