Beyond the usual lessons taught in the classroom, Dallas ISD students are diving into something new—learning life-saving water safety skills.
“Safety practices are taught to students in physical education. In partnership with school leadership, the health and physical education department determined that second grade was optimal to offer water safety classes,” said Lisa Whitaker, director of health and physical education at Dallas ISD.
Chiniqua Varner-Busby, principal at William B. Miller Elementary School, said second grade is the perfect age to learn about water safety.
“Second graders are mature enough to understand the basic foundation, and understand it’s not just play time in the pool,” she said.
Miller is one of several schools chosen for the pilot program. So far, the curriculum has been rolled out to 10 campuses, including:
- J.P. Starks Math, Science, and Technology Vanguard
- Harry Stone Montessori Academy
- Pleasant Grove Elementary School
- John Quincy Adams Elementary School
- Mary McLeod Bethune Elementary School
- San Jacinto Elementary School
- Charles Rice Learning Center
- L.L. Hotchkiss Elementary School
- Arturo Salazar Elementary School
With a spring goal of reaching 500 students, the program will be introduced to more campuses throughout the school year, Whitaker said.
As part of the program, which was developed by the YMCA, students attend eight classes over a two-week period. They are bussed to a local pool where in addition to classroom instruction, they get the chance to apply what they learned by getting in the water.
“It’s not a full swim class, but students do learn basic safety, like how to go to the edge of the pool and how to get in the water,” Varner-Busby said.
Teaching basic water safety in school is important because drowning can occur in as little as one inch of water for small children, Whitaker said.
“According to the Centers for Disease Control, it is the second leading cause of unintentional injury death for children ages 5 to 14,” she said. “Offering steps to ensure students have the skills to make safe decisions around water has significantly shown to reduce the risk of drowning.”
With the weather warming up, the program came at a good time, Varner-Busby said.
“It’s important they get exposure to safety, especially as we prepare for summer,” she said. “Students typically go to community pools over the summer, and they now will know how to be safe while on vacation.”
At Miller, administration proactively met with parents to introduce the program. With the support from YMCA instructors, coaches are empowered to reinforce lessons taught at the pool.
“This is a great connection for physical education, and the coach is key in making sure kids are there, doing what they’re supposed to do, and being their support system, Varner-Busby said.
The reception from students at Miller has been positive, and interest rose because students talked to each other about their experience, she added.
“They are super excited–they got swimsuits, caps, and bags,” Varner-Busby said.
The district plans to roll out the water safety curriculum to all campuses at the beginning of the 2025- 2026 school year.
“The hope is to develop a generation of swimmers. Each child who learns basic swimming skills is equipped to confidently enjoy an enjoyable pastime safely,” Whitaker said.
