Swim class in VA schools
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Anonymous
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Which schools or counties in VA have swim class as either a requirement or an elective?
https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1263082.page |
Anonymous
| My youngest graduated from a Prince William county high school last year (class of 24.) He attended PWC schools since Kindergarten, and never had any type of swim at school. Definitely not mandatory, and the only optional swim would be to be on the swim team in high school. |
Anonymous
| APS (Arlington) has required swim in 3rd/4th and 9th grades. 9th grade girls HATE it for obvious reasons. |
Anonymous
(sigh) I hate to ask....but why? |
Anonymous
I’m not the PP but can you really not understand? |
Anonymous
Really? Periods- having to use tampons for the first time, worried about leaks Bathing suits, changing bodies Pubic Hair Wet hair for the rest of the day |
Anonymous
I'm a guy (and don't have a daughter) so these concerns are foreign for me. I did suspect "changing bodies" as I know girls at that age tend to be self-conscious. |
Anonymous
Okay, buddy. Sure. Why are you asking? Was this question asked in good faith OR was this question asked to stir up some sort of outrage about policies around changing rooms for instructional swim? |
Anonymous
| A requirement in 3rd/4th? The elementary schools have pools? |
Anonymous
No, they bus the kids to one of the high schools daily for a week. All three high schools have pools. |
Anonymous
| It's such a waste of instructional time. They should cut it, and it would save a lot of money too. |
Anonymous
| I don't remember either of mykids having it in 9th grade. Is this new? They're in college now. APS. |
Anonymous
It’s not swimming lessons like freestyle and backstroke. It’s water safety- like floating, treading water, survival stroke, what to do if someone falls in and is hurt or can’t swim. A lot of families don’t have access to a pool or swim lessons and water safety is important. It’s like 2 days in 3rd grade and 5 days in 4th grade. They leave in a bus right after morning meeting and return before lunch. |
Anonymous
When my kid was in 3rd grade a few years ago, no APS student had died from drowning since the 70s, when the swim unit was instituted. Not sure if that stat still holds, but I wouldn’t call it a waste of time. |
Anonymous
+1. It’s not a waste of time at all. Sure, lots of kids in Arlington swim on Div 1 NVSL teams but there’s a huge cohort that doesn’t even get water safety lessons outside of school. |