This is not Iceland.

Why can’t you take your child to swim classes? Time, cost….. nothing is free. The county owns the pools. In hs they offer swim team. Our team is assigned to a pool 30 minutes away. So, that could easily be three hours.

I went to elementary school in MCPS back in the 70's. We had swimming as part of PE then. I remember one girl was developing faster than everyone else. With her clothes on, she was teased mercilessly and told that she was obviously stuffing her bra. She had a very hard time wearing a swimsuit around her classmates. The only good that came of it was that seeing her in her bathing suit shut everyone up.

We had to take the bus to the indoor pool, get changed, have the lesson, plus the free play time, get changed, and take the bus back to school. I think we did it once a week. I was a kid then but thinking through the logistics now it seems it would have take either the majority of the morning or the afternoon for this to occur.

It would only work as a field trip. Maybe go once a month, and encourage kids to visit the community pools outside of school.

While I will agree water safety is an important skill, there are much more important things schools could be teaching our students. In school Drivers Education being one of them

I agree with you OP. You should start a petition or write the BOE.

Anonymous wrote:Its unfair to girls who have just started their periods, which in 2024 includes 4th graders and up.

That has not been an issue for Gaithersburg Middle School for decades

Anonymous wrote:I'm a little surprised at the negative comments and the argument that there isn't enough time, because it's standard for learn to swim classes to be 30 minutes. That's enough for several drills. Do that twice a week for a couple months and it could have a real impact, especially for kids whose parents can't afford private lessons? Kids with more skills could swim laps, my 3rd grader who is a good swimmer would love to do laps for PE once or twice a week, she hates running but loves swimming. Great full body workout, really refreshing during warmer months.

Original post mentioned bussing to off site facilities. That alone is taking 20-30 minutes at an absolute minimum.

Its unfair to girls who have just started their periods, which in 2024 includes 4th graders and up.

I'm a little surprised at the negative comments and the argument that there isn't enough time, because it's standard for learn to swim classes to be 30 minutes. That's enough for several drills. Do that twice a week for a couple months and it could have a real impact, especially for kids whose parents can't afford private lessons? Kids with more skills could swim laps, my 3rd grader who is a good swimmer would love to do laps for PE once or twice a week, she hates running but loves swimming. Great full body workout, really refreshing during warmer months.

Not enough time to fit that into the regular school schedule. I do think it should be offered afterschool through MCPS though.

I took swim class during high school and it was awful. It may work better with block scheduling, but 42 minutes was not enough time to change, do anything meaningful, dry off and change again. We were always late to the class after swim.

It’s a waste of time. No one is learning how to swim in the limited time schools spend there. Go to the APS forum and read the threads about it. My kids all did it in 4th and 5th grade as a part of PE. It’s a huge waste of time and money.

Anonymous wrote:I wonder why MCPS does not offer free swimming classes during school hours by busing? There are many county/city pools indoor or outdoors which should cost free to the county/city.

Gaithersburg Middle School offers swimming as part of their PE curriculum but that only works because the Gaithersburg Aquatic Center is attached to the school.

I wonder why MCPS does not offer free swimming classes during school hours by busing? There are many county/city pools indoor or outdoors which should cost free to the county/city.