Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's such a waste of instructional time. They should cut it, and it would save a lot of money too.

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.

Arlington County has swim lessons and they definitely have scholarship money available for people who can’t afford it.

There are a lot of obstacles other than cost to signing up for classes outside of school. Signed, disabled mom who works full time.

I think water safety is about one of the most important things a school system can teach, and I'm not sure how this could possibly be controversial.

Really? I don't. In this area, they are much more at risk from traffic. I'd greatly prefer lessons on traffic safety/pedestrian safety. I routinely see kids put themselves in very dangerous situations and there are traffic accidents that claim the lives of our kids regularly. Where there has not been a drowning death that I know of in decades.

Pssst APS offers drivers Ed for free as well

Anonymous wrote:It's such a waste of instructional time. They should cut it, and it would save a lot of money too.

It's one of the most useful things they will ever learn. One of the few that can save their lives. I grew up in a district that had swim for every grade, every year. We had natural bodies of water in just about every backyard, but there were very few drownings.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's such a waste of instructional time. They should cut it, and it would save a lot of money too.

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.

Arlington County has swim lessons and they definitely have scholarship money available for people who can’t afford it.

There are a lot of obstacles other than cost to signing up for classes outside of school. Signed, disabled mom who works full time.

I think water safety is about one of the most important things a school system can teach, and I'm not sure how this could possibly be controversial.

Really? I don't. In this area, they are much more at risk from traffic. I'd greatly prefer lessons on traffic safety/pedestrian safety. I routinely see kids put themselves in very dangerous situations and there are traffic accidents that claim the lives of our kids regularly. Where there has not been a drowning death that I know of in decades.

Well, they do also offer biking as part of PE, which touches on traffic safety (at least they did at my kid’s ES— I think it was in 2nd & 3rd grade).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's such a waste of instructional time. They should cut it, and it would save a lot of money too.

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.

+1. I helped chaperone a few times when my kids were in elementary. Day one they get a sense from a test in the shallow end of who needs help and who is clearly a swim team kid. From there they are divided up for the rest of the week. The goal is purely water safety. Poor kids, especially in south Arlington, have very little access to pools. If we can spend a couple of half days giving them basic life-saving skills, it's not like it's going to impact admission to Harvard in 5th grade.

Please don't sit in your 22207 privilege and complain. Your NVSL kid will be fine. APS institutes programs across the school system. The experience probably looks very very different for the 3rd graders at Jamestown or Discovery than it does for the kids at Carlin Springs or Randolph.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's such a waste of instructional time. They should cut it, and it would save a lot of money too.

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.

Arlington County has swim lessons and they definitely have scholarship money available for people who can’t afford it.

Are you serious with this statement? Yes, they have swim lessons and yes, they have scholarship money -- but signing up is ridiculously difficult and also requires that the parents have the time and money to get their kid(s) to the pool. There are families in Arlington who can't do that -- and if I have to explain to you why that's the case, then I really beg you to educate yourself.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's such a waste of instructional time. They should cut it, and it would save a lot of money too.

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.

Arlington County has swim lessons and they definitely have scholarship money available for people who can’t afford it.

There are a lot of obstacles other than cost to signing up for classes outside of school. Signed, disabled mom who works full time.

I think water safety is about one of the most important things a school system can teach, and I'm not sure how this could possibly be controversial.

Really? I don't. In this area, they are much more at risk from traffic. I'd greatly prefer lessons on traffic safety/pedestrian safety. I routinely see kids put themselves in very dangerous situations and there are traffic accidents that claim the lives of our kids regularly. Where there has not been a drowning death that I know of in decades.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's such a waste of instructional time. They should cut it, and it would save a lot of money too.

I think the cost is almost nothing for high school kids swimming in the pool at their school during their PE class. And I guess the bus cost for elementary kids? How much are you imagining this is costing APS?

I don’t have to imagine. It’s right in the budget. Try reading it before making uninformed assumptions.

Ok, then why don’t you just post the amount instead of vague, condescending hints?

You can't look it up just like I did? I didn't memorize it, and i don't need to go find it again just for you. You can look it up too!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's such a waste of instructional time. They should cut it, and it would save a lot of money too.

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.

Arlington County has swim lessons and they definitely have scholarship money available for people who can’t afford it.

There are a lot of obstacles other than cost to signing up for classes outside of school. Signed, disabled mom who works full time.

I think water safety is about one of the most important things a school system can teach, and I'm not sure how this could possibly be controversial.

I think the most controversial bit is whether it teaches enough skills to justify the busing cost and disruption to the school day. My kids are on swim team, so it was a big waste of their time.

I do wonder if APS could just make swim free for all 3-5th graders with open public swim times and offer workshops for kids to attend who need these skills.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's such a waste of instructional time. They should cut it, and it would save a lot of money too.

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.

Arlington County has swim lessons and they definitely have scholarship money available for people who can’t afford it.

There are a lot of obstacles other than cost to signing up for classes outside of school. Signed, disabled mom who works full time.

I think water safety is about one of the most important things a school system can teach, and I'm not sure how this could possibly be controversial.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's such a waste of instructional time. They should cut it, and it would save a lot of money too.

I think the cost is almost nothing for high school kids swimming in the pool at their school during their PE class. And I guess the bus cost for elementary kids? How much are you imagining this is costing APS?

I don’t have to imagine. It’s right in the budget. Try reading it before making uninformed assumptions.

Ok, then why don’t you just post the amount instead of vague, condescending hints?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's such a waste of instructional time. They should cut it, and it would save a lot of money too.

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.

Arlington County has swim lessons and they definitely have scholarship money available for people who can’t afford it.

Have you ever tried to sign up for these? It’s like hunger games.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's such a waste of instructional time. They should cut it, and it would save a lot of money too.

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.

Arlington County has swim lessons and they definitely have scholarship money available for people who can’t afford it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's such a waste of instructional time. They should cut it, and it would save a lot of money too.

I think the cost is almost nothing for high school kids swimming in the pool at their school during their PE class. And I guess the bus cost for elementary kids? How much are you imagining this is costing APS?

I don’t have to imagine. It’s right in the budget. Try reading it before making uninformed assumptions.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's such a waste of instructional time. They should cut it, and it would save a lot of money too.

I think the cost is almost nothing for high school kids swimming in the pool at their school during their PE class. And I guess the bus cost for elementary kids? How much are you imagining this is costing APS?

+1. It’s not much money, and these classes save lives.

Anonymous wrote:It's such a waste of instructional time. They should cut it, and it would save a lot of money too.

I think the cost is almost nothing for high school kids swimming in the pool at their school during their PE class. And I guess the bus cost for elementary kids? How much are you imagining this is costing APS?