Water Safety
Mary Thissen-Milder, Physical Education Specialist, Bette Benson, Grants Specialist Coordinator
Angie Kolonich, Science Specialist, Alina Campana, Arts Specialist, Sarah Carter, STEM Specialist, Mee Stevens, Office Administrative Specialist, Nichole Laven, Standards Implementation Manager, Mike Huberty, Math Assessment Specialist, Dawn Cameron, Education Supervisor, Angela Hochstetter, Academic Standards Supervisor, Kate Beattie, Education Supervisor
Bette Benson
$250,000 the first year is appropriated to the commissioner of education for a water safety grant program. The commissioner of education must allocate grants to eligible applicants. Eligible applicants include nonprofit organizations and city and county parks and recreation programs providing swimming lessons to youth. Eligible applicants are not required to partner with other entities. Grant funds must primarily be used to provide scholarships to low-income and at-risk children for swimming lessons. Up to 15 percent of the grant funds may also be used to hire water safety instructors or lifeguards or train water safety instructors or lifeguards in nationally recognized water safety practices and instruction.
Provide scholarships to low-income and at-risk children for swimming lessons. Up to 15 percent of the grant funds may also be used to hire water safety instructors or lifeguards or train water safety instructors or lifeguards in nationally recognized water safety practices and instruction.
Provide 'Safety Around Water' lessons to as many 3rd graders in the ISD709 school district as possible but not to exceed 275 students for fiscal purpose of staying within the grant allotted funding. Additionally, we did not want transportation to be a barrier, so we added funding to pay for bussing costs. This grant provided us opportunity to serve the area public schools' third grade students with a comprehensive 'Safety Around Water' program. We served over 150 students from November 2024-May 2025. While some had taken swim lessons in the past, many had never had access to formal lessons. Each lesson, there were themes that included, but were not limited to: saving oneself in a dangerous water situation, how to properly wear a lifejacket, how to get out of a sink hole on a 'frozen' open body of water, and how to keep oneself safe around any body of water - pool or open water. The in-water lessons allowed kids to learn and master safety skills while the classroom portion reinforced the swim lesson curriculum. Additionally, we included transportation costs in the grant which made these 'field trips' to the Y more accessible as none of the district schools' budgets allowed for this cost. We were able to reach just under 50% of the public-school district's 3rd graders as the grant goal stated.