16 Item Swim Lessons
Request of Councilmembers Brock & de la Torre that the City Council direct the City Manager to develop an estimate of resources needed to provide financial assistance to eligible families and/or partner with community non-profits to provide free and/or reduced-cost swim lessons at Santa Monica Aquatics facilities to ensure that elementary school-age children have access to learn how to swim.
Background
All children who reside in Santa Monica should have basic swim skills by the time they exit 5th grade. It is a societal imperative that is especially important for diverse children who face many barriers to becoming acclimated to the water. In our coastal community with direct proximity to the Pacific Ocean, the availability of backyard pools in some areas of our community means that a child can lose their life because they lack a skill that should be common to all Santa Monica children.
It is imperative that all traces of America’s racist past be erased in our time, and one of those areas is the ability and right to be able to swim. In the recent past, swimming was an integral part of physical education classes at Santa Monica middle schools.
The ability to pay for swim instruction should not be a barrier to becoming a proficient swimmer.