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HCS second graders begin Learn to Swim Program

Excitement was in the air as the first group of Hampton City Schools second graders boarded the bus for the Hampton Aquaplex for swim lessons.


During January through June 2023, every second grade student in Hampton City Schools has the opportunity to participate in the Learn to Swim Program at no charge to families. Students will attend five consecutive swim lessons during the school day and are scheduled by school. Instruction is provided by the Coast Guard Blue Dolphins (CGBD).


Each student is assessed and placed in skill levels so instruction is differentiated for beginners and more experienced swimmers. Students have one hour of pool/deck time over the five days of instruction. Instructor to student ratio is 1:5, ensuring at least 12+ certified instructors are utilized, plus two out-of-pool supervisors. Lifeguards are also present. Students are taught in small groups of three to six swimmers.


“We are so thankful that our students were given the opportunity to participate in the Learn to Swim program at the Hampton Aquaplex,” said Millicent Rogers, principal at Armstrong School for the Arts. “What an awesome and exciting experience to promote teaching and learning beyond our school classrooms!”


“Students were excited each day to participate in the swimming program at the Hampton Aquaplex,” shared Mary T. Christian Elementary School principal Lynette Nelms. “The instruction was differentiated for beginners and more experienced swimmers so all students could benefit from the program.”


Laura Miller, second grade teacher at Christian said, “The Aquaplex was tight on security and safety at the swim center. The CGBD instructors were amazingly efficient and organized.”


“We were so impressed with the instructors and the great student to instructor ratio,” said Nancy Eason, second grade teacher at Armstrong. “All of our students showed progress, including the ones who had never put their heads in water before.”


Students were overhead saying things like:


“It was so much fun, I love the people who taught us!”


“It was cool!”


“It was the best fun I ever had!”


Desired outcomes of the program include: comfortable submersion, front floats, back floats, streamline glides front and back, rolling over to float, all four forms of kicking for 15 feet, and swim-roll-swim sequences.


To learn more about the Learn to Swim program click here.