The swimming unit has been removed as a requirement for freshmen starting this year but remains an option for upperclassmen P.E. students, P.E. department lead Kristina Edwards said in an email interview.
Principal and Chief Innovator Greg Wohlman approved the decision made by the P.E. department, Edwards said. The parent complaints the department received over the freshmen swim- ming unit were exhausting to deal with and often not medically related, she said.
“Last year we received 47 parent emails, over 100 letters from parents stating that they did not want their 9th grade student to take swimming as well as a few parents who went straight to the superintendent with complaints,” Edwards said.
As a result, the swimming unit is no longer offered to freshmen, Edwards said. But it is still a course that upperclassmen can choose to take, she added.
The PE department feels that ALL students should be water safe, especially living where we do,” Edwards said. “However, the PE department as well as administration decided that it was best for everyone and their mentalhealth to have swimming be an option and a class that students choose.”
Junior Vivian Ngo took the swimming unit as a freshman when it was still required, she said. Ngo believes that swimming is an important skill to learn and that the swimming unit covers the fundamental skills needed to swim, she added.
“It’s a really good basic because it teaches you how to float and how to swim,” Ngo said. “Because you’re doing treading, you’re doing freestyle, you’re learning how to float on your back and on your stomach.”
The swimming unit also allowed her to review her swimming knowledge from past lessons while allowing her to bond with classmates, Ngo said.
“I think it really helped me build new relationships with people around me,” Ngo said. “Because I feel swimming, if you’re doing it for the first time, you struggle a lot, and having experience in swimming before, I can apply my learning in helping others.” However, if given the opportunity, freshman Eva Miguelino would not take the swimming unit, she said. Miguelino was worried about taking the unit because she had never received proper swimming lessons, she said.
“I don’t know if I’ll get an okay grade because I’ve never actually learned,” Miguelino said. “I don’t think I’d need to know (how to swim).” If given the option, freshman Olivia Jamin would also choose not to take the swimming unit, she said. However, she believes that swimming is still an important life skill, she said.
“Yeah, because if there’s an emergency or something, or hanging out with friends, right?” Jamin said. “They want to swim, but you don’t know how to swim so you can’t do anything. It’s kind of sad.”
Junior Uliana Kononenko took the swimming unit when it was offered as an option to upper- classmen, and it helped her join the swim team and prepared her to be a swim instructor during the summer, she said. She felt comfortable throughout the entire unit because she already knew how to swim, and she felt safe with the level of supervision, she said.
“But then we also had a life- guard every single day, and if there wasn’t a lifeguard, we were not allowed to get into the water,” Kononenko said. “They’re trained and they teach people to swim and stuff.”
The class was geared toward intermediate-level swimmers, Kononenko said. Most students who took the course already had some level of swimming experience, she added.
“But it would be good to have an option or have a separate part of the same class that is structured more for completely new learners,” Kononenko said.
Swimming is a skill that everyone should know, Kononenko said.
“It can save your life, and it can help you save someone’s life,” Kononenko said.