CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — School looked very different Wednesday for third graders in the Corpus Christi Indepdnet School District.
Students received free swim lessons at the Corpus Christi Natatorium. The program is available for all of the district's elementary schools.
Given the city's location, the beach is literally in our backyard. Instructors encourage teaching kids how to swim early because their lives could depend on that skill.
Keith Springer is the third grade 'Learn to Swim' coordinator.
"Growing old, doesn't teach you to swim. There's no magic wand that gets waved. And so, most people who are gonna learn how to swim, are gonna learn at this age right now," he said.
The life-saving skill is imperative with the bodies of water that surround the sparkling city by the sea.
"You have kids who are getting opportunities, maybe nobody in their family swims at all," Springer said. "And this is their chance to have a safe a controlled environment through a school district where they're gonna be able to get skills that may end up saving their life."
Before Springer became the 'Learn to Swim' coordinator, he was in the U.S. Coast Guard. It was that experience that would later lead him to help empower others by teaching them how to swim.
"I have seen a lot of potentially the result of what can happen when people don't know how to swim," Springer said.
Corpus Christi ISD offers free swim lessons from August to the end of the school year.
Billy McLendon is the aquatics coordinator and said that the experience has the potential to reach far into the community.
"They love it, the parents love it. And we also have an after-school program that's free for the kids, once they pass this program. Because this is just basic swimming here," McLendon said.
Springer said that what isn't basic is exposing kids to swimming during classroom instruction.
"If you come to this program, and your child is not ready to swim, then take this, use it," Springer said. "Go get more lessons. Make sure your child knows how to swim and has basic skills so if they fall in the water, they're going to be safe in that environment."
To learn more about the after-school program - contact Billy McLendon: billy.mclendon@ccisd.us