Cloquet Community Ed gets water safety grant

There was a little extra cleaning and TLC last August in the Cloquet Middle School pool. It was completely drained, scrubbed and some on-deck painting was completed as well. In addition to the almost daily usage of the pool by the school district for physical education classes, Community Education also utilizes it for morning/senior lap swims, swimming lessons, aquatics classes and more. Last year, over 1,200 children participated in 168 Red Cross swimming classes. More than 700 participated in our winter and spring Family Friday open swim. We are fortunate to have this wonderful resource, as only one in five public schools in Minnesota operates swimming pools.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, drowning is the leading cause of death for children ages 1-4 and the second-leading cause of unintentional injury-related death for ages 5-14, after motor vehicle crashes. In Minnesota, the highest drowning rates are for 1-4-year olds, 15-24-year olds, and those over 85 years.

To help reduce the incidence of drowning in our area, Cloquet Community Ed was recently awarded a Minnesota Youth Water Safety grant from the Minnesota Department of Education. This grant will allow us to provide swim lesson scholarships for more than 140 children, scholarships for 12 teens to receive Water Safety Instructor (WSI) and/or lifeguard certifications, as well as passes to the Beach at Pinehurst for 45 families and 10 teens this summer. Scholarships will be awarded to income-eligible students, with priority for students who have never taken swim lessons.

We offer swimming lessons for those as young as 6 months. Recently, we changed the names of our swimming lessons for children 6 months to 6 years old to make it easier for parents to find the right class for their child. The two youngest classes are Parent and Child 1 (6 months to 2 years) and Parent and Child 2 (2 to 4 years old). These classes require the parent to be in the pool.

At age 4, children join Preschool Aquatics 1. At age 5, they join Preschool Aquatics 2. At age 6, they enter the American Red Cross levels that range from 1 to 6. In addition to lessons, we also occasionally offer swim camps for those who want to work on stroke development. Finally, when participants turn 15, they can enroll in our lifeguard and/or WSI classes.

To enroll in any of our aquatic offerings, please visit cloquetcommunityed.com. Scholarship information will be posted on the website soon. If you have questions about swim lessons, contact aquatics coordinator Kimm Miens at [email protected] or 218-879-1261.