Free Water Safety Program for all Forney ISD 2nd Grade Students
Graysen Reid
Forney ISD Athletics is offering a free water safety program to be offered to all second grade students across the district starting this fall 2023. The goal of the program is to familiarize students with safe behavior in, on and around the water.
Water safety is an important life skill as drownings are the number one cause of death in children.
“Our goal with the program is to assess swimming skills, teach kids about water safety and build champions in life by giving students the tools to make good decisions in and around water,” said Director of Athletics Neal Weaver.
The water safety lessons will be taught in small groups by qualified water safety instructors who will follow the Red Cross Safety Program, Longfellow’s Whale Tales, “Do your Part, Be Water Smart.”
Students, with parent permission, will be transported by bus during the school day to the Forney ISD Aquatics Center to participate in one-hour sessions each day for four consecutive days.
“From swim instructors to certified lifeguards, instructional resources and equipment, we are committed to bringing this opportunity to our Forney ISD families,” Forney ISD Superintendent Dr. Justin Terry said.
Classes will be scheduled throughout the year to school year in order for all second grade students across the district to go through the four-day program.
A timeline showing when each elementary campus is scheduled to participate will be shared the first few weeks of school and published on the Forney ISD website. Communication with teachers and parents will include program specifics and expectations. In addition, parents will be able to provide permission for their student(s) to participate.
Student participants in the program will be asked to bring a swimsuit (or a t-shirt and shorts) and a towel.
Student interest and participation in water sports at FISD continues to grow at the high school level. The swim, dive and water polo teams from both North Forney and Forney High Schools maintain synchronized schedules in order to get the water-time necessary for practices and meets required for competitive programs. Due to the increased use of the aquatics center pool, FISD will assume responsibility for the operations of the facility on July 31, 2023.
Metroplex Aquatics, the current operating partner of the Aquatics Center, will continue their programming through July 30.
Future community programs offered at the Forney ISD Aquatics Center will be communicated and posted on the FISD website at www.forneyisd.net/aquatic-