{"id":296005,"date":"2026-07-14T22:17:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T22:17:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/296005\/"},"modified":"2026-07-14T22:17:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T22:17:10","slug":"from-the-bronx-to-the-battery-more-funding-for-free-swim-lessons-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/296005\/","title":{"rendered":"From The Bronx to the Battery, more funding for free swim lessons"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Thousands more public school students will receive free swim lessons next year under new City Council<\/a> funding, part of a long-term effort to teach every second grader in New York City how to swim.<\/p>\n

The Council has allocated $1.5 million to the nonprofit group Wave Makers, which was first launched more than two years ago by the nonprofit Asphalt Green with funding from the Gray Foundation.<\/p>\n

With the additional funding, the program will expand from serving 6,000 to 9,000 public school<\/a> second graders.<\/p>\n

The initiative stemmed from legislation sponsored by Councilmembers Julie Menin<\/a>, who is now the Council speaker, and Shekar Krishnan, who at the time chaired the Parks Committee.<\/p>\n

\u201cSwimming and water safety are life saving skills,\u201d Krishnan, who represents parts of Queens<\/a>, told The City Reporter. \u201cWe\u2019re reading every summer about drownings at the beach, about our youth in the water who don\u2019t know how to swim.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AA swim instructor gives lessons at Astoria Pool during the first swim of the summer, June 27, 2024.<\/p>\n

Wave Makers teamed up with Asphalt Green, which operates public pools on the Upper East Side and Battery Park City, setting out to teach 2,000 kids how to swim. Within a year, the program had taught nearly 3,000 students and developed plans for expansion \u2013 with the total number of students now at 6,000.<\/p>\n

Asphalt Green partnered with other organizations to provide lessons at 15 pools across the city.<\/p>\n

The program\u2019s long-term goal is to provide universal swim instruction for every second grader in New York City public schools<\/a>. A Wave makers report earlier this year said it could cost around $45 million a year to expand to the estimated 70,000 public school second graders.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can teach every one of our second graders to swim every year and over time that just becomes a standard part of becoming a New York City public school kid,\u201d Jordan Brackett, Asphalt Green\u2019s CEO, told The City Reporter. \u201cYou learn to read, write, do arithmetic \u2014 and also learn to swim.\u201d<\/p>\n

One obstacle to expanding swim instruction is the limited availability of pools across the city, though Brackett said creative scheduling and reopening underused facilities could increase capacity.<\/p>\n

One public elementary school pool in East Harlem had sat unused since 2015 because of a crack. Asphalt Green paid for an architect to assess repairs, and it reopened in 2024.<\/a> Some CUNY campus pools, including the Olympic-sized one at Lehman College in The Bronx<\/a> \u2014 where the new funding will be announced Tuesday \u2014 were unused during parts of the school week.<\/p>\n

Wave Makers now uses the pool for lessons.<\/p>\n

\"Swimmers<\/a>A swim instructor gives lessons at Astoria Pool during the first swim of the summer, June 27, 2024. Photo: Ben Fractenberg\/THE CITY<\/p>\n

Brackett said offering lessons during the school day is critical because it removes transportation and cost barriers for families.<\/p>\n

The report found that 61% of participating students had a parent or caregiver who could not swim, suggesting school-based instruction can help break generational barriers to swimming.<\/p>\n

Their research also found a \u201csweet spot\u201d of the number of swim sessions that solidified water safety ability and skill \u2014 between 25 and 30.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou haven\u2019t just taught the kid a life skill that might help them save a life,\u201d Brackett said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve taught them a little grit and resilience as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

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