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Donned in the best Spider-Man and American flag swimsuits, preschoolers from Piedmont Elementary trickle into the downtown Duluth YMCA for their safe swim lessons. It’s their third week and they know their stuff.

Before getting into the water their instructor quizzes them: “What color does a lifeguard wear?” she asks. “Red!” they shout back.

“Being comfortable around water opens up the world of water recreation to you, and as any Minnesotan knows, that's where a lot of us get our joy,” said Sherry Williams, the director of Duluth’s Head Start program who launched the six-week preschooler classes four years ago. She believes it’s Minnesota’s only program to offer swim lessons during the school day. 

During their class, the kids find that joy by practicing floating on their backs, seeing underwater and jumping into the deep end of the pool. Four-year-old Cody West called it “super cool.” 

Williams said over the years, she saw water as a barrier to young children safely enjoying one of the best things about living in Minnesota. Drowning is one of the leading causes of death for children younger than age 5. 

“First of all, [we’re] in the state of Minnesota, with 10,000 lakes,” Williams said. “Second of all, in the city of Duluth, on the shores of the Great Lake Superior, and in a community with 43 streams running into Lake Superior and the St Louis River, we are a city of water and drownings do happen in Duluth.” 

Williams originally pitched the program to the YMCA to get  inclusive swim scholarships for Duluth’s Head Start families, many of whom meet federal poverty guidelines and may not have access to swim lessons.

“And the Y responded back saying, ‘Well, if you really are interested in equity, those swimming lessons should happen during the school day, because there are plenty of families for whom transportation, just arranging your life to get to the Y at a certain time, is really difficult,’” Williams recalled.

Swim lessons

Williams and the teachers work seamlessly to get kids off the bus into the pool and then back onto the bus safely.

Teacher Tina Podemski said the class has been a great opportunity for her students, although she was a little hesitant in the beginning to commit her preschoolers to essentially a field a week on top of their school lessons. But she said it’s been worth it.

“I was a little bit nervous about taking 16 3- and 4-year-olds, but I was excited too, because I wasn’t able to afford some lessons as a child, and so I didn't learn to swim until I was old.” Podemski said.

The Stowe Elementary School teacher said she was embarrassed growing up not knowing how to swim and she’s happy her own students are now confident in the water and look forward to their swim days.

That confidence inspired parents to ask for swim lessons, too. Last year, during a parent listening session, Jessie Nelson revealed she was uncomfortable around a pool despite her daughter’s lessons at preschool.

“I don’t know how to swim,” Nelson said. “I think it’s great that the kids are getting those swim lessons, but I do think if some of the parents don’t have that skill set, it still leaves the family at a deficit.”

If a parent doesn’t know how to swim, it’s unlikely they’ll encourage their kids to do so. In Nelson’s case, her own mother was scared of water and she passed that fear on to Nelson.

“I just want to be safe for my family,” Nelson said. “I want to be a safe spot, not just emotionally, but physically, when it comes to taking them swimming and it just to break that kind of generational fear that was instilled in me.”

This year will be the first year Duluth Head Start offers water safety classes for adults while continuing the program for preschoolers. Nelson hopes other school districts see what Duluth is doing and are inspired to do the same for students across the state.

“I am still slightly fearful,” Nelson said, “but having my daughter have that strength gives me more strength, and then I know that she'll be able to pass that on to future generations.”

Correction (Jan. 24, 2025): An earlier version of this story misspelled Renley Langlee’s name.

Kyra Miles

Author

Water is important to Minnesota’s identity, but for some in the land of 10,000 lakes it can bring more dread than joy. An effort in the Duluth Public Schools to teach preschoolers to swim is helping ease water fears and even coaxing some parents into the pool.

In Duluth, free water safety classes pay off for preschoolers and parents

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