Mission CISD Diving into a New Water Safety Program
Mission, Texas - Before learning to swim, water safety should be the first step for anyone who will be in and around a body of water. Mission Consolidated Independent School District (CISD) has launched a new water safety education program for Second Grade students where they can build confidence in a fun and active way while learning life-saving skills to prepare themselves in case of a water-related emergency.
“It is important for us to do this program for the district so that our students become more knowledgeable about safety in the water,” shared Health and Physical Education Coordinator for Mission CISD, Martina Carrillo. “If they have a pool at home, or go to the beach, they will be prepared on how to take care of themselves in case they happen to fall into the water”.
It takes a great amount of teamwork to make the water safety program work from the campus administration, the Transportation Department, teachers, and the coordination of schedules. Including the Water Safety Instructors, and Lifeguards who work closely with the students in making sure the techniques are being taught and performed correctly.
“If they are ever in a situation where they jump into the water and don’t know what to do, I don’t want them to panic,” said Aquatics Manager and Water Safety Instructor, Roberto Ochoa. “We teach them here what to do like blowing bubbles and floating on their backs. Everything that we are teaching here is for them to know how to get in and out of the water easily”.
The water safety initiative opens the door for other Mission CISD groups to use the Aquatic Center for specific programs and training. It’s an opportunity to improve existing classes such as the outdoor adventure class, which is currently being offered at the Secondary Level.
“We are grateful that our executive leadership team has supported us in launching this program as we have great facilities here for the students to use,” states Carrillo. “We’ve started with these three-day sessions for each campus that will hopefully be expanding to other grade levels and campuses soon”.
Students participating in the program are transported to Mission CISD Aquatic Center located at Mission High School, through the Mission CISD transportation system and are with a chaperone at all times. Parent permission slips are required for all students who participate in the program. Students are not required to know how to swim to enjoy the sessions.
The water safety program takes place now through the month of May for all participating Mission CISD Elementary schools.
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