Brief Version:

Provide aquatic experiences for students and community health using under-utilized district pools.

Goals:

• Create a systematic framework for aquatic experiences.
• Long-term goal: Ensure all PPS students can swim.
• Increase pool usage by 300% in 2024.
• Expand pool hours and offer diverse programming.
• Provide swim lessons for all ages and skill levels.
• Foster personal confidence through aquatic activities.
• Integrate lifeguard training and mentorship programs.
• Build staff capacity through comprehensive training.
• Supply affordable equipment for program sustainability.

U CAN Swim Curriculum:

• Learner-centric online content for pre-and-post pool learning.
• Progress assessments using a skill-based progression system.
• Inclusive swim activities and SKWIM game-play.
• Various session formats for flexibility.

Events/Services:

• In-person water safety presentations.
• Online courses.
• Pool lessons/drop-ins/camps.

Sessions Include:

• Literacy (H2O Aware), swim lessons, and aquatic game-play.
• Interesting and challenging activities.
• Inclusion tips for diverse learners.
• Tangible items for students (awards, certificates).

Session Lengths:

• 30-40 minutes for presentations.
• 90 minutes for most pool sessions.
• 3 hours for summer camp sessions.

Dates and Locations:

• Flexible scheduling from March to September.
• Priority locations: Langley, Allegheny, Arsenal, Oliver, PCA, Colfax.

Program Impact:

• Advances career and life-ready opportunities.
• Positions PPS as a premier district.
• Aligns with district goals, mission, vision, and beliefs.

The proposal aims to transform under-utilized district pools into hubs for comprehensive aquatic experiences, aligning with the district's vision and goals.

Extended Version, Too Long to Fit in Form:

This proposal aims to provide proven, flexible, engaging, holistic aquatic and athletic experiences devoted to the health and wellness of the students and community by deploying the district’s under-utilized swimming pools.

Objectives and goals:

Provide a systematic framework of possibilities for aquatic experiences so that district and school-based administrators can easily implement and develop water safety awareness, swimming lessons, aquatic game-play and other athletic enrichment opportunities for students.

The long-term, global goal is to get everyone in PPS able to swim. This program can get thousands of PPS students into the district’s under-utilized swim pools to engage in purposeful learning experiences that boosts personal confidence and skills in aquatic settings so as to inspire the hope of one-day becoming a lifeguard and swim-instructor.

Increased Utilization:

• Increase pool usage in 2024 in the 15 district facilities by 300% while providing tools and program expertise to grow an additional 300% within the next three years.
• Expand pool hours to accommodate diverse user needs.
• Deploy innovative programming to attract and sustain the new swim audiences for summer expansions.

Improved Aquatic Skills:

• Offer swim lessons for all ages and skill levels.
• Implement U CAN Swim’s skill-based progression system for achieving aquatic competency.
• Model how to integrate aquatic activities into new and existing out-of-school time offerings.

Enhanced Personal Confidence:

• Provide opportunities for individual and group achievement within a safe and supportive tech environment with online courses such as Mental Skills for Young Athletes.
• Develop social-emotional learning skills through inclusive, aquatic activities, and SKWIM game-play.
• Promote a growth mindset and celebrate individual progress and awards.

Cultivating Lifesaving Leaders:

• Integrate lifeguard training programs into the aquatics curriculum.
  
• Offer mentorship opportunities for aspiring swim instructors.
• Inspire students to embrace a role in promoting aquatic safety and leadership.

Building Staff Capacity:

• Provide comprehensive training for district staff on aquatic safety, teaching methodologies, and program administration.
• Create professional development opportunities for staff to enhance their skills and knowledge.
• Foster a supportive and collaborative environment for staff to share best practices and problem-solve.
• Develop partnerships with community organizations to enhance program offerings and outreach.
• New, modestly priced, facility equipment (fins, arm floats, disks, goals) for PPS can increase capacity, staff performances, continuous improvement and demonstrate a commitment to program sustainability.
  Let’s ensures that the program has program equipment to boost the human resources so all can deliver high-quality aquatic experiences and achieve desired outcomes.

The entire U CAN Swim curriculum is learner centric.

1. Students get online swimming content for pre-and-post pool learning.
2. Individual progress assessments of their swim-pool lessons happens as students swim through a structured progression (Dolphins, Super Dolphins, Stages 1, 2, 3 and 4). Lesson activities at the pool are student-centered.
3. Fitness and game-play interactions (SKWIM) happen within the session after the lesson segments so as to emphasize group and social-learning experiences.

This proposal's menu of various session formats allow school-based leaders opportunities to collaborate with the swim experts to ideally match constraints of budgets, available times, equipment, facilities and support staff.

Three types of events/services, explained in the menu, include:

1. In person, for classroom / assembly on water safety; 

2. Online courses;

3. At the pool lessons / drop-in / camps.

The agenda throughout the proposed time frame is to yet to be determined based upon the needs and desires of school-based leadership. After-school assemblies, at-home webinars and optional Saturday Swim School sessions could build into a week-long rookie camp and conclude with a full-time multi-week, All-City SKWIM & Water Polo Camp in the summer of 2024.

Every pool session includes three distinct elements of

1. literacy (H2O Aware), 
2. swim lesson instruction and
3. aquatic game-play.

Interesting and challenging: Butterfly, diving, deep water swimming, zooming with fins and scoring goals in the tournament have always proven to be interesting and challenging for PPS students throughout ten prior years of Summer Dreamers SKWIM & Water Polo. In 2024, the Paris Olympics will be happening. Progress awards for individual students are included in the teaching steps.

Inclusion: The keys to teaching any learner are patience, practice, and creativity. Swimming is swimming and the water is a magical setting to many. Many tips for all sorts of different learners are covered in every U CAN Swim course. Among all recreational settings, being in the water with its zero-gravity is fantastic. We will acquire some swim equipment, especially dual boards, that greatly aid with in water floatation.

Tangible items for the students include their awards, certificates, bag-tags and stickers, as well as online gamification points. Highlight videos and instructional demonstration videos plus trophies / medals are part of the tournament participation.

Length of sessions vary. 

• 30-40 minutes for assembly / classroom presentations, swimming for grades K, 1 and 2 especially if new and colder water.
• 90 minutes for most pool session, depending on bus departure times.
• 3-hours for summer camp sessions.

Dates can be booked with school sites and occur as soon as approved. Anticipate most dates to occur from March through August. Afterschool, evenings, weekends, holidays, in-service days, vacation days are all possible for discussions.

The desired number of students depends on the setting. An all-school water safety assembly would work as a kick-off for H2O Aware. Sessions at the pool depend upon participant’s age, water depth, if guardians accompany students, and the facility. Oliver HS pool is larger than Allegheny’s pool. A robust RSVP system is in place to reserve spots if needed. Often 20 participants is good as it allows for 2 squads of 10 each. But, 30 works too as the third team gets to do dives in another part of the pool. Three Saturday sessions of 30 each could fill times at 8 am, 9:30 and 11 am allowing us to serve 90 participants.

Sites priorities: 

1. Every school can has assembly spaces. Know Before You Go water awareness presentations can be at any school. 
2. PPS has 15 indoor pools in schools. Fourteen are great locations. 
3. Top priorities are Langley, Allegheny, Arsenal, Oliver, PCA, Colfax. These schools have elementary grades. 
4. The 6-12 schools and 9-12 schools are possible locations for programming, but they are of less of a priority. 
5. Lowest priority is Allderdice and other schools with swim teams that monopolize after-school times in the winter season. Most team activities conclude in February, but Allderdice has JCC swim team programs worth avoiding.

This program fits the vision of the district as it advances career (lifeguard / swim instructors) and life-ready (survival in water) opportunities.

Deploying this innovative aquatic proposal makes PPS a premier district in an area that has been greatly under-served. The accountable learning with online courses and progress in the pool with structured steps and game-play fun achieves a strength of character for its participants. This programs allows all children to learn and excel at high levels and makes a profound impact on student development with mental, social and physical skills.

Does your program align with the district's goals, mission, vision, and beliefs? 

Yes. Read the supporting letter from Jacob Boyce.

Brief Version

Costs for tech and curriculum heavily subsidized by external funding.

All activities on-site at PPS; no transportation costs.

Students at schools without pools can walk to others; Saturday/summer camps may require personal transportation. Game-day events, if held, have no budgeted transportation. No other confirmed funding sources.

Start-up equipment for each pool: $4,000. Equipment costs with discounts, well below retail. 15 indoor pools in PPS, new equipment investment for all schools is $60,000 total, transforming PE classes for years.

Start-up equipment breakdown:

• Custom headbands (2 colors x 24 x $6) = $288
• 10 SKWIM disks x $20 = $200
• 2 goals x $1,500 = $3,000
• 10 pairs of fins x $25 = $250
• 5 pairs of arm floats x $50 = $250 Total start-up equipment cost = $3,988 Assumption: Staffing costs up to 50%. No field trips in the budget.

Awards, certificates, and bag tags cost <$15 each per student.

Total program costs vary based on school services selected. Custom plans based on funds and logistics.

1 of 3: Literacy components for connected learning. Bundled site-license offer to PPS is astonishing. Literacy investment is <$50K. PPS cost for site-wide license <$2 per person. Digital assets can scale for entire district population until 2028 LA Olympics renewal.

We want online courses adopted in PPS due to Pittsburgh connections.

Mind leads, body follows. Sports' mental skills benefit children long-term.

Check PPS site license budget for online courses: https://tinyurl.com/PPS-license

License covers PPS staff, faculty, volunteers, students, guardians. Valid throughout 2024, renewal options for 2025-2028 Olympics. Early renewal rate (before Oct 1, 2024): $6,375. Late renewal rate (after Oct 2, 2024): $21,251. Retail price per course in bundle: $612. Free online course evaluation for PPS Administrators.

Visit https://Read.SwimISCA.org/groups/government. Enroll in group, use coupon code PPS+ESSER+Mark at checkout (https://Read.SwimISCA.org/checkout/government), price becomes $0.

2 of 3: In-person water safety presentations for classroom/auditorium:

H2O Aware (presentation): Typical $1,000 / PPS $300. Know Before You Go (presentation): Typical $1,000 / PPS $300. Know Before You Go, Social Justice (presentation): Typical $1,500 / PPS $500. 3 of 3: Aquatic activities at the pool:

Dinos, Ducklings, Dolphins (swim lesson classes) for wee ones: Typical $15; PPS $250 per session (20 students), $300 (30 students). U CAN Swim (swim lesson classes) for any grade: Typical $15; PPS $250 per session (20 students), $300 (30 students). U CAN Swim Fast (swim lesson classes) for students with advanced swim skills: Typical $15; PPS $250 per session (20 students), $300 (30 students). U CAN Play SKWIM (swim lesson classes) for students of any grade: Typical $15; PPS $250 per session (20 students), $300 (30 students). ONCORE (water mindfulness classes) for students in grades 4 and above: Typical $15; PPS $250 per session (20 students), $300 (30 students). Saturday Swim School (drop-in, 90-minute sessions with optional guardians): Typical $15; PPS $5 per student; $0 per guardian; online RSVP required. SKWIM & Water Polo Rookie Camp (1 week, 3 hours per day): PPS $75 per student per week (10+ students). All-City SKWIM & Water Polo Camp (5 weeks, 3 hours per day = 75 hrs total): Typical PPS $325 per student; minimum 20 students, $6,500. Lifeguard Training (hybrid, certification course) for staff & HS students age 16+: Typical $150+; PPS $100. Cost per student served varies based on selected offerings. Online tech investments for district-wide licenses bring the cost to <$5 per student. In-pool cost per student ranges from $5 to $20 per session, aligned with Boost program rates.

User fees possible. Participants bring swim suits, towels, and goggles.

Extended Version: Too long to fit in form.

The costs for the technology and curriculum are going to be heavily subsidized by the provider, a confirmed outside funding source.

All activities are on-site at PPS and no transportation costs are included.

• Students at some schools without pools can walk to other schools with pools, such as MLK to Allegheny.
• Saturday and some summer camps will require students and guardians to provide their own transportation.
• Game-day special events, if held, come without budgeted transportation costs.
• No other confirmed outside funding sources at this time.

Start-up equipment for each pool: $4,000.

• Equipment costs are with special discounts from friendly manufactures and far below retail prices.

Given 15 indoor pools in PPS, the new equipment investment when delivered to every school is $60,000 total. Every PPS pool needs this modern equipment investment. The equipment can transform PE classes for years to come and it can remain at the school facility during and after ESSER programming ends. The equipment should last for five year or more.

• + two colors of custom headbands x 24 per color x $6 each = $288
• + 10 SKWIM disks x $20 each = $200 total
• + 2 goals x $1,500 each = $3,000
• + 10 pair of fins x $25 each = $250
• + 5 pair of arm floats x $50 each = $250
• Start-up equipment total = $3,988

Assumption: Staffing costs are up to 50%. 

No field trips in the budget.

Awards, certificates and bag tags are a per-student cost, less than $15 each.

Total program costs vary based upon the desired services the school site selects. Mutual discussions to be held to customize a plan based upon available funds and logistical constraints.

1 of 3:
Literacy components for connected learning elements

The resources and bundled, site-license, offer to PPS is astonishing.

The literacy investment is less than $50K. With the 20,000 students, 2,000 teachers, and guardians, the PPS cost for the site-wide license calculates to less than $2 per person.

Digital assets can scale so as to include the entire population of the district. Every teacher, staff member, student, volunteer and guardian can be included for 2024. With a license renewal, the terms go to 2028 LA Olympics.

We want these online courses to be adopted and made available to the students and families of PPS because of our intimate Pittsburgh connections.

We understand that the mind leads and the body follows. The mental skills that sports can teach can do wonders for our children for years to come.

2 of 3:
In person water safety presentations for classroom / auditorium:

• Title: H2O Aware(presentation), Typical: $1,000 / PPS $300.
• Title: Know Before You Go (presentation), Typical: $1,000 / PPS $300.
• Title: Know Before You Go, Social Justice (presentation), Typical: $1,500 / PPS $500.

3 of 3:
Aquatics activities at the pool.

Dinos, Ducklings, Dolphins (swim lesson classes), for wee ones

• Typical: $15; PPS $250 per session for 20 students; $300 for 30

U CAN Swim (swim lesson classes), for any grade

• Typical: $15; PPS $250 per session for 20 students; $300 for 30

U CAN Swim Fast(swim lesson classes), for students with advanced swim skills

• Typical: $15; PPS $250 per session for 20 students; $300 for 30

U CAN Play SKWIM(swim lesson classes), for the students of any grade

• Typical: $15; PPS $250 per session for 20 students; $300 for 30

ONCORE (water mindfulness classes), for students in grades 4 and above

• Typical: $15; PPS $250 per session for 20 students; $300 for 30

Saturday Swim School (drop-in, 90-minute sessions with optional guardians)

• Typical: $15; PPS $5 per student; $0 per guardian; online RSVP required

SKWIM & Water Polo Rookie Camp (1 week, 3-hours per day)

• PPS $75 per student per week for 10+ students

All-City SKWIM & Water Polo Camp (5-weeks, 3-hours per day = 75 hrs total)

• Typical: PPS $325 per student; min is 20 students, $6,500.

Lifeguard Training (hybrid, certification course) for staff & HS students age 16+

• Typical: $150+; PPS $100

Cost per student served depends upon the items from the menu of offerings selected. The online tech investments for district wide licenses brings the cost to less than $5 per student. The in-pool cost per student range from $5 to $20 per session. These costs are in-line with traditional rates approved for the summer Boost program.

User fees and scholarships are another avenue that can be utilized to serve additional students and their families, making an item to be discussed later.

Participants need to bring their own swim suits, towels and goggles.