PUSD Water Safety Program

Every school year the RBAC provides third-grade students from the Pasadena Unified School District with swim, dive and water polo lessons.

The students receive 15 lessons, swim suits, water safety workbooks, and daily towel service - all at no cost to their families. The program includes free family swim passes to encourage parents, siblings and members of extended families to participate in Family Recrational Swim. Many students improve one to two levels. Some return to the RBAC to continue in more advanced classes or participate on the competitive teams.

The lessons develop athletic skills for a lifetime of healthy recreation as well as safety around pools and beaches. Drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional death in children from ages one to 14, killing almost three children a day in the U.S.

We have roughly 1,000 - 1,450 students, depending on enrollement numbers, participating in the program annually from 14 elementary schools, plus 1 group home. The schools are Altadena, Cleveland, Norma Coombs, Don Benito, Field, Franklin, Hamilton, Jackson, Jefferson, Longfellow, Madison, Mckinley, Roosevelt, San Rafael, Sierra Madre, Washington, Webster, Willard, and Hillsides. Classroom teachers report that program benefits extend well beyond the pool deck. During the swim programs, attendance and student academic performance is up while tardies and classroom disruptions are down. The program is made possible by support from the LA84 Foundation, Community Development Block Grant, Pasadena Educational Foundation and the Rose Bowl Aquatics Center Scholarship Fund.