Students at
St. Pius Catholic School in Jacksonville
have been making a splash in a program designed to prevent drowning,
the leading cause of unintentional death in young children in Florida.
Made possible through a grant from the Winston Family YMCA and the Jan & Lou Walsh Family Foundation, 50 students in grades K-8 with little or no swimming ability, have successfully completed the Y's Safety Around Water, an eight lesson program that teaches essential water safety skills and beginner swimming lessons.
Principal Lauren May, a former swim coach, recognized the importance of water safety training and pursued the opportunity for St. Pius to become the first school in North Florida to participate in this type of extracurricular program. St. Pius Catholic School currently has 106 students that receive the Step Up for Students Scholarship.
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