PUSD

Learn to Swim Every year, the RBAC has provided hundreds of at-risk third-grade students from the Pasadena Unified School District with swim, dive and water polo lessons.

The students attend 15 lessons and receive swim suits, water safety workbooks, and daily towel service. The program includes free family swim passes so that parents, siblings and members of extended families may participate. Most students improve one to two levels and many return to the Center 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. This program is essential because nearly 4,000 Americans drown every year. 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 1450 students participate in the program annually from 18 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. In sum, 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.

In 2017, a 25 day aquatics pilot program was offered to students from Washington STEAM Magnet. 6th grade students participated in competitive swimming, competitive diving, water polo, and lifeguard training. The goal of the pilot program was to introduce these students to a sport that they could participate in whether it be on a club team, high school, or college.