A few years ago, 8-year-old Xavior Flores wouldn’t even get in the water.
“He hated swimming at first, he screamed because he didn’t like the water,” said his mother, Victoria Price, who has lived in Aurora for 30 years. “But the more that they worked with him and got him in the water, the better he’s been doing with it. He’s excited to learn now.”
Over the course of three or four years, Xavior has learned to love his weekly swimming lesson at Rangeview High School through the Aurora Public School District’s community aquatics program. His sister, Dallas, 3, who is practically a fish, loves the classes too.
“She took to it immediately,” said their dad, Kurt Price. “I put her in the water really little though, she absolutely loves it. Now, they both ask if it’s time for swimming lessons every Tuesday.”
The family lives just a few blocks from Rangeview at 17599 E. Iliff Ave. The lessons offered through the school district are the most convenient and cost-effective program they found.
“They get a little longer lessons for less money than through the recreation centers, plus it’s closer to us and the instructors seem more attentive and patient,” Victoria Price said. “And it’s good to learn here because they’ll probably go to school here someday.”
The takes place on a nightly rotation schedule between the district’s four high school pools — Aurora Central, Gateway, Hinkley, and Rangeview. The program actually started in 1976, when the district only had one swimming pool at Gateway High School.
“At that time is was called the Learn to Swim program,” said Jim Price, who has been the aquatics program coordinator for the district on and off since 1977. “We teach whatever we can for our students and the community — water safety, lifeguard training and CPR, but it isn’t just for people from Aurora; we get students from all over the metro area and we won’t turn anyone away. We basically do what everyone else does for swimming lessons, but we’re a little bit smaller and more affordable.”
Back then, as it is today, the reason for creating the program and offering four weeks of twice-weekly swimming lessons at around $8 a session — less for students who qualify for free and reduced lunch — was to teach anyone how to swim and offer skills like water safety instructor classes and even synchronized swimming to anyone in the metro Denver community. The program also provides upper level swim teams to people who compete or practice through club sports or other organizations.
“We don’t only teach kids, we also teach adults of any age,” said Mike Krueger, Aurora Public Schools athletic director. “Swimming is a lifetime sport, and this is a school district that very much appreciates extracurricular activities that support the development of students and their community.”
The community aquatics program typically starts at one of the four high schools depending on the day of the week around 6 p.m. or 9 a.m. on Saturdays. People of all ages come and learn how to swim from the program instructors, who are usually students of one of the high schools.
“I actually started learning here when I was younger. Then when I turned 16, my coach (Price) gave me a job and now he’s my boss,” said Hinkley High School student, Mauricio Aguilar, 17. “I’ve worked here teaching kids how to swim for about two years now. I’m planning to try out for the swim team at my school when the season starts this year.”
“Most of the people I hire really grew up in the program,” Price said. “(Mauricio) has been taking lessons for six years, and so has his sister. We built up the program using the program itself, and that helps to support the community and it feeds the schools’ own swimming programs. I have people who learn here, and then go off to college and then come back and spend there summers here.”
Swim lessons are typically capped around five people per group at a time, and everyone from beginners to USA Swimming teams to Colorado Association of Recreational Athletics swimmers can be practicing on a given night. The district will hold l March 27-30.
Last year, the program taught swimming and safety classes to 4,000 kids from all over the area.
But community service isn’t the only benefit. Krueger said the community swim lessons and lifeguard training have also served as a great feeder program for the district’s school-sponsored swim and dive teams.
“To speak to the success that Jim’s programs have here at the beginner level: One of our most popular middle school sports right now is swimming,” Krueger said. “We just have it for girls right now, but it’s been phenomenally successful, and that has a lot to do with starting them in this community program. They learn to swim here, then some join a middle school program which feeds our high school programs and then some get their (water safety instructor) certification and get jobs as lifeguards while they’re in school, they actually get hired through the school.”