Miami-Dade's Zero Drownings initiative aims to prevent childhood drownings through free swim lessons and water safety education
To kick off the Zero Drownings Miami-Dade campaign, a coalition of prominent public and private groups in Miami-Dade County met at Brownsville's Marva Y. Bannerman Park Pool on July 9th. Drownings account for the majority of fatalities among children in Miami-Dade County who are between the ages of one and nine, making this swim safety program all the more important.
In a massive undertaking known as Zero Drownings Miami-Dade, the goal is to teach water safety to kindergarteners in Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) and four-year-olds attending public and private daycares. Swim lessons, family water safety education, and a community-wide water safety campaign are all parts of this program's plan to reduce the number of drownings among children. This critical endeavor is receiving financial backing from both the public and commercial sectors.
A collaborative effort to save lives
Community involvement yields remarkable results, as seen by the Zero Drownings Miami-Dade effort. Cohorts of four- and five-year-olds will participate in free swim lessons as part of this countywide swim safety initiative. All participants are guaranteed high-quality, structured education through the program's use of the American Red Cross-certified curriculum. To make sure that every kid can get this potentially life-saving instruction, the classes will be held at either public or private pools where water safety swim instructors are available.
Children will be coming from Thrive by 5 private childcare centers in high-poverty communities, the County's Head Start program, and kindergarten classes at M-DCPS. Staff from the County, The Children's Trust, and M-DCPS will hand-pick each participating program and classroom to ensure that the most disadvantaged children are reached. Thanks to the initiative's provision of free transportation to nearby participating swim providers, children will have easier access to the program. Each child will receive ten 30-minute group swim lessons over two weeks, with a maximum of six students per instructor.
The program teaches kids not just how to swim, but also how to be safe whenever they're around water with its extensive water safety curriculum. Part of this is making sure their relatives know how important it is to be safe around water, so they may take a digital water safety course.
Scaling up for a safer future
With a focus on sustainability and quick scaling over the next three years, the Zero Drownings Miami-Dade effort is not your average short-term project. The target enrollment for the program is 4,000 students for the 2024–2025 academic year, 10,000 for the 2025–2026 academic year, and 20,000 for the 2026–2027 academic year. In order to guarantee that future generations of Miami-Dade residents acquire vital water safety skills, the target audience is at least 20,000 youngsters annually.
The Parks, Recreation, and Open Spaces Department of Miami-Dade County has created an Office of Drowning Prevention to oversee this massive undertaking. This office will be in charge of coordinating and implementing all aspects of the Zero Drownings Miami-Dade initiative, acting as its logistical hub. The program's goal is to make Miami-Dade County a safer place for everyone by educating people about water safety on numerous levels.
Leaders and partners in the community are fully behind the program, which has the ability to save lives and boost young swimmers' self-esteem. Mayor Daniella Levine Cava of Miami-Dade County emphasized the significance of teaching water safety to children from a young age.
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