High school swimming and diving is again on the list of proposed cuts by the Anchorage school district.  While we understand the very difficult position that ASD is in this year with a large budget deficit, and we are concerned with the loss of ALL sports and activities within ASD, swimming is unique in that it is a LIFESAVING skill.   

Alaska has the highest drowning rate in the nation.  Learning to swim was once part of the curriculum in the Anchorage school district.  It was also a middle school sport.  High school swimming is the Anchorage School District’s final remaining commitment to providing swimming education accessible to all students, and we believe it must be preserved.

Cutting high school swim programs will hurt the kids who need it the most.  Many families can’t afford the considerable expense of joining club swimming programs or taking private swimming lessons.   High school swimming is a no cut sport and athletes of all levels, including those just learning to swim, are encouraged to join.  Swimming is also unique in that it is low impact and accessible to athletes with a variety of physical challenges that make other sports difficult.  Swimming is a skill that students can take with them to improve their health for the remainder of their lives.  There is nothing to replace swimming as an opportunity if it is cut from the Anchorage school district.  

Swimming boosts academic performance.  CDC and NIH studies show that students who start swimming at school age have improved confidence and language skills. Swimming teaches the value of discipline, commitment, and hard work and other life skills like setting goals, teamwork, and time management.  High school swimmers contribute to our larger Anchorage community by becoming lifeguards and swim lesson instructors.  In 2024, there were 24 new swimmers on the Dimond High School swim team.  Of those swimmers, 9 went on to teach swimming lessons.   

If you are a student who learned to swim or greatly improved your swimming skills by joining a high school swim team, please sign this petition. 

If you teach swimming lessons or lifeguard so that others can learn to swim, especially if you learned/improved your skills through high school swimming, please sign this petition. 

If participating in high school swimming and diving helped you make new friends, helped improve your grades, helped you get a college scholarship or impacted you/someone you know in any other important way, please sign this petition.  

In addition to signing this petition, please consider writing a letter to your school board.  We want them to hear your story.  The Anchorage school board can be reached at schoolboard@asdk12.org.    

(Note - there is no reason to contribute financially to change.org)