The Anchorage School District has proposed cutting the swim program. We encourage the school board to reject this short-sighted proposal. 
 
Swimming is more than a sport. Alaska has the highest drowning rate in the nation. In a state full of lakes and rivers, swimming is a critical life skill that needs to be offered in our schools. 
 
Eliminating swimming will hurt the kids that need it most—those that can’t afford the considerable expense of sending their kids to swim lessons or joining club swim programs. Swimming is one of the most affordable and accessible sports. Everybody gets to participate, from novices to state champions. 
 
Swimming improves kids' overall health. It is a high-intensity, low-injury sport that burns calories and builds healthy bodies. Swimming is proven to enhance kids’ moods and minimize depression.
 
Swimming also 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.  
 
Budgets must be controlled. But cuts that make children less physically safe, less academically successful, and less able to contribute to society run contrary to the fundamental mission of any school district. To cut the swim program would be to abandon the core mission for which ASD is funded.
 
We encourage the school district to reject these cuts. Swimming can and must be funded.  

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