Testing the waters: convincing a school board to bring swimming into its curriculum is the first and hardest step.(FIELD REPORT: Approaching Schools)

Aquatics Director Carrie Paterson was afraid for her students' safety and her job. The Milwaukee student state test scores had dropped in reading and math, and the school system had to refocus its energies to boost those numbers. That meant swim lessons, which were not a state requirement, were on the chopping block. If that happened, Paterson knew many of her inner-city kids would be unsafe in the water.

However, she managed to transform those fears into action. Paterson approached the school and asked to bring academics into the swimming pool. Today, she has a class of kicking swimmers who not only tread water, but also complete fractions and spelling--all in the pool.

"We do swim lessons, but ... they're getting their academics as well as their swimming component all at the same time," says Paterson, the aquatics director of F.J. Gaenslen School, an Aquatics International 2005 Best of Aquatics winner. She says many of her students' parents are afraid of the water themselves, and the school's program is the only way to teach the kids swimming skills.

Paterson used a creative mix of academics and swimming to save her program. Other schools have tried similar methods to convince school boards that swimming Classes are a good idea.

Probably the easiest thing about setting about a school aquatics program is getting kids to swim, says Stephen Langendorfer, associate professor of kinesiology at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio. The administrative red tape is another matter.

"Somebody has to say, 'We are going to do this,' and therefore principals and guidance counselors have to enable it," he says. "Schedules are very tough. You've already got all the academic classes, plus band and physical education."

Aquatics directors seeking to break through that red tape must clear three hurdles, Langendorfer says. First, schools focus on academics to meet state testing, so putting extra time toward something not required by the state is considered a waste of time. Second, the lack of facilities hinders many schools from offering swimming. Third, swimming in the United States traditionally has been handled by agencies such as the American Red Cross, YMCA, and the Boy and Girl Scouts--not by the schools.