GREEN COVE SPRINGS, Fla. – Green Cove Springs has partnered with Ponte Vedra Beach company Planet Swim to offer free swim lessons at Spring Park pool this summer.
The lessons will be offered to children ages 5-12 who live in Green Cove Springs.
Recommended Videos
Lessons will run from June 12 to August 10 but classes are already filled up.
The city will pay $14,400 for a total of 72 students.
This will be the second year that the city is offering swim lessons free of charge. Parks and Recreation Director Glee Glisson said that the city initially decided to offer free swim lessons to fill a need in the Green Cove Springs community. Glisson took a poll of students attending Charles E. Bennett Elementary and found that 40 percent of students didn’t know how to swim.
Last summer swim lessons were offered to children ages 3 and 4 for a few weeks. This year Glisson aimed to expand the age range and length of classes for free. The four-week sessions ensure that students will get more time in the water and will have a greater chance of remembering what they learned.