Sebastopol’s Learn to Swim program in search of instructors

Volunteers are needed later this month to help ensure each of Sebastopol’s 375 second-graders knows how to swim before school lets out for the summer.

Now in its 31st year, the Learn to Swim program starts April 20 at Ives Pool near downtown and runs for four weeks, organizers said.

Sponsored by the Sebastopol Rotary Club, the program will provide swimming instruction to second-graders from a record 11 different schools this year, treating them to two half-hour lessons each week during the school day - either Monday and Wednesdays, or Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Between 50 and 60 volunteers are needed to assure a low ratio of adults to students, said Greg Jacobs, who leads the program. Volunteers are not required to have teaching experience but are expected to attend an hour-long orientation.

The Learn to Swim program has taught 9,300 students so far, Jacobs said.

The Sebastopol Rotary Club took on the challenge of teaching the community’s children to swim to try to prevent drowning, which is the second-leading cause of accidental death among children aged 1 to 14, behind vehicle crashes, Jacobs said.

The club puts about $5,000 a year into the program. It also purchased $17,000 in new starting blocks for Ives Pool last fall for use in the swim lessons and by local swim teams, including the Sebastopol Sea Serpents, Analy and El Molino high schools, he said.

Anyone interested in participating as a volunteer can contact Jacobs at 823-7341 or gjacobs48@gmail.com.

You can reach Staff Writer Mary Callahan at 521-5249 or mary.callahan@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @MaryCallahanB.