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Middlesex County Offers Free Swim Lessons to Second Graders

Program Spotlight

New Jersey Swim Safety Alliance seeks to highlight innovative programs to prevent drowning in NJ. Last year, Middlesex County introduced something we haven’t seen before: Free Swim Lessons for all of their Second-Graders. New Jersey Swim Safety Alliance looks forward to hearing more about how the program was received and whether they can extend their pilot program into the 2024-2025 school year. Congratulations to Middlesex County, public health officials, and their county Commissioners for sponsoring this innovative and essential work. 

Middlesex County Board of Commissioners sponsors a pilot program for free swim lessons.

Author: Middlesex County, NJ

Every summer, we hear the stories of preventable tragedies: devastating accounts of children drowning due to inadequate water safety knowledge.

In fact, according to data from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), fatal nationwide drownings of children under 15 years old increased 12% from 2020 to 2021 (the most recent data available). Already between May and mid-July, four children have drowned in New Jersey.

In an effort to combat these preventable tragedies, Middlesex County recently launched a program offering free swim lessons to children aged 7 to 9 who are County residents and attended second grade during the 2023-2024 school year.  This initiative, led by the County’s Office of Health Services, aims to equip young children with essential swimming skills and educate them about water safety.

Drowning, often referred to as a “silent” killer, can occur in seconds — and in plain sight.

According to the CPSC, 81% of fatal drownings involving children under age 15 occurred at a residence — including the victim’s home or the home of a family member, neighbor, or friend — where no lifeguard was present.

By teaching second graders how to swim, Middlesex County is providing them with a solid foundation to build their skills and cultivating a culture of safety for children throughout the County.

For more information on this program and all participating aquatic facilities, please visit middlesexcountynj.gov/swim.

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David is the Founder and President of National Safety Training Center and its predecessor companies – Elite Tactical Academy and Mine Brook Search & Rescue, Inc.  He is  a seasoned business leader and public safety education expert. He currently focuses on running this large training center and keeps active teaching both provider level classes and many instructor level classes.

He holds numerous certifications including:

  • American Red Cross Instructor / Trainer
    • BLS / ALS / PALS
    • Lay Rescuer
    • Lifeguarding
    • Babysitting
  • American Heart Association Training Center Faculty
    • BLS
    • HeartSaver
  • National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians Instructor
    • Tactical Emergency Casualty Care
    • Pre Hospital Trauma Life Support
    • Mental Health Resilience Officer
    • Psychological Trauma in EMS Patients

 

David has previously worked as a Red Cross employee in 2 roles:

  • Public Safety Instructor for the Northern VT Chapter – teaching corporate classes for the Red Cross
  • Lifeguard Instructor / Trainer / Educator for the National Association – Teaching the Instructor / Trainer Academies to create new Lifeguard Instructor / Trainers.

 

David lives in the Martinsville section of Bridgewater NJ with his family who are also active in the Public Safety Training / Medical training business. He is a local volunteer Firefighter / EMT, something he has been doing since 1984! David also serves as a volunteer in the US Coast Guard on a specialized deployable communications team.

Jon Siegel is the Head Age Group Coach at Cougar Aquatic Team in Montclair NJ and currently the Senior Coaches Rep for NJ Swimming LSC. Prior to that Jon  served as Senior Director of Competitive Aquatics at the Madison Area YMCA (MAY). During his tenureat MAY he helped design and oversee the construction of their new FM Kirby Aquatic Center, directed outdoor programming during the pandemic and acted as Senior Aquatic Director to bring the aquatic department back online. Over his coaching career, which has spanned 30+ years, Jon spent nine-and-a-half-years with the Montclair YMCA Dolphins as their Director of Competitive Aquatics, eight years as Head Coach at the Madison Area YMCA, three years at the West Essex YMCA, and a year as an Assistant Coach at the Summit Y. In addition, he has coached the Livingston Aquajets, Berkeley Heights Streamliners, Minisink Manta Rays and Morristown Beard High School. Jon is an ASCA Level 5 Swim Coach and was selected as the Head Coach of the NJ Swimming All Star Zone Team in 1999, 2002, 2005 and 2008, and as an assistant coach at Zones in 2000, 2003 and 2023. Jon also coached USA Swimming’s Eastern Zone Select Camp in 2006. Jon’s swimmers have competed in all levels of swim competition including Olympic Trials and an alumni to the Olympics. In addition to coaching, Jon has years of service to various swim boards and committees which include working on the New Jersey YMCA Swim League Executive Committee, New Jersey Swimming Board of Directors, and on the USA Swimming National Communications Committee and the National Camps Committee. John looks forward to bringing his extensive swim knowledge and experience to the Nj Swim Safety Alliance.