MARYVILLE, Tenn. — Kids across East Tennessee are back in class, but students at one Maryville school are stepping outside the classroom for an important lesson.
"We're learning [the] basic life skill of swimming," John Sevier Elementary School gym teacher Alex Rouse said. "A lot of these kids don't get the opportunity to go to pools, let alone public pools with their friends."
Swim Week at John Sevier Elementary School takes place during the first week of school. During gym class, students and staff take a short walk to the community pool.
This year, 25 staff members, including teachers and paraprofessionals, volunteered to teach 420 first-grade through third-grade students how to swim.
Rouse remembers being one of those kids.
"I did this in 1991 when I was a student here," Rouse said.
Rouse said the skills learned in the pool translate academically.
"It's motor skills, it's crossing the midline. If a kid can skip, he's usually a better reader in class, and if the kid can swim, academically, he or she is usually better in class," Rouse said.
He said the main objective is to build students' confidence. For some, it's already working.
"It feels like I am the champion," said second-grader Indira.
John Sevier staff members believe it is the only school in Tennessee to teach swim lessons as part of the physical education curriculum.