66 Students Enjoy Adaptive Swimming Lessons Due to Grant
Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Indians and the Siletz Tribal Charitable Contribution Fund Donated so Students with Disabilities Learned to Swim
NEWPORT, OR — April 24, 2019 – In February, the Siletz Tribal Charitable Contribution Fund awarded $3,733.10 in matching funds for our Spring Adaptive Physical Education Swimming program. Thanks to this generous contribution, our program was able to provide lessons to 66 students. This grant allowed the Lincoln County School District Adaptive Physical Education Program to provide adapted swim lessons to
students with moderate to severe disabilities in elementary through high school. Lincoln City Community Center and Newport Aquatic Center donated their facilities and only charged for lifeguard and instructor fees.
Connie Craddock, Adaptive PE Assistant for the Special Education Department in Lincoln County School District remarked, “I loved seeing the progress of each student. Some overcoming fears, some exploring what they were capable of in the pool by attempting new skills and activities and the majority of them improved their comfort in a pool setting, swimming and water safety skills.”
The students in Lincoln City went to the Lincoln City Community Center; youth in Newport, Toledo, and Waldport went to the Newport Aquatic Center. Crestview Heights Elementary had 6 students, Toledo Elementary had 3 students, Sam Case Elementary had 7 students, Newport Middle School had 9 students, Newport High School had 12 students, Oceanlake Elementary had 7 students and Taft 7-12 had 7 students and Taft Elementary had 15 students.
Lincoln County School District Adaptive Physical Education Program teaches students with moderate to severe disabilities to develop gross motor skills. This skill development is accomplished by providing one to one instruction, small group instruction, and community outings. Students learn gross motor skills necessary to maintain a healthy lifestyle and participate in lifelong recreational physical activities. This includes instruction on how to access community facilities for lifelong health and leisure.