Revisions to Clark-Pleasant’s pool policy following the drowning death of a student could be finalized next month.
Special uniforms for lifeguards, a ban on cell phone use by instructors and lifeguards, and a requirement for all students to wear drowning-detector headbands are all proposed to be added to the swimming policy at Clark-Pleasant schools.
The Clark-Pleasant school board conducted a first reading of its revised pool safety policies and staff standard operating procedures during its meeting Tuesday. School officials are seeking to complete a more robust and failsafe policy four months after Alaina Dildine, 15, died after drowning in the Whiteland Community High School pool during her physical education swim class. She was underwater for 52 minutes before she was pulled from the pool.
Policy changes come after calls from Alaina Dildine’s parents and others who are concerned with safety at the pool following the drowning.
Changes in policy
The first reading follows multiple public work sessions during which parents discussed which policies they wanted to see implemented. Some of the new policies yielded during those work sessions included separating students based on swimming experience level, with an increase in staff members to supervise less experienced swimmers. Even for more experienced swimmers, there will be no more than 24 students for every three staff members.
Additionally, Clark-Pleasant schools is in the midst of the hiring process for a new swim instructor. New guidelines for swim instructors and lifeguards include required lifeguard certification training from the American Red Cross. Certifications will be checked and verified regularly by both the high school principal and the corporation’s human resources director. Swim instructors and lifeguards will be required to take attendance before and after swim lessons and students will be required to have a “buddy” who they swim with during class.
Since the board’s most recent work session Sept. 5, more policy changes and clarifications have been added. School officials plan to invest in WAVE headbands, which will detect and sound an alarm if a student is in distress or is underwater for too long. A previous policy idea suggested students with disabilities would wear the headbands, but Victoria Dildine, Alaina Dildine’s mother, said it would be discriminatory to single those students out.
Another policy introduced during Tuesday’s meeting bans cell phone use by staff members and students any time they’re on the pool deck. Lifeguards will be required to wear a special shirt or swimsuit that indicates they are lifeguard, according to a school district presentation.
Staff members have also released a checklist for lifeguards and instructors. The checklist requires lifeguards to walk one lap in a figure 8 pattern to check for hazards, check first aid and rescue equipment, place their cell phones in an office, and make sure student locker rooms are safe. They would also be required to walk across the pool’s bulkhead, where Alaina Dildine was trapped when she was found in the water, according to the proposed policy.
Instructors are required to take attendance before and after class, check locker rooms, place students with their buddies and form new groups if someone is absent, and ensure students with inhalers have access to them. After the lesson, instructors are required to gather students at the shallow end of the pool, have them sit in the bleachers until the dismissal bell sounds, supervise locker rooms, and place WAVE headbands back on their charging station, the documents say.
Parent concerns
During a public comment section of Tuesday’s meeting, parent Tracy Ferguson said she had trouble trusting swim instruction after what happened to Alaina Dildine.
“I have three children in the corporation, one in grade school, one in middle school and one in high school,” she said. “I am very uncomfortable with the issues of the swimming pool and want to know what we do as a community to move forward and trust someone with the life of our children. How are we doing to prevent this from happening again?”
Ferguson also called for the lifeguard on duty when Dildine drowned to either resign or be fired and asked Superintendent Tim Edsell what her employment status was. Edsell confirmed she’s on leave but said he couldn’t reveal any further details. More supervision for less experienced swimmers will make it easier to ensure student emergencies are noticed, Edsell said.
“Everything we’ve been doing the past couple of months is to make sure we have as much of the proper rules and the best supervision to make sure this doesn’t happen again,” he said. “We’re going to continue to work with as many people as possible to get this right.”
Another parent suggested not using the pool this year out of respect for Alaina Dildine, instead waiting until a new natatorium is built, part of a $235 million project to expand Whiteland Community High School.
School officials did not discuss suspending pool use during the meeting.
The second reading of the policy will take place Oct. 24, after which board members will vote on the policy.
