Nantucket Community School Lauded for Sunday Pool Opening

To the editor: A great thank you to the Nantucket Community School for reopening the Community Pool on Sundays. Nearly 50 percent of the island cannot swim twenty-five yards. The inability of this many people to swim on an Island is a public health crisis. If a parent cannot swim, it is 80 percent likely their children will not swim. The only solution to this intergenerational challenge is to get people in the pool, young and old. Nantucket Adult Learn to Swim (“NALTS”), an all-volunteer effort, has provided three low-cost classes a year to teach people to swim for over eleven years. We are only scratching the surface. The Community Pool is a great supporter of this program. Opening the pool on Sunday will give more opportunities to people working six days a week to swim.

Major thanks to Alicia Graziadei of the Community School, Isabelle Roberts of the Community Pool, and Chip Clunie, director of facilities at the Nantucket Public Schools, for making this happen! The Community Pool is an amazing public resource, and getting more people in the water may save a life someday. Nantucket has some of the best swimming water in the world. Creating more year-round swimming opportunities will enhance the well-being of the Island and make it safe for fellow Islanders to enjoy these waters. Well done, Community School!

James F. Meehan
Nantucket Adult Learn to Swim