Latest news with #NickPatterson
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Goldfish Swim School encourages early swim lessons to prevent drownings
AMHERST, N.Y. (WIVB) — Goldfish Swim School in Amherst is joining a global effort to raise awareness about swim safety as part of The World's Largest Swim Lesson, an annual drowning prevention event. The school offers free lessons to local families while sharing water safety tips. General Manager Nick Patterson said starting children in swimming lessons as early as four months old is critical. 'That's why we open our doors at four months old and continue up to 12 years,' Patterson said. 'Getting kids involved in the water early means that by age one to four, they're able to swim on their own, without floaties of course, with parent supervision.' According to Patterson, drowning is the leading cause of death among children ages 1 to 4. He said lessons can reduce the risk by 88 percent. Instructors teach practical life-saving skills, including the 'sea otter back float,' which helps children float and breathe if they find themselves struggling in the water. 'All they need to do is roll over to their back so they can get that rescue breath and continue swimming to safety,' Patterson said. Children are also taught how to safely exit the pool using a technique called the 'fin-fin belly flipper.' 'It's grabbing the wall with both arms, putting their belly against the wall, and guiding their leg out of the water to push them up to safety,' he said. Beyond physical safety, Patterson said early swimming education helps build confidence in the water, especially for families where parents never learned to swim themselves. 'A lot of parents bring their kids here because they grew up scared of the water and don't want that for their children,' Patterson said. The school also recommends parents dress their children in bright-colored swimsuits for visibility and ensure they wear a U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jacket near open water. Whether heading to the pool, lake, or any body of water this summer, experts say ensuring your child can swim is one of the best ways to keep them safe. For more information on swim classes, click here. Gwyn Napier is a reporter who joined the News 4 team in 2025. See more of her work by clicking here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
eStem Public Charter Schools closing UA Little Rock campus, moving others
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Officials with eStem Public Charter Schools announced Friday a plan to seek reorganization of its school campuses including the closing of its UA Little Rock campus. According to a release, the restructuring plan will become effective this fall. 'This restructuring plan aims to right-size our district while remaining committed to our current eStem students and families,' Nick Patterson, CEO of eStem Public Charter Schools said. 'These adjustments allow us to ensure that we invest our resources in our students and your children.' Keep Arkansas Beautiful reveals mural at eStem Public Charter School in Little Rock Here is a list of changes coming as part of the new plan: The Downtown Elementary School and East Village Elementary School will be consolidated into eStem Elementary School, split across the old Gazette Building and the Federal Reserve Buildings. Kindergarten – 4th grade will be in the old Gazette Building at 112 W. 3rd Street. Fifth and 6th grades will be directly across the street in the old Federal Reserve Building. eStem Downtown Junior High School, located at 123 W. 3rd Street will be renamed eStem Junior High School and will relocate to 400 Shall Avenue in downtown Little Rock's East Village neighborhood. In this new location, eStem Junior High will serve all 7th and 8th graders. eStem High School will move from its location on the campus of UA-Little Rock, 2801 S. University Ave., to 410 Shall Ave in downtown Little Rock's East Village neighborhood. eStem High School will serve all 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th graders in East Village. This strategic restructuring will create two eStem campuses in downtown Little Rock, an elementary campus on W 3rd St, and a secondary campus in East Village. School officials said that in this new structure, all eStem students will be within a mile of each other in downtown Little Rock. All eStem Schools will be within a mile of the River Cities Travel Center, allowing Rock Region Metro service from across the city. COVID-19 affecting eStem Charter School students and staff within first week The school said that virtual and homeschool options have increased since the COVID-19 pandemic and have changed the educational landscape throughout Arkansas since eStem's expansion seven years ago. According to the school, their number of enrolled students has steadily decreased from 3,180 in 2020-21 to 2,358 in the 2024-25 school year. Dr. Carrie Phillips, Chief Communications and Marketing Officer for the University of Arkansas at Little Rock said that the university is exploring its opportunities with the soon to be vacant building. To learn more about eStem Public Charter Schools, . Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
