Free swim lessons face expansion hurdle
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The New Orleans Recreation Development Commission has for years taught thousands of people to swim for free — but a facility fee from the American Red Cross stands in the way of the agency expanding that further, aquatics director Jezell Smith-Jones says.
Why it matters: Louisiana has the third-highest drowning rates in the country, according to the CDC Foundation, and swim lessons are a proven way to reduce risk.
Zoom in: NORDC's swim lessons are wildly popular, especially in the summer, Smith-Jones says.
- Before the department switched to online sign-ups this year, it wasn't unusual to see the swim lesson registration line stretch around the building, she says.
- "Most [registrants] would get there at maybe 6:30, 7 o'clock in the morning," Smith-Jones says. "And that's Rainey, Tremé, Gert Town and Joe Brown. They sit with their chairs, and they'll just wait until the staff gets there."
By the numbers: NORDC offers lessons to swimmers starting as early as 6 months, though adult lessons tend to be some of the most popular, Smith-Jones says.
- In 2019, NORDC provided free swim lessons to 2,375 people.
- After a COVID-era drop, demand has only grown. In 2025, 6,381 people learned to swim at NORDC pools, the department says.
The intrigue: NORDC has grown that number despite consolidating lessons at each of its 17 pools to now only five.
- That consolidation, Smith-Jones says, was because the American Red Cross changed how it charged NORDC facility fees for its lessons. NORDC previously paid one fee for all of its pools, Smith-Jones says, but now pays the fee per pool.
- Now, in order to continue growing the program, NORDC would have to come up with several hundred dollars to cover facility fees at each additional pool. The fee covers instructional materials.
- "We're trying to work out something with the Red Cross," Smith-Jones says. "We could have done lessons at all of [our] pools this year."
For now, potential swimmers will have to travel to NORDC's five pools offering lessons and battle it out with other families looking to sign up.
Pro tip: Swim lessons are at their most popular during the summer, but NORDC's indoor facilities make them possible year-round. So, if you have trouble signing up, try back later, Smith-Jones says.
- "If you don't get in in June, try July, try August, September, October," she says. "In September through April, it's almost like [having] private lessons."