Southwest Baltimore Community Pool (VTTMAA)

Franklin Square is a historic community in Central Southwest Baltimore City. Located in Franklin Square is our school, Vivien T. Thomas Medical Arts Academy (VTTMAA). VTTMAA is a Community School. A Community School is both a place and a set of partnerships between the school and other community resources. Its integrated focus on academics, health and social services, youth and community development and community engagement leads to improved student learning, stronger families and healthier communities. Community schools offer a personalized curriculum that emphasizes real-world learning and community problem-solving. Schools become centers of the community and are open to everyone – all day, every day, evenings and weekends.

With the Community School outlook in mind, VTTMAA has opened their pool to the school including staff, students and families, as well as the surrounding community. This is an opportunity to address a public health concern in a community that populates majority of persons of color. Community residents and members will be able to get swimming lessons, take aquatic exercise courses, use the pool for leisure, and more. Swimming is essential and said to be a survival skill. Every person should have access to a pool and learning how to swim. We will use the funds to fund the programs in their entirety. Below are some of the programs that will be offered at VTTMAA...

Lap/ Community Recreational Swim

Lap swimming is designed for organized swimming up and down the length of the pool repeatedly. Individual must be making constant forward progression. Lap lanes may be shared, if sharing a lane, users must enter and exit from opposite ends of the reserved lane. There will always be a lap lane available.

Rec Swim is a much less structured pool time, where patrons can relax, have fun and explore abilities in the pool with friends and family. Children under the age of 13 must have a parent/guardian in facility with them, children under 8 must have a parent in the water.

Group/ Individual Swimming Lessons (Great White Swim Academy)

Swimming lessons will focus on six areas, which include becoming comfortable in the water, basic aquatic skills, stroke development, improvement, and refinement, and swimming and skill proficiency. As participants progress through each level they’ll improve technique and become a more confident, capable swimmer.

Aquatic Exercise

Aquatic exercise is a great low impact way to exercise! Use the water to achieve a cardiovascular workout that waves the calories away. We will be offering Aqua Cycle, Aqua HITT, Aqua Bootcamp and Deep-Water Aerobics!

Aquatic Professional Trainings

We will be offering water safety and lifeguard training courses. These courses are designed and taught by an American Red Cross certified instructor. Courses will teach the skills needed to not only stay safe in and around the pool, but you will also learn the latest safety and rescue techniques, how to deliver critical care, like CPR, First Aid, and AED administration when needed. The course will cover important skills that can not only help you stay safe and help others enjoy the water safely but can also help those taking course begin, or advance career. At end of course after passing both written and skills test candidates will receive a Red Cross Lifeguard Certification.