EDGEWATER — In June 1910, Ella Flagg Young, then superintendent of Chicago Public Schools, said she believed "that every student should be taught to swim."
Flagg said public schools could serve as prototypes to replace old "swimming hole[s]" and CPS would partner with the Ravenswood YMCA to teach all students, and new teachers, the "art" of swimming, according to the Tribune.
The first schools to get them were Senn High School and Hyde Park High School, then newly-finished massive, impressive structures.
Now, 116 years later, Senn's historic pool has seen better days.
But with some improvements, the pool could again function as a neighborhood swimming rite of passage.
Ald. Harry Osterman (48th), who grew up in the neighborhood and learned to swim at Senn, said he plans to use about $60,000 in ward money set aside for infrastructure improvements to help pay for repairs for the pool. CPS will fill in the additional funds, he said.
While those repairs should be made by fall, Osterman said his long-term plan is to partner with the Chicago Park District to open the school's pool to the community on weekends and other times when Senn isn't in use for swim lessons and other programming.
"I learned to swim there ... and even though we're so close to Lake Michigan, not everyone can swim," Osterman said. "I think it would be good for the community all the way around."
Mary Beck, principal at Senn, said repairs hadn't yet started, but she hoped the pool would be back in use for the upcoming school year and shared Osterman's vision for a pool that could have community programming.
Students who use the pool for swim team or to fulfill physical education requirements began efforts to raise money to fund the repairs themselves earlier this year, before learning it was set for repairs.
The pool was drained at the end of February in order to repair both its liner and filter, and after taking up softball in lieu of the usually required swim class, some students worried the pool would remain broken.
"I want my girls to have a pool as well as the boys swim team to have a pool to swim in for their season," said Azra Imperial, captain of the girls swim team at Senn. "I am immensely proud of the girls for making sure that we get our pool at least for the fall, even if we have a late season start we can still have a season."
Madeliene Bates, a 16-year-old Junior on the swim team, said she and a few others taught most swimmers on both teams how to swim.
"I know everyone wants the pool back," Imperial said. "Everyone loves the pool and I really hope ... people realize how much it means to the girls and boys swim team."
When Senn was originally built more than a century ago, one of its biggest features was its pool, which was part of the district's vision of teaching all students to swim, according to the Tribune.
By December 1911, the city's Board of Education was moving forward on its plan to "make good swimmers," the paper reported, much at the behest of Young — who could not swim herself.
The pool at Senn High School was drained earlier this year after discovering it was in dire need of repairs. [Screenshot]
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