American Red Cross Certified: Palekana Aquatics Academy Is Strengthening Hawaiʻi’s Water Safety Future
Palekana Aquatics Water Safety Instructor Teaching Hawaii Youth
Statewide conversations about aquatic safety in Hawaiʻi have revealed a difficult truth: many keiki still lack access to essential water safety instruction. Through the Keiki Water Safety Initiative and additional Department of Health–led meetings, educators and aquatic professionals identified significant disparities in how students learn to stay safe in the water. These findings ultimately underscored the need for a school-based approach, one that would reach all children regardless of where they live or what their families can afford.
Palekana Aquatics Academy (PAA) was created in direct response. By weaving water safety education into the regular school day, the organization removes barriers related to cost, transportation, and access. During the 2024–2025 school year, PAA partnered with schools in the McKinley complex, bringing classroom lessons and in-pool instruction to hundreds of students at no cost to families. With new support from the CDC Foundation, the program is expanding into the Kaimukī complex so even more keiki can participate.
Early into this expansion, Palekana Aquatics Academy took another important step forward. Executive Director Dan Worden completed the American Red Cross Water Safety Instructor training, a nationally recognized preparation program for teaching water safety according to industry best practices. This permits the organization to mentor and prepare future water safety instructors with stronger instructional methods, clearer evaluation approaches, and increased rigor in how lessons are delivered.
““We are excited to expand this opportunity to additional schools and provide more students with this vital safety education.””
This certification strengthens the core of PAA’s mission. The organization is dedicated to reducing drownings and other aquatic injuries in Hawaiʻi, and every improvement in instructor preparation directly contributes to that goal. By training instructors to teach with greater consistency and clarity, PAA ensures that students receive high-quality instruction that aligns with State and National Health and Physical Education standards.
The impact extends beyond individual lessons. Hawaiʻi needs more educators who understand how to teach water safety effectively. PAA’s growing ability to train instructors according to nationally recognized teaching practices supports long-term expansion, making it possible to reach more schools, more families, and more communities over time.
Palekana Aquatics Academy envisions a Hawaiʻi where every student learns essential water safety skills in elementary school, regardless of background, ability, or circumstance. Strengthening instructor training is a key part of making that vision real. As the organization continues to expand its partnerships and programming, the commitment remains the same: give every keiki access to the knowledge, skills, and confidence that help them stay safer in the water.
