Denton Parks and Recreation wins best safety award from Texas Public Pool Council | News

Savannah Boyd, a Denton Independent School District American Sign Language interpreter and swim instructor, said she was asked by families multiple times last year where their hearing-impaired children could find swim lessons, only to learn that few such programs exist.

That summer, Boyd partnered with Denton Natatorium to launch a program offering ASL swim lessons. On Jan. 13, Denton Parks and Recreation earned the Texas Public Pool Council’s Safety Program of the Year Award for the recently created program.

 “I was astounded,” Boyd said. “I was so excited to get a little bit of attention on this program and see if we can reach more families.”

Boyd said three families with four children who are deaf or hard of hearing were in Boyd’s program last summer.

“For deaf students, I am trying to provide as much accessibility as possible,” Boyd said. “I am providing these lessons in their natural language, which is ASL, and I am working with the lifeguards and the lifeguard manager to get the lifeguards more familiar with sign language.”

The Denton Natatorium is currently working on specific classes, such as the current cold water rescue course Boyd is teaching. She says she hopes to help teach all children the basic skills they need to stay safe around water with these lessons. 

“I think [programs like this] will help increase accessibility and possibly get some more lessons on the books after taking a set of courses,” Boyd said. “Hopefully their kids will stay interested, and they’ll keep doing lessons.” 

 Paul Morgan, aquatics operation supervisor and Texas A&M University alumnus, is currently working with Boyd to make the pool more accessible for people with hearing disabilities. The pair said they aim to provide ASL classes to lifeguards and provide signage around the Natatorium that displays commonly used ASL signs.  

“A lifeguard should be able to say hello and recognize when there is an emergency,” Morgan said. “I told [Boyd] we need more training.”  

When looking for ASL resources, Sanger resident Kristen Rice-Kensy, 34, said she struggled for four years to find a program that could accommodate her child’s needs. Early last year, Rice-Kensy was one of the many who asked Boyd about swimming lessons her son could take part in.

 Rice-Kensy said swimming and water safety are life skills, and she wants children who are deaf or hard of hearing to have access to resources like swim lessons.

“[My son] just loves going to the Natatorium,” Rice-Kensy said. “He knows it’s somewhere that there’s people that can talk to him and can help him. I mean, it’s just been such an awesome thing for him.”

Boyd says she has been familiar with ASL from a young age, learning the language as a child and then throughout her high school and college career. 

“I started learning sign language when I was eight,” Boyd said. “I had a friend whose younger sister couldn’t speak, and so they were trying to increase communication. So they started using signs.” 

After learning the missing piece in her life was ASL, Boyd said she decided to enroll in an ASL class at Collin College and brush up on her skills. While there, one of her mentors suggested she become an ASL interpreter. Boyd then decided to transfer to Tarrant County College and entered her sign language interpreting program.

“It really felt right to be working as an interpreter,” Boyd said. “It felt fulfilling but challenging at the same time.”

Boyd graduated from Tarrant County College in May 2024 and became an interpreter at Denton ISD. Boyd says her long-term goal for the program is to have someone who has a hearing disability run the program.  

“My heart belongs to the Deaf community,” Boyd said. “I would really love to see a deaf individual teaching deaf children.” 

The Denton Natatorium hosted the swim classes during the sumer in three day blocks from June 9 through July 31. The current Cold Water Rescue classes started on Jan.8 and end on Feb.5.