Children’s Programs & Getting Programs Into Schools

Overview
Speaker(s)

Results from a recent poll by the NASBLA Education & Outreach Committee shows that boating law administrators are interested in implementing children’s boating safety programs, provided that a standard course curriculum is developed. In addition to a lack of a standard curriculum, roadblocks to successful implementation identified also included static class scheduling and requirements that teachers strictly adhere to the Common Core Federal standards.

One example of a children’s boating safety program that has overcome these obstacles is Alaska’s Kids Don’t Float. This discussion will include a brief description of how the Kids Don’t Float program was designed and implemented, and its continuing evolution. Most importantly, this presentation will describe how anyone can implement a children’s boating safety program in their state.

Kelli Toth

Boating Safety Consultant, Underway USA

Kelli M. Toth is a life-long Alaskan who enjoys the outdoors and being on the water. She received her Bachelor’s of Business Administration in marketing and a minor in Psychology from the University of Alaska Anchorage. She joined the Alaska Office of Boating Safety team in 2011, as Education Specialist and spokesperson and then Education Coordinator. Her primary responsibility included development, implementation, and evaluation of the Kids Don’t Float education program, outreach efforts of the Alaska Office of Boating Safety, and media relations. After seven and a half years with the Alaska Office of Boating Safety she joined the State of Alaska Division of Public Health in her role as Injury Prevention Coordinator, and recently moved on as a consultant to continue advocating and educating others who want to join the drowning prevention team. Kelli continues her eighth year of service to the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators (NASBLA) Education and Outreach committee and is a charge team leader of the Passenger Safety standard.

Kelli was awarded the Boating Educator of the Year for the State of Alaska in 2015 and 2016. Kelli was recognized as the Boating Educator of the Year by the Western States Boating Administrators Association in 2017 and received the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators National Boating Educator of the Year award in 2017.

She was an integral partner on the “Float Coat Song” project with the partnership of the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium and the Kingikmiut Dancers and Singers of Anchorage which received the 2017 National Association of State Boating Law Administrators, Innovations in Outreach award and it also was recognized by the World Health Organization’s International Safety Media Awards in Bangkok, Thailand.