Josh the Otter teaches kindergarteners water safety

It was June 4, 2008, when Joshua Collingsworth was found unresponsive in his backyard pool. Three days later, the 2-year-old passed away.

Since that tragic time, his parents have created the Joshua Collingsworth Memorial Foundation to help prevent drowning. The foundation’s mission is to educate children and adults about water safety through drowning prevention campaigns and early childhood water-safety training.

The foundation brings Josh the Otter, a character from "Josh the Baby Otter," a book written by Joshua’s father, Blake Collingsworth, to schools and programs around the world to teach children the importance of water safety. In the book, Josh, a baby otter, learns how to float with the help of two new friends.

On Nov. 2, Josh the Otter visited Sarasota's Tuttle Elementary School with the help of the Longboat Key Rotary Club. Nancy Rozance, who donned the Josh costume, had the idea to bring the program to the school. She visited with about 115 kindergarteners.

“When I saw the program and learned how important this message was, and learned that Florida is the number one state for drowning for children under the age of 4, I just became passionate about it,” she said.

Before the youngsters met Josh, they read the book and took an oath to always stay safe around the water. They discussed what they learned, and then they to dance with  Josh the Otter to the song “Learn to Float,” a tune that reinforces the lesson.

Josh was greeted with squealing, giggling and jumping. The kindergarteners hugged him, petted him and danced. But behind their wide eyes and big grins, a serious lesson was being engrained in their minds.

For Tuttle principal Tomas Dinverno, combining water safety with education is important. The school’s second graders participate in a swimming program through Girls Inc., but starting water education earlier enhances safety awareness, he said.

Not only is Josh the Otter helping students learn about water safety, he’s pairing it with reading at a time when the kindergarteners are learning about decision making and how to sound out letters and words.

“It’s combining the mission of Josh the Otter with what we’re trying to do with literacy and real-world examples,” Dinverno said.

The Longboat Key Rotary Club and Tuttle have a strong relationship. The club does a food pantry, reading program and backpack labeling program for the school. It was at a food pantry event during the summer that Rozance reached out to Dinverno about Josh the Otter. Rozance said she hopes the Rotary Club can bring Josh the Otter to other schools.

“What an easy message to deliver in a place that has so much water,” Rozance said.