Title
2025 Parks and Recreation Department Summer Programs - Post Season Update - Citywide
Description
This report provides the Transportation, Infrastructure, and Planning Subcommittee with a post-season update on the Parks and Recreation Department 2025 summer programs, including PHXPlays summer camps and aquatics.
THIS ITEM IS FOR INFORMATION AND DISCUSSION.
Report
Summary
Each year the Parks and Recreation Department (Department) provides safe and affordable summer programs for youth and families across the City. These programs include a wide range of classes at community centers, sports programs and events in parks. The Department also operates PHXPlays Summer Camps and opens the aquatic season, giving residents access to public pools and swim lessons.
PHXPlays Summer Camp
The 2025 PHXPlays Summer Camp gave youth and families across Phoenix a safe, affordable, and fun experience. The day camps were held at 26 community centers and served more than 3,000 children ages six to 12 each week during the eight to 10-week program.
Registration reached record levels. PHXPlays Summer Camp remains an important part of the Department’s commitment to youth enrichment during school breaks.
Program Highlights
• Strong attendance and engagement across all sites
• Positive feedback from families regarding the variety and quality of activities
• Successful integration of teen volunteers into daily operations
• Smooth coordination of field trips and special events
• Continued emphasis on safety, inclusivity, and affordability
• Daily meals, including breakfast/lunch or lunch/snack options
Program consistency across the Department is a key part of success. Children receive the same core program no matter which center they attend. Activities include monthly field trips, guest presenters and entertainers, swim days at City pools, daily activity rotations, an end-of-season carnival, choreographed talent shows for parents and more.
While much of the focus is on younger children, teens also play an important role. Through the Teen Volunteer Program, they assist with daily activities such as pool visits, lunch and snack time, classroom rotations, field trips and end-of-day pick up. Teens also take part in breakout sessions with guest speakers, educational activities, and off-site trips.
This year, over 300 staff members played a vital role in delivering our summer camp programs. These positions provided meaningful employment opportunities, often serving as a first job experience for young individuals, while also fostering valuable real-world skills such as responsibility, time management and workplace readiness. In addition to offering income and financial independence, these opportunities helped participants strengthen their résumés, explore career interests, and build networks that will support their future educational and professional goals.
Aquatics
The Parks and Recreation Department operated 19 of the 20 pools opened in summer 2025. The twentieth location, Telephone Pioneer Pool, was opened this year in partnership with Ability 360. The 2025 pool season began on Memorial Day weekend and ran through July, with eight select pools open through Labor Day. More than 286,000 people visited City pools during the summer.
Staffing
Each year, the Department hires hundreds of seasonal aquatics staff. This summer, the Department hired over 500 staff including Pool Managers, Assistant Pool Managers, Swim Instructors, Lifeguards, and Cashiers. Each pool is staffed differently based on several factors. The number of Lifeguards at each site is determined by Maricopa County Code requirements, the lifeguard certifying agency requirements, the amenities at the facility, and the amount of programming offered at each site.
Recruitment for aquatics programs take place year-round and is carried out through social media, local news, visits to schools, and outreach at sporting and community events. Staff recruitment, training, and certification continue throughout the summer to ensure sufficient staffing levels.
This summer, the Department invested in building future aquatics leadership. These positions are essential to the City's ability to open pools. Forty-seven employees completed a two-week Aquatic Academy to prepare for Assistant Manager roles, and more than 60 lifeguards were selected for a Head Lifeguard program that gave them leadership and mentoring experience. These efforts created a stronger foundation for future pool management.
Staff retention is an important part of maintaining a large seasonal workforce, and planning for the 2026 aquatics season is already underway. The Aquatics team will remain in contact with 2025 staff through events such as the Trunk or Treat Fall-o-ween, Electric Light Parade and Polar Plunge. Pool Managers will also reach out to team members during the off season to encourage them to return. Looking ahead, the Department will continue to work with schools and Arizona State University to share recruitment materials, with support from the Communications Department to promote job opportunities through social media, media outreach and newsletters.
Programming
This summer 16 pools participated in the Kool Kids program, which allowed children 17 and younger to swim for free. This program was made possible by donations from the Milwaukee Brewers and Salt River Project. At the other three pools, admission for children was one dollar. Adult admission was three dollars and senior admission was one dollar.
Throughout the 2025 aquatics season, the Department provided more than 13,200 swimming lessons. Lessons were available for participants aged six months to adult and ran from June 2 through July 24. Each session included eight 30-minute classes. To keep lessons affordable, the cost was $15 per session, or about $1.88 per class. A $20,000 donation from the Arizona Diamondbacks and Presidential Pools also made it possible to discount more than 1,600 spaces to three dollars.
This summer, the Department expanded swim lesson programs at six pools with classes designed for children ages three to five, who are among the most at risk for drowning. A total of 206 children participated. Swim lessons were promoted through the Department website, social media, flyers at pools, and local media interviews.
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Deputy City Manager John Chan and the Parks and Recreation Department.