Springfield, Mass. Inner-City Scuba Diving lessons for kids [Video]

SPRINGFIELD, Mass — Students ages 10 to 13 at Rebecca Johnson Elementary in Springfield are part of a revolutionary aquatic program and an unlikely one at that. For the past two years, 13 students at Johnson Elementary have been part of a program called “Inner-City Scuba,” which was the idea of Principal Chris Sutton, who has dived across the globe and is a certified instructor.

“This came about (when) I was on a shark dive with Enfield Scuba in the Bahamas,” Sutton said. “And in between diving with sharks, there was a conversation around what I did for a living — and so the idea was begun; wouldn’t it be incredible to get inner-city kids to learn how to scuba dive.”

Around two years ago, Sutton teamed up with the nearby Enfield Scuba Shop, …