So sad for all involved: Wesley staff, lifeguards, park district, but especially the family. I hope that this incident may result in limiting # of campers allowed to visit at one time. I have 3 children under 8 yrs., and though we buy a yearly pass, we do not visit Roosevelt during those times as I cannot see all 3 at once and campers run unsupervised. I don't know how a camp counselor possibly could watch all their campers - and they should not rely on lifeguards as a back-up.

I completely agree with Amy. My children and I go to Roosevelt several times a week but we avoid it all together during the camp times. It's simply too crowded for me to feel safe at those times. There are children everywhere and my young son often gets unintentionally pushed and shoved by the under-supervised campers. Something needs to change. My thoughts are with the family at this sad time.

These lifeguards will be traumatized for a very long time, though they are not responsible for this tragedy. My heart goes out to them as much as it does to this young boy's family.

The ratio of camp counselors to children should be improved especially for a bunch of 4 year olds who probably cannot swim and need constant supervision. Something has to change

Agree, the pool is much too crowded when the campers arrive. Negligent day care center. Negligent pool management. Parents expect more from you all. Shame on you for this little boy's death. All for the almighty dollar a child dies again.

I was at the pool when this happened and it was horrible. There are TOO many campers/kids in the pool at one time. As much as I want to point blame at the counselor and the lifeguards, at the end of the day I believe the park district needs to set a limit on the number of children/campers allowed to be at the pool at a given time. I only have two kids and its stressful for me to be at the pool when campers are there bc I really need to pay close attention to my kids every second. In my opinion, one way to resolve this would be to not allow campers under a certain age to even go to the pool but rather do water play at camp (i.e., sprinkler, slip and slides, water balloons, etc.) I specifically did not sign my 5 (soon to be 6 in July) year old son up for camp at Glenview Park district bc I do not think he is a strong enough swimmer nor old enough to be at the pool being supervised by a high school or college age counselor when they are responsible for 10 kids.
I left a message with Chuck, the executive director of the glenview park district, and expressed this to him as well. I hope we see changes implemented, specifically a reduction in the number of campers allowed at the pool at a given time. It is too much pressure and responsibility to put on counselors and lifeguards.
If you agree with reducing the number of campers at the pool, please express this to the Park District.

The childcare center brought small kids to a pool that dropped off to a deep end and had a line at the bottom to mark that? Then the child care center is at fault. Who brings little kids to that kind of pool? I went to look at the pools my kids would use this summer at camps (they are small) and I would not allow them in anything that has a deep end, line or no line. What were they thinking? Kids need kiddies pools that are physically contained!

This is my biggest fear. I share this article as it has changed the way I watch my children. I also have asked that our camp director share it with our councilors. http://unofficialnetworks.com/drowning-drowning-important-read-summer-98693/

The article is about how drowning is a silent event, that looks nothing like we think it does. This poor child probably stepped off the edge of the pool and never resurfaced. In a second, and no one saw it or missed him in time. Terribly sad. The family is in our prayers as are all of our children for this camp season.

We stopped going to Roosevelt pool a couple of years ago b/c it had become overrun w/ too many campers during the week. It was an accident waiting to happen, period. May God bless this family who lost their precious little one way too soon.

As a former employee of Wesley CHild Care Center I would like to second what this Wesley parent above me has said. Wesley is an amazing center with highly trained staff. Wesley has a very positive reputation in the community and will continue to do so because of the care they provide to many children. This event is tragic and my heart goes out to the Cardenas Family as well as my friends who are current employees of Wesley.

Unfortunately when the campers do arrive at public pools for free swim it is during public pool hours. Camp counselors are usually teens with a summer job. Having been a lifeguard and pool manager at Centennial in Wilmette for 10 years I have seen it all to often where the counselors think they now get an hour break to sit in the sun & chat. I never had a problem telling them to move from where they were and that they were just as responsible to watch their children as we were. They didn't like it but tough. Granted this was before they changed the entire pool area to what it is today. I have also had parents that needed to be told that they had to keep an eye on their children. After having to pull a 2 yr old from under the water in the kiddie pool 3 times and she was at her chatty mothers feet, I'd had enough and told her if she didn't watch her child, she needed to leave. There is not one person to blame in this tragic incident there are many. The lifeguards administered CPR immediately after pulling the child. That is exactly what they were supposed to do. There were obviously others in the pool also next to this boy. Those swimming didn't notice a problem? I agree with mom that these zero depth pools are a nightmare. Small children belong in a kiddie pool that is contained. Plus those life vests that they have are NOT the smartest things to have at a pool. If they don't fit just right a child can slide out and drown. The article that Laura posted is a very good one.

Fact is 19 kids with 8 teachers? Do the math and that equates to 2 kids per teacher [if in fact the numbers are true]. Net Net... the reality is that this child died while'tunder the watch of a teacher = period! People let's not lose sight of this or sugar coat it.. THIS IS THE FACT.. A teacher let this happen. She was not doing her job. Perhaps distracted with texting or talking. IF she was doing her job this child would still be alive today. There is no other excuse and she has her concieous to deal with. Everything else about changing the rules and the capacity of people allowed at one time in the pool - is common sense that should have been there from the start. Too little too late. The teacher failed this child, the lifeguards failed this child, the system failed this child. Shame Shame!! My family was arriving at the pool when this happened and it was clear this place was well overcapacity and overwhelming.

All my best wishes to all relatives and friends of the carnendez family I have lost my sister in the same tragedy she drowned in a bathtub at the age of 1 it's hard i recently lost my 19 year old cousin so tragic but you always have to remember god put young (may god bless him) Vinccent in that state for a reason it always gets better you just have to be strong you have to remember everyone has a reason it just wasnt his lucky day it's no ones fault I mean they should've been watching him but there is other kids they should have more counclirs everyone should listen and be safe of take risks that end up wrong " Try and fail but, don't fail to try I'm on vaca right now just wishing the carnendez's hopes eishes and love just don't forget to love and stay positive

I agree with everyboy above who said this pool is TOO CROWDED when the camps come in. We NEVER use the pool until after 4pm when they are gone.

Something is WRONG and needs to be changed.

My heartfelt condelonces &Prayers go out to the Cardenas family, I cant phantom the thought of losing a child. My prayers also goes out to all the people involved in this tragedy because their lives will never be the same. People let's stop pointing the finger and help this family in their time of need ,who are we to judge this situation for we are not God nor are we in this family's shoes. What we can do as a Glenview family is embrace this situation and learn from it not ridicule or point fingers. Let ask this family how we as a community can help in there time of need.

There are going to be a lot of people who are messed up about this tragedy. I am sure they are doing more finger pointing at themselves than you can ever do. Drowning can and has happened in a bathtub, at home, with one child. I was not there, but my heart aches for all involved. I can only hope that some good solutions and lessons come of this.
As far as camps or class trips, every public facility is guilty of overburdening staff/ other patrons with too many kids and too few adults. I don't know if it was always this way, but it really makes taking my child anywhere more stressful than it's worth. It's hard to want your child to experience these places, but not get bulldozed by the masses in the process.

I suggest we wait until the investigation is done. It is premature to point fingers/ assign blame when we do not have all the facts. My kid was there on Friday with Wesley's school age camp and told me that the pool was so crowded when they arrived, they had a hard time finding space to put their things. Roosevelt Pool knows that Wesley was going to be there that afternoon, so why did they admit so many people, host birthday parties, etc at the same time? Also, several camps were there on Friday afternoon (GV PD, Wesley, others) - why do they allow so many camps to be there at the same time? I agree that the assigned teacher was responsible for watching this boy. However, all of us with 2+ kids know how hard it can be to watch more than 1 at the same time in a place like this. So please, let's wait until we get facts before passing judgement. Laura's article was very educational, I would have looked for the wrong things if I was supervising.

Tragedy. So many good points made. I myself felt more at ease with all of the lifeguards on duty. I think parents/ caregivers often feel they can let their guard down a bit because of this, but that isn' t the case. When my daughter was young I NEVER took my eyes off of her, in water or otherwise. You can and should rely on no one but yourself to protect the child/children in your care. I agree with everyone else...there were way too many children at the pool that day.
I watched the lifeguards administer CPR. They never let up. They desperately wanted this boy to live. I also agree that it was ultimately the responsibility of camp staff to have constant watch over each child in their group. If they weren't able to do that because of the mass amount of patrons then they should have left and chosen a different but safer activity. Finally, though the fact is that fault lies with the camp, I am certain they are now living with a horror in their own minds that will likely be with them for years. I didn't know the young boy or family, but as I watched staff and emergen y responders work on him, I felt my heart weeping. It's a tragic event that is not likely to escape my mind anytime soon either.
God bless this family.

Disappointed at how many people, mere days after a tragedy like this, feel informed enough to pass judgment, assign blame, and righteously declare who and what was at fault here. If you weren't there, perhaps withholding your opinions (we all have our own, I'm sure), until an investigation is complete and a full accounting of what happened is made public is the prudent choice. If you were truly concerned about the family's grief and loss, you might observe this basic courtesy and simply pass along your sympathies and condolences in any message of support you choose to leave. I agree with other commenters who suggest the only right thing to do at this time is rally to support this family during what I know all would agree is an unbearable time of loss.

does anyone know if there were cameras at the pool? What are the police working with to investigate?

I am the mother of a four year old preschooler at Wesley. Vincente was my son's friend. He was a sweet boy. All of my thoughts and prayers are with the Cardenas family. Their loss is unimaginable.

Everyone at Wesley, the park district and the Glenview community is horrified this happened. I have been to the pool with my kids during camp time and know how incredibly crazy it can be. But I have also seen the pool just as packed on a weekend and many parents standing around chatting with each other. I don't know all the details of this incident, but I anxiously await them as well. It goes without saying that my son will not be going to the pool without one of his parents.

In the meantime, we remember a young boy tragically lost, we sympathize with those who tried to save him, and we should work cooperatively to find a solution to prevent this from happening to another child.

Audrey N. you understand and are right on. As a parent at the pool with little ones you are responsible for their safety. As a teacher/guardian when the parents are not there, they are responsible for their safety. If the pool posed a hazard because of overcrowding - the more the reason to 1). have sound judgement and leave the premises or 2). not let the children out of your sight. An adult was responsible for that child and did not do their job. The pool facility has fault but secondary fault to the adult that should not have left sight of that child. Others that feel this is pointing the finger are just not getting it. As a parent, when my kids go to the pool - i do not take my eyes off of them for one second.

I don't understand why the pool is open to the public during camp swim hours for this age group. An incident like this is tragic and a source of fear for me with my own two children in Skokie where we live, however, at the very least, the pool is closed to the public and only the campers and counselors and guards are allowed when the younger campers are there. So sad that this happened but I hope this creates a greater sense of awareness and diligence for all involved: to the policy makers, counselors, parents, guards and kids even. I have spoken to my own kids about this sad situation to facilitate them knowing their limits and how sadly, they can't always rely on the "grown ups" around them to "fix" or negotiate the dangers posed to them especially with so many other kids around. I can't imagine going through what this family is going through. But I do understand that the sense of trauma and guilt will be felt by many...my heart just breaks.

Hello,

My name is Val Gurvits. I am Vicente’s uncle and am the family’s spokesman.

First, the family would like to express our gratitude for all the warm words of sympathy during this tragedy. As you would imagine, the family is devastated.

Also, I would like to hear from people who were at the pool that day. We have received surprisingly (and disappointingly) little information from the school regarding the events that lead up to Vicente’s death. We have heard that the pool was overcrowded, but are still trying to piece together what happened. If you were there, please call me at 617-928-1804 or email me at vgurvits@bostonlawgroup.com.

I am so sorry for this boy who will not get to blow out the 5 little candles on his cake. My heart and prayers go out to Vincente and his family who are experiencing a kind of tragedy no one would ever wish upon even their worst enemy. Even as a mother who had to bury a son, to watch a child-sized coffin being lowered into the ground is beyond comprehension. I am so very very sorry for this family. May you be held in God's grace In this unjustly dark time.

I am blessed to have 3 other sons, whom I have never enrolled in a day camp (for us it would be a city camp) bc I fear the conditions at these over populated pools and the ability of these over burdened guards and counselors to excellently do their job. When it comes to our kids, "adequate" is not enough. I have to ask- is it standard to take 4 year old campers to a pool? I really don't know if it is up north.

So sad too that many moms and dads have to work all the time, maybe even 2 jobs, to make it- summer just an extension of the school year, another season to do the child care scramble. And even those that are fortunate enough to not have to work may decide to enroll their kids because being home all the time with young kids is hard and often isolating. We should remember that while there is enough blame to go around, our social conditions, regardless of social class (or really, operating in different ways depending) are also ripe for examining. With condolences and respect, Chgo Mom.

Please let the family grieve! I realize that someone will ultimately be held responsible...and probably financially as you cannot bring him back (which is what the family would want). It is impossible to not try find fault, I get it. However, let those who are in charge of investigating, insuring, and working in this field the time to do it. Rushing to any judgement will not help any future swimmers or this family.

Please please please do not jump on the caregivers and the lifeguards who were there that day. This is a tragedy that is beyond sad, more than any parent or caregiver should have to go through. Having had my children through both the preschool at Wesley and the school age camp, I know that I never felt unsafe with my children in their hands. These are not high school providers, many are parents themselves and have always treated my children as their own - and even now that we have moved on, keep contact to see how they are doing. This is a family, and one that is grieving as well, since I can assure you they loved that child more than anyone can imagine. None of us knows what happened, how it happened, and to speculate and blame this early in the process only produces emotions that are not necessary. This entire community is mourning - none of us can imagine how horrible this loss is to this family, and it is important to support them above all, as well as the center, and Roosevelt during this time. Let the authorities and the family address the why/how this event happened, and to address all policies necessary to make our pools safer. Let the rest of us be supportive to our community and above all to this family who has lost so much.

A quick update: Following Vicente's tragic drowning at Glenview's Roosevelt pool Friday, Park District officials have announced that until further notice, all camps are suspended from using either Roosevelt or Flick Pools during public swim hours.

My heart goes out to the Cardenas family, his teachers at Wesley and the life guards at the pool. I am a preschool owner, life long tacher and former life gaurd. It is by the grace of God that something as horirfic and tragic has not happened to those of us leaving comments on this site. How dare those of you place blame on anyone! Your assumptions and judgements are ridiculous! The only thing we should be focused on right now is this family, his little friends, the teachers who loved and cared for him and the dedicated gaurds who are ALL DEVESTATED.

F

My son almost drowned at this pool. It was not at all crowded at the time. We had just arrived for a birthday party and my husband and I were settling in. My son ran into the water to greet his friends who were on the other side of the pool and, as we found out later, were wearing life jackets. There was no obvious marker between shallow and deeper water, I had never been to the pool before and assumed the water was shallow where the other children were. BIG mistake!! When I looked up my son had gotten out of his depth and was sinking quietly. Neither the life gaurd (who was 10 feet away) my husband, or any of the other adults noticed. It was terrifying. I don't think it should be so easy to move to such deep water without encountering a barrier of some sort. I cant imagine what this boys family must be going through. They are in my prayers.

If there was one counselor to each camper would it be Ok to have camps there? The pool was not at capacity. If you think it's too crowded and unsafe, don't go. I don't understand why so many people blame camps for making it crowded. What about weekends? It's crowded then without camps. What about the parent alone there with 4 kids? Do we start monitoring that? Should we ban reading, texting, and talking with friends? All of these are distractions. It's ridiculous to think disallowing campers to use the pool is a solution. Be smart and watch your kids. I guarantee there are counselors there who are watching their campers more closely than some of the parents. This was tragic and I cried for this family I don't even know. Be careful and do what you're comfortable with and capable of doing while around water.

This is a BIG deal that boy life is gone, due to someone who was not paying attention and probably couldn't because it was so crowed.I am a mom of 2 and i can barely keep my eyes on my own kids and they are GREAT swimmers 6and 9 but when it is so crowed you can barely see where they are.i avoid every situation of going there when all different camps are there. how many camps are there at a time?What is the capacity of people the pool can have in and are the keeping track. Why do i feel not? everyone should stop and think god for bid you were the mom and it happen to you? You would t blame the counselor?Something went really wrong and for Wesley to keep a hush hush makes me wonder.When a counselor take the responsibility to do this kind of work their eyes should not leave that child site, now if a mom is stupid enough to then that's her own child she is putting in danger not someone else.

Again, why are we not allowing the people who are experts in figuring this out do exactly that. Obviously something went wrong - who is to blame is not our role. We can help with comments from personal experience to help the Park District make these pools safer, and help our camps do the same. We do not know the facts. For Tipster - Wesley has 9 preschool teachers, but many people who also help with the preschool/school age kids, and this is why there were 8 people there. It is a parents choice to let their kids go to the pool - they do swim lessons with the kids in the morning as well, and there are groups that do not go to the pool so that if you felt uncomfortable sending your child, you could choose to not. I chose to send mine since I visited the site, the pool and knew the counselors in charge, and never felt for a minute unsafe. Something went horribly wrong, let the authorities in charge figure that out, and for all the energy felt here, direct that towards helping this family however they may need help.

Mom2 you are right! Let's keep it simple and ask ourselves one question....

If you were at the pool with your kids and one drowns [heavens forbid] who will you blame? The water? the kid running away from you? overcrowdedness?

There is only one answer = yourself because you were the protector for that child.
It's black and white.

Hello friends !!!

I would like to enfatize that the family is still trying to understand what really happened with the little boy during the visit of the school at the pool that day.

We know the police is doing the investigation, but if you were there and saw what happened, please contact Mr. Val Gurvits (He is Vicente's uncle and he is the family’s spokesman).

Last Monday Mr. Gurvits wrote at this website asking: " I would like to hear from people who were at the pool that day. We have received surprisingly (and disappointingly) little information from the school regarding the events that lead up to Vicente’s death"

He also wrote: "We have heard that the pool was overcrowded, but are still trying to piece together what happened. If you were there, please call me at 617-928-1804 or email me at vgurvits@bostonlawgroup.com "

So, please, help the family, giving more information about what happened with the boy that day and how were the circumstances of the place at the time of the accident. All the information you can give can be added at the police's investigation !!!

God bless the little boy and comfort the family in this hard time.

They may have hired more people for summer camp, but twice as many? I would question that. Enough with the flattery and nonsense here. I'm sure Wesley has great staff and folks working there - but a child died under their care last week. Enough said. Good luck to Mr. Gurvits and the Cardenas family in what I hope is successful litigation and useful information obtained in discovery. It will never fill their void.

I agree. It seems to me that there is no clearer proof that someone failed to watch a child other than....someone failed to watch a child. There isn't any logic to the contrary. it just doesn't make sense. Some posters would try to shame those sharing your opinion (and mine) into saying otherwise, by asserting that we don't know what happened....but we do. It's not a leap to say that the child was unwatched, it's a hammer on the head. There's no master's paper or ethics report, no matter how strongly worded or emotional, that can contradict that simple fact. Vicente was unwatched, and that the role of watcher is - without argument - the most primary job a caregiver has. Indeed, there isn't even an expectation that a caregiver should dive in to help a struggling child when lifeguards are present. My words are not to condemn anyone. That is why i am weighing in. I am speaking up because clearly someone failed in their job, and it is better to own that, grieve that, and anyone bearing responsibilty will have to start the process of learning how to forgive themselves. To just skip that step by declaring that the accident was tragedy for which no one had a hand in is so hurtful, in my opinion, to the family and those responsible for it. This was a horrible tragedy, but it was an assisted tragedy.

i hope the investigation includes lie detector tests of the daycare staff to get some answers on what the 'child protectors' were doing

I write once again on behalf of the family of Vicente Cardenas. We are thankful to all for your words of comfort and your sympathy.

We continue to be frustrated by the lack of information from Wesley School and from the authorities. We are therefore asking anyone that has any videos from that day (Friday, June 15th) at Roosevelt Pool to please step forward and share it with us. We would like to obtain any possible evidence about the number of people at the pool, the possible location of Vicente's group, the caregivers, the lifeguards, etc.

Thank you. I can be reached at vgurvits@bostonlawgroup.com or 617-928-1804.

Wesley needs to learn a large lesson - perhaps a historical one!

Last I heard, the current Wesley families will be asking the Wesley Board and their current administration for a meeting. Without any information, many of the families are still very wary leaving their children in the center's care. I also know that many of the families have been contacted by a few attorneys. The parents would not be able to sue Wesley directly but they can sue on behalf of their children. Especially those who were on site that day. It was explained that Wesley had a "duty to care" for these kids and though, tragically, we lost Vicente, each and every one of the other 18 children were put in harm's way and were in a dangerous situation. It was explained to me by one attorney that she speculates that the main reason for Wesley's silence, to all involved, is because if each parent knew what the Wesley staff were doing at the time of the loss, every parent would be suing the center individually for failure to provide safe environment.