The swim teachers are good but the filter went out and they gave me a call at 4:18 when my child had class at 4:30 we were already there. So then they will give me a credit to my Foss account not even back to my cc. I didn't like the way they handled things. read more

I am truly sad and disappointed in our Foss experience at the Elmood Park location. When we started at Foss, the quality of instruction and kid-friendly environment made it worth the steep price. Our son loved his lessons. However, several major factors have caused us to pull our son out mid session. This year, Foss stopped offering any make up sessions. To us, this was unreasonable as the current session is 13 weeks long and the price is $30 for a half hour. Instead, Foss offers family swim as a substitute for a make-up lesson, which books out months in advance. Other swim schools offer tokens for make up sessions as inevitably, very few families are available for 13 weeks straight. We also experienced a major lack of communication with management. Nobody answers the phone. We missed a session once and when we arrived the following week, the building was closed. There was nothing on the website or any form of communication to inform us of this closure. When I called and asked why the building was closed I was told that there had been a note on the door the previous week (the week we missed.) Most unfortunately, the quality of swim instructors at Foss varies widely. Although our three teachers before this session were great, our most recent teacher wasn't in the pool when class started, had 4 year old kids sitting on the step for long periods of time, and put the kids in time out if they moved to the other end of their lane for their turn. Of course the top priority is safety, but she never showed the children what she expected of them. I'm still not sure how they were expected to get to the other side of the lane for their turn. I had to stick up for my son when the teacher put him in time out for moving down the lane. During the first class with her, my son only swam for 10 minutes total, as the kids sat on the step for the first 10 minutes, played games for 5 minutes and were sent out of the pool early. This is not acceptable when classes cost about $1 per minute. When I spoke with the manager about my concern, another mom was doing the same thing about the same teacher. Instead of listening to me, the manager said she'd call or email me the next day, but I never heard from her until I followed up a few days later. If I were the manager, I would be interested in knowing why families were ending their sessions. Overall, this lack of communication, and poor teacher experience is no longer worth the high cost (and parking nightmare.) We were hoping to keep our son (and eventually enroll our daughter) at Foss as there are few swim environments close to us that are as kid friendly. We know a lot of families at Foss who have had great experiences, but unfortunately, it was not for us. read more

Ms. Ashley and Jace are also amazing instructors, so sweet and patient with all the kids. nothing but good things all around

Adult swim lessons I recommend. Very understanding and motivational. Great prices and flexibility

This looks like a nice, clean, organized, and well-run facility. I had the pleasure of babysitting a child who took lessons there so I got to sit in the lobby and watch all the different classes in action. The locker room has individual changing rooms and they were very clean. The whole facility appeared very clean and well-tended. Masks all around, which I appreciated. They do run many classes at once so participants each have only a small swath of the pool for their activity, but no one seemed to mind. The free parking lot was full when I visited, but I found free street parking nearby. Crispin at the front desk was super welcoming and encouraging to all of the youngsters, which was lovely to observe. He greeted everyone by name and congratulated kids on their efforts. read more

I get that the Covid restrictions suck. I get that you're a business. But, when you scam people who have stuck with you through this mess, something has to be said. When you sign your kid up for a semi-private and no one else signs-up, that's on you, not me. You could have cancelled the class at the start or said my kid had to move to another slot to be with another kid. But you didn't. You wanted the money. Months later, you now tell me I have to pay for private lessons to maintain the exact SAME class because you have to "say" they are "private lessons" under the latest restrictions. Bullshit. I call bullshit on this shady business practice. read more

Rating changed after speaking to a higher up in the company who agreed to extend my credit for awhile longer given the pandemic is sticking around and not everyone in my family is vaccinated. My prior review was strictly due to poor customer service in light of COVID-19. I always thought the instructors were well trained and very good with kids, especially kids who are fearful of water/swimming (not my kids, but I observed it when I was there). If you can get past the fact that a possible megalomaniac is at the helm of this location, it's a good place for your kids to learn to swim. read more

A very nice facility with private changing rooms and heated pool divided into sections for various class pools for kids of different ages and abilities. We were enrolled here in the past when our son was 2-3 and were registered to continue classes there this summer now that he is 4 but had to cancel due to covid. Was able to do so very easily with a very helpful and friendly employee over the phone who helped me get a refund instead of deferring, without any pushback. Will definitely be back for classes once it is safe to do so. read more

Just started taking my daughter there for swim classes. Her instructor is Savannah and she had the introductory with Terrance, both whom are very nice. So far so good. I will most likely sign her up again after this class is done. read more

Foss Swim School - Swim class with Savannah - Swimming Lessons/Schools Near Me - Elmwood Park, Illinois

My son attended this facility for several quarters and while I understand that children learn at a different pace, his skills did not improve by much after consistent attendance. His enrollment included at least 2 private classes during the initial stages of the pandemic. The last class he was enrolled in had 4 children and one instructor the majority of the time. His share of practice time was minimal and the pool space allocated to each class is laughable. By the time my son started kicking his feet, he had reached the "end" of the lap and 2 seconds later he was waiting again for his turn. The instructors are fairly young which could explain their lack of passion for coaching. The positives are perhaps the abundant parking and locker rooms which are clean and spacious. My son is now attending Blue Gems in Norridge and although early on, our experience is proving much more pleasant. read more

Foss requires payment up front to register for classes, but refuses to give a refund if a need arises to cancel enrollment. I have signed my daughter up for classes that start in January, paid in full over a month ahead of class start, now that we can no longer attend due to personal circumstances, they are refusing to refund the money and are only offering class credit. I am not interested in credit. We won't be attending Foss anymore. I want my money back. Bottom line, be careful, they'll try to keep your money if you need to cancel. I will be reporting them to BBB. read more

My son's swim instructor, Mr. J was amazing! His level of patience for my energetic toddler was appreciated. He was always on time and displayed an excellent mood. He knew how to redirect my son's many interruptions and remained professional. My son really enjoyed his swim classes especially due to Mr. J. I will def be recommending him! read more

My son has been at this location for almost 3 years. Location has always been clean in all aspects and a reason why we always return. When he started at 7 years old he was extremely afraid of the water and he was definitely a bit older in not knowing how to swim. Fast forward to 3 years and he is an amazing swimmer. Backstroke, butterfly, dolphin, he's mastered them all. The teachers are great and really good instructors. We've had repeat instructors for different levels and we really like that as my son is already comfortable with them. Can't recommend them enough. read more

Our 2-year old absolutely loved her first classes here! The teacher (Rocio) was just amazing with her and helped her learn to float on her back, put her head under the water and climb out of the pool on her own. We'll definitely keep her in classes her throughout her childhood. read more

Barely a 4 star rating but good overall. Staff are friendly, accommodating and helpful most of the time. Good location with free ample free parking. Facility is clean enough although fees / deals post pandemic are not the greatest. Biggest issue is actually with upper leadership. You can just tell that general management is not very present. Don't get me wrong, they're doing their job but this could be a very well run business and there are a few minor items are always missing in my opinion. Solid B-. read more

My 6yr old daughter just finished her first session with Ms Sue and she absolutely loved it! We did the once a week class for 12 weeks. At first she was hesitant about putting her face in the water but each week she felt more and more comfortable with Ms Sue. Ms Sue was very patient with her until she earned her trust. By the end of the 12 week session she made huge improvement, she was floating on her own and holding her breath underwater for 10 bananas. The facility was very clean and up kept. The showers were also always clean. The front staff greeted us with a smile and hello every time we went in. They also have a waiting room with a tv and puzzles for kids to play. Overall it was a great experience and we will definitely be signing up for the fall session. read more

Currently in backfloat baby 1 with my son and have had the pleasure of being coached by Yasmine! She has been so great and you can feel she genuinely enjoys her job. My son is generally reserved with people but Yasmine has an inviting nature about her and knows how to make the babies feel comfortable and engaged in the lesson. We're coming to an end of our sessions before my son advances to the next level but this was such a pleasant experience because of our amazing instructor and I'm hoping the next quarter will be just as great with whoever my son gets as an instructor. Facility is clean and pleasant to be in and I would highly recommend to others. read more

The instructors are phenomenal and the training program to ensure consistency with each instructor must be as well.

Our 5 year old is excelling at swimming at Foss. The teachers are SO amazing, the space is clean and he loves it. They assign fun homework and work really hard to help the kids advance. Totally recommend! read more

Mr. Luis and Gianni are the best swim instructors ever. My kids who were both so afraid of the water love them both. I gave four stars because it is a little tricky to do make ups, as unlike goldfish swim school, you are restricted to a couple days a week and a few hour time span to do them. However the amazing teachers make up for this and the pool is nice and warm (bonus for mommy and me classes). read more

I just started at Foss about a month ago and I love it. I am an adult who is learning to swim and I am not ashamed to say it (which I definitely was before!). I feel encouraged and respected by my teachers which was something I was worried about since I know many children attend Foss. I had Rocio for a couple of private lessons and I'm now in an adult class with Terrence as my teacher. They are both very positive and really analyze your form to give you good feedback. I know I'll be a strong swimmer learning to swim through the Foss program because I've already made so much progress in a month! read more

I'm totally dissatisfied with the lack of customer service regarding Covid 19. When I first signed up the advertisement said private lessons. Once I started two other people were expected and only one showed up... so I decided to try it out but as the cases increased my anxiety and fear for my life increased so I expressed my fear again and they agreed to give me a credit. I looked at my account and my credit was expiring, I panicked and signed up for spring but I really need to do it in Summer when I'm vaccinated. I sent email and nobody responded and tried to call on lunch breaks they are closed... I'm super frustrated and my doctor said I can not attend this class until fully vaccinated. I wish someone call or email me back! The class starts March 8th in 3 days... read more

We enrolled our 3.5 year old daughter in her first swim class at Foss's Elmwood Park location. She did the free preview session and has done 3 sessions since the preview (for a total of 4 classes thus far). We are SO IMPRESSED with Foss. First off, the preview session was magical. I didn't expect my daughter to even get in the water but the instructor got her in and even got her to float on her back! It was incredible. Now that she's in a regular class she shares her instructor with two other 3 year-olds. I like that it's a small class, it allows for a lot of interaction. The last two sessions my daughter hasn't wanted to get in the pool and right away, another instructor who was sitting in the wings swooped in and helped motivate my daughter to get in the pool. I was so impressed with how quickly he came in and how patient he was, within a minute he had my daughter happily entering the water. Incredible. I think overall I'm just blown away at how patient, attentive, creative, and friendly the instructors are. Also, I like that in the summer they offer free family swim so you can go to the pool and get in the water with your child to help them get more comfortable in the pool. read more

My daughter just completed her season, within a few weeks my 4 year old has gone from not wanting to have water touch her head to diving under water. I held off from enrolling for a long time because good swim lessons are expensive. But It's very much so worth it. This is the first activity that my daughter wants to continue, so we are... I also very much so recommend our instructor Mr. Luis, he's energetic, fun, loud, and very playful. My daughter can stubborn and he doesn't even let it faze him. read more

My son loves his instructor, Sue. They are great with kids. Only thing I will complain is the parking. Hard to find parking around 5:00-6p.

I used to love this place. My daughter had such a good time with Monkey Faces and learning how to swim. Her instructor Vinny was amazing at first, then while I was walking out of the shower area. I heard him and other colleagues discussing how they urinate in the pool and then let the kids swim through it. It's pretty shocking and disturbing. I immediately understood I had to leave Foss at once, if they are doing this and letting my child swim through Urine, what other gross and unsanitary things are they doing over there. I am sad to leave, I thought this was of high quality. If I could give them Zero stars, I would. read more

We've never had a better swimming experience - it's clean, warm and as friendly as they come! PLUS, they actually teach your kids how to swim! My daughter learned loads in just a few classes (after many 'meh' classes elsewhere). As a bonus, there's always an available dressing room, helpful staff member around or fun movie on. Swimming can be scary but these super smiley folks trick you into thinking it's ALL fun! read more

Great facility. My 10 month old daughter is enrolled for a back float baby session on Sundays. Her instructor is great! We really trust her with our daughter. Three weeks in and our baby is jumping into the arms of her daddy while singing Humpty Dumpty. Down sides are that Sunday's are very crowded. There is a wait to use the stalls or family changing areas. I do not like that shoes are allowed by pool area. Parents and kids are barefoot, we are all walking on the mud others tracked in from the out side. Shoes should be limited to the glassed viewing area. It's not a huge establishment, so there is limited space to place your belongings. Families bring there belonging by pool area as well so makes it for less space to sit. Not all families are friendly. Parking is a bit restrictive since it is busy on the weekend. You have to hawk a parking spot. The positives out weigh be negatives. There is room for improvement, but over all great swim school. Side note: instructors do dip children under the water many times. Every child reacts differently. If you are not confortable with this, and don't care for the child to adapt as time passes maybe swim school isn't a good idea. read more

Had my son taking his first swim lessons as he's always been excited about water. My free initial class was great but wasn't bad either. That instructor (younger overweight) girl with pin hair wasn't engaging with the kids at all. But I decided to sign up given my boy's excitement. I was glad that his instructor wasn't that girl and appreciated the fact the instruction was with only with 3 other kids around the same age. You can definitely hear and see the difference between instructor's motivation and engagement each class. I had to remove him after 4 sessions because he had his face inside the water 3 consecutive times by the instructor and she wasn't really responsive to the way his reaction was the first time. That was the last time my son got into the pool and refused to get in. He lost his trust in that instructor. I follow mes up with the shifts mgr. and he failed to listen or accommodate. I took my son during community day and my son enjoyed I was with in the water with him. It took about another 3 attempts to take him but he refused to go in the water with that instructor and I kept asking mgmt about his reaction. Then after 9 weeks, I was refunded my some of my money except for the initial fee ($35). Yeah, they lacked communication and response to my son's reaction. They could've try switching instructor to see if my son would enter and respond positively. I'll wait until he reaches more comfort e read more

I have been following up closely with Foss Swimming school in regards to swimming classes for my 10 month old Daughter. I left several messages within a two week time, hence no return phone call received! No one seems to want to answer or return calls. Yesterday I was able to speak with an actual live person instead of a machine, I spoke with Sabrina and she informed me registration for baby float1class would be open tomorrow (03-30-2021) Sabrina was very specific with details on the class and when they will start (April11-June 5) She also mentioned her manager was putting the schedule together that's why she did not have specific days and times that it would be on the website in the morning. Today I went on line to register, as advised, and was having a problem with the website. I attempted to call them to get some help with the registration. They informed me their was no pool space for this class. REALLY!! Very disorganized, They need to ALL be on the same page and be able to run a company. Being lied and disrespected I do not appreciate. I would never do business with this company. They used the excuse Covid as well. If they feel this is a threat why are they open? read more

This is not a place for older kids who need to learn how swim for their own safety and strengthen stroke skills. My daughter and son (11 and 13, tall and with some skills) were put in class with younger kids who had NEVER been in the water, who held them back. They probably should have been put with adults. I constantly asked the instructors to extend the little half lane, because my kids could get to the other end freestyle without even breathing. The teacher repeatedly taught butterfly, when the kids were not strong in free/breast/back, survival strokes. Only kids on swim team ever need to know how to swim fly... I repeatedly, politely, asked the instructor to skip the fly and to teach them how to swim strokes they may need to use to save their lives. The instructor and managers listened to my concerns, but did nothing. The classes are expensive and my kids barely learned anything. They got way more out of make up lessons when they missed their regular date/times. THOSE instructors put them in full lanes and gave them great feedback. After covid hit, I called in every few months, was told that our remaining vouchers would NEVER expire, and to "keep checking back" for make up lessons. I just got off the phone with someone who told me that the vouchers were only good for ONE year and all have expired except for our two vouchers from the very beginning of 2020, even though we couldn't use the ones from 2019 in 2020! They only schedule make up lessons/family swims for the month ahead and on Friday nights, which we can't make, because of another activity. Disappointingly, the whole thing has been a frustrating experience and a big waste of time and money. read more

I am sad to be giving this review here, but we haven't had a good experience with Foss in Elmwood Park. I had two unrelated issues even before trying the lessons. 1) We enrolled our kiddos for one lesson each and never quite understood whether they were in the right class for their level. I tried to call and was deferred to the website, which wasn't very clear. Our kids know how to swim and just wanted more technique. I tried to watch videos and make sense of their info but frankly did not quite get it. I figured they would be moved to another lesson, but that wasn't clear either. 2) Then, we had to cancel due to a conflict with another activity that we had previously committed to (but didn't have the calendar for at enrollment) and found out we won't be getting our money back. Mind you, the cancellation was a month before the event started. We will be issued a credit that will expire in about half a year. That is quite terrible, honestly. I had read all the conditions when I signed up but did not recall this policy. In the Terms and Conditions, which is a close menu, it is explained but in a way that the meaning is buried under conditions for which a cancellation fee will apply. There is more language about the cancellation fee than about the money ever being refunded. Also, one shouldn't have to look at the Terms and Conditions for this, it should be clear when enrolling, and in the email communication received after enrollment. I was searching in my email communications and found nothing about the no-refund policy. Something like this should be front and clear. So now we lost our money, or we'll have to see how we can fit lessons in a club that communicates poorly about their classes. **Think twice about enrolling!** read more

I previously had my 4 year old daughter at the YMCA for 2 years. I noticed she was not learning anything because there were 1 kids with only 1 instructor. When I took her to Foss Swim school, I noticed the change the very first day! Her teacher Jeannette is the best that can be. She sang songs and was extremely patient with my daughter. My daughter feared the water and by the end of the session, she excelled to the next level. I have her enrolled for the next semester and am looking forward to working with awesome people. read more