We had our daughter in park district swimming classes but she wasn't making progress. At Foss she became more comfortable and confident, and after a couple years now swims considerably better than I do. read more

I am truly sad and disappointed in our Foss experience at Elmwood Park. 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

As an applicant who applied for a job position: They misled me completely. I applied for the job position months in advance and completely relocated out of state to work there and was denied the position. After the first virtual interview, they told me I was essentially hired. They said the next step was in person confirmation, onsite, like a getting-to-know-you welcome interview, sorting through logistics, and a transition into scheduling and training. I applied 4 months in advance and they knew I was moving out of state to work there. When in need of a proof of employment letter, they refused to provide one because it was revealed that they needed the onsite in-person interview to legitimize my commitment and presence to the work to begin, based on my relocation. This was the first red flag I chose to ignore. The week I relocated they reached out and asked if I was still interested in the position in its entirety and if I wanted to schedule another onsite interview. Disregarding the fact that I had been in contact with them and following up for months during the process about my role. I had already moved out of state, a second serious red flag was not being informed of the onsite interview being conducted to that serious of a degree still considering my eligibility and determining my employment. I was not selected after it all by an IA generated email due to my 'qualifications'. Even through a mutually wonderful interview that I believe went well for a job I RELOCATED and was very well qualified for (lifeguarding/water safety, competitive swim team/stroke lessons 9 years, 10+ years childcare, curriculum development). I was denied employment due to a lack of transparency and was put in an unprofessional position that cost me and left me in a vicarious situation that could have been completely avoided if this establishment knew anything about effective communication. read more

Participated in the A3 adult swim program which is the most advanced offered currently. The purpose being to have simple practice time weekly perhaps learn new techniques. Unfortunately the program didn't meet my needs. Considering the entire length of the pool (25 yards) we were operating in 1/3 of the space. The staff was very pleasant all around however there's no reason, in my opinion, for adults to sign up for lessons unless you're just starting and/or getting pass the initial "fear of water." Overall no benefit/waste of money. read more

Hello, my family has enjoyed Foss for years of Swim Lessons with only positive things to say about the experinece up until Covid started. We paid (Over $500) prior to Covid Shutdowns for our 2 kids to go to specific dates of lessons. Foss decided to cancel our lessons back then (2020) and refused at that time to refund our money. They said they only gave us "credits" to reschedule. Closures and Covid has continued through today and finally we decided to contact Foss a month ago to do the lessons that we paid for and Foss replied that our credits expired so we don't get lessons and they're keeping the $500+. We have been calling and emailing with Foss/ Nicole Ryant who says the higher ups at Foss are telling her to deny the request to refund our money after we have politely asked multiple times. We have asked for them to provide documentation that shows we agreed to pay them for lessons even if Foss canceled the lessons and they are not cooperating. We understand they want to make money, but this is not right when we didn't get what we paid for. Foss, please refund our payment. read more

I transferred my kids from Goldfish swimming school to Foss since it was closer, but my kids advanced better and faster in swimming at Goldfish Swimming School then here. In like 9 months my daughter made it to swimming team here a year passed and she is still in swimming class for30 minutes and with my son 6 year old he did more stuff at Goldfish then here. So we are moving back soon to Goldfish. read more

We've been customers since 2015 and they don't have any sessions available for all 3 of my kids! They aren't confident that they can even open up a class for my child so they can all swim roughly around the same time frame! It's awful how this school is falling through the cracks on service! So not happy! read more

This is a great place for kids to learn to swim. We had done park district lessons in the past with some results, but the teacher to student ratio and the enthusiasm and expertise of the instructors can not be beat. My daughter went from have very minimal swim skills to being able to do two strokes and proper breathing in around 6 months. The pool is designed to meet the needs of many levels of swimmers and the facilities are clean and state of the art. We are treated at the door every week and our opinions are taken to heart regarding all of their policies. There's availability at all times and days and they work with you at finding the right fit for your needs. The lessons are more expensive than going to the park district or YMCA, but the difference in the quality of instruction is noticeable. We couldn't be more happy with the results. read more

Foss Swim School - Swimming Lessons/Schools Near Me - Niles, Illinois

I can't fully rate it yet but as the kids move up in levels the instructions have no control over some of the students. Some of the students try to run the class and a lot of time is lost. I am disappointed that the parents just ain't there and let it happen. I may request q change of class. read more

The instructors are very patient but not so skillful. My grandson wasn't given no more than 45 minutes of personal time out of the entire session ! He started out a beginner and it ended the same ...for what we paid this was a rip off ! read more

Been getting my kid here for almost 2 years. The management and the instructors do a great job and are very accommodating. My daughter loves her classes with Mr Louis who makes it very exciting and engaging for the kids to learn. read more

My issue with the school deals with their philosophy of testing students half way through their session to determine if they are moving up to the next level. They do this because half way through the session is when the schedules for the next session begin - so they want people to pre-register. The problem with this however, they do not test the students again on the last day, as they feel if the student didn't pass half way through, most likely they won't pass at the end of the course. It all comes down to them wanting people to pre-register instead of placing children in their level appropriate course. I assume it's the corporate philosophy, not just this particular location. read more

My son has been taking classes here and he really likes them. Instructors are very positive and make swimming fun while teaching. My son has learned a lot. Very happy we chose Foss to teach our son how to swim. read more

My daughter has been going to this swim school for around 3 years now. Recently we had an issue where she was at a pool party and failed to use her safety swimming skills. I'm glad we had friends and family around her in the pool and she was safe. I escalated the incident to the swim school to make sure she had strong foundation on safety while in water. They tried to work with her for a couple of sessions but that didn't help much. As she progressed swimming levels (was in final level based on her age), she failed to independently swim in unknown pool/beach. I explained the instructors this critical situation but they were not able to find me a solution. They told me to reach out to the site director who never called back despite my several attempts. I would not recommend this swim school as they failed to stand by me and my child when we needed help. Also their pools are not that deep and lanes are really short. This infrastructure does not allow the child to build up the confidence to swim independently in deeper pools and longer laps. There are several swim schools out there and we will be moving on to one that offers the expertise we need and infrastructure to support it. read more

Incredible instructors, and great facility (clean, organized, safe, and consistent water temperature). Definitely a great value. Outstanding service and great environment! read more

My kids have been taking swim lessons at Foss for over a year and we are so happy with the results. My kids love going to Foss and have leaned so much in this short time. The instructors are so helpful and friendly. I'm happy to say that I can trust them going to the pool with their camp this summer. Thank you Foss!! read more

Good classes for little kids! Instructors are patient and fun.

I go back and forth about this place. The quality really varies from session to session, which is quite unacceptable, given the cost. The schedule is very inconvenient when you're trying to coordinate more than one kid (I want their lessons have to overlap at least somewhat so I only make one trip per week) and determining what level the kid is in at any given time seems fairly arbitrary. The sessions where my kids have been in a class of 3 or less, they've learned a lot; in a class of 4, there's too much downtime, they don't learn much, you pay again for that same level in the next session. Thinking I'm going to bail on this place and go elsewhere. If they aren't going to learn much and be in a class with a bunch of kids, it might as well be cheaper. read more

I truly believe in this swim program. The Niles facility is clean and well-kept and teachers connect so well with the kids, helping them with each specific need the child may have whether it be fear of the water, or needing a little extra push of confidence. We love Matt and Michaela! This is not a fun and games only program. Although it is very fun, this is also a life saving skill program. I appreciate the small class size and the schedule that has many class options. We are so happy here and plan to stay for a long time. read more

The experience has been disappointing. The instructors keep changing. The management is not at all flexible. They don't allow make up classes and make all kind of rules and policies that allows zero flexibility. The instructors leave the school often. The way they test the students is also weird, the manager comes and barely look at your child for few seconds along with others in that class and decides if they should move up or not. It should be the teacher deciding not the manager. The lanes are narrow and crowded. Coming from the Y I had big expectations but its very disappointing. Front desk staff is very pretentious and don't accommodate. Their policies make it extremely hard to stick with them. We are switching to Big Blue Swim School. read more

This is my 3rd time reviewing Foss this year. They are getting better for us. After 7 weeks, my son is swimming on his own and has passed to the next class for registration. I'm going to try their swim camps (2 times a week) for January to see if the progress is faster with more frequency. Our instructor (a manager) has been amazing, and only had a sub once, who was also great. My one complaint is that they allowed a brand new swimmer into the session after 4 weeks. He was younger than the other students and spent his first class crying and wouldn't get into the pool. The introduction of this child took all the attention of the instructor, and almost wasted an entire class for the other two more advanced swimmers. The instructor did a good job, but seemed also concerned. After 3 weeks, the new swimmer is participating, so it was really only an issue for the one session, but at $22 a session... this seems like a questionable policy. read more