Tracy with Arcadia ISR came highly recommended to me by several moms at the gym... I was debating putting my son in regular swim lessons, but ended up going this route and never looked back. When I researched the ISR method, I learned that drowning is the number one cause of accidental death for children under the age of four in Arizona. And while I know there is no substitute for constant supervision, ISR Self-Rescue lessons provide an extra layer of protection. My son loves the water... whenever he sees it, he wants to go in. It's beyond scary to think about if he somehow were to fall into a pool and an adult wasn't around to save him. If you really want the chills and reassurance that ISR works, check out the testimonial page here: http://www.arcadiaisr.com/testimonials.html The testimonials do not lie. Tracy is fabulous. While it's an investment of both time and money, it's so worth it. Just a few weeks in and my 22 month old son can float and swim to the side of the pool - it's pretty amazing! When Yelp allows us to post videos, I'll do so here... In the meantime, if you are looking at swim lessons / survival class for a child 6 months to 6 years old, I highly recommend ISR! read more

I have a 17month old taking this swimming class. She is having major stranger anxiety and screams for the entire 10 min of the lesson. The only saving grace really is the teacher, Becky. She is excellent with her. She is experienced and calming yet productive. The class is short in duration, but appropriatly structured. It goes every day of the week for 5-7 weeks. We are lucky to have class 5 min from the house! The other parents I have talked to are very pleased with their lessons and say that it will get better for my 17month old! read more

It's a waste of money and torture for your child. First they charge you a "Registration Fee" of over $ 100,- What service do they provide for that money ??? Total Nonsense and a ripoff. Then it's $ 80 a week for 10 minute classes. (cash. credit cards are only accepted for the registration fee) All what your child learns is to roll onto the back and float for a few seconds. After that it will drown if nobody comes to help. We have not seen one single child who enjoyed the classes, they all started to cry as soon as they saw the pool. Of course, their video only shows amazing pictures of babies under the water. The main purpose of these courses is to create revenue, the child will not learn to swim or to survive if it falls into an unattended pool. Even worse: It creates a false idea that the baby is safe around water. Take your child to real swimming lessons at the age of 4 years, that is the age recommended by pediatrics. The ISR course won't help your child to learn to swim faster - save your money. read more

I can't even begin to say enough about how amazing these ISR lessons are and how GRATEFUL I am that we had Becky Harris as my son's teacher!!! We had been going to Hubbard swim school off and on for over 2 years and my son still didn't really like the water and learned nothing. Being that we recently moved into a house with no gate around the pool, I knew we needed to find another solution for our swimming needs. In just two days of lessons, my son went from not liking the water to absolutely LOVING it and begging to go to lessons everyday. Within a week he was swimming on his own and one week after that was floating on his back with no assistance!! Becky not only teaches swimming skills, but ingrains in each child how to make good LIFE SAVING decisions in the water.... Something that you don't usually see in your traditional swim classes (or at least I didn't). She really has such an incredible way I being firm, yet living in her approach. She is very clear in her expectations in each child, and in turn they trust her and learn to trust and be confident in them self. Typically the program is about 6 weeks, but bc my son is a little older (3.5 yrs old), we finished the program in 4 weeks! I am fully confident that God forbid he were to ever accidentally fall in the pool, he has the complete ability to save his own life. I still can't even believe the transformation that took place in my son.... A month ago he never wanted to swim and would only go in the pool if someone was holding him or if he had floaties on. Now he is a confident, amazing swimmer who we can't keep out of the water!! It is so amazing to see the joy in his eyes that he gets from his newfound swimming ability and we owe it all to Ms. Becky!!! If you are thinking about doing ISR lessons, DO IT!! Its a tad pricey compared to other lessons, but It's the BEST money we've ever spent knowing that we have greatly reduced the risk of any water related tragedy ever happening to our son!!! read more

ISR is the absolute best swim instruction a child could get! We go to Becky Harris in Scottsdale and she is incredible so if you are looking for someone to teach even the youngest child, she is perfect for the job. I saw her teach a 10 month old to float in full clothes. Her patience, persistence and overall knowledge of how to teach even the youngest child (or in my case- strong willed) the skills they need to be safe at the pool is incredibly impressive. No trauma. My daughter is 2.5 and was trying to climb the pool fence. I didn't have time to go through Hubbard and had seen a video of a friends who's toddler did ISR. I googled ISR and was blessed to find Becky (it might say Rebecca on their referral website). She is such a good teacher and tailors her lessons to each child's skill and pace. My daughter now knows how to swim, spot an ext and swim to it, alternating with floating- in just 2 months! Traditional schools drag lessons out to make money. She teaches kids to survive. Call her! read more

I had heard good things about ISR so we signed up when a "last minute spot" opened up. At the end of week 1 our instructor informed us she was moving and lessons would be over. Why even start us and put my daughter through only one week which is the hardest part? I feel like the instructor just wanted to grab a week of pay for the lessons knowing she would be stopping. My daughter who previously liked the water and swimming refuses to go further than waist deep in water now and has intense meltdowns at the pool. She even cries at night about her fears of going under water. I feel horrible that I put her through this especially since she used to love the pool- please think twice and only choose very experienced trustworthy instructors if you do decide to use this intensive method. I do not leave reviews ever but I feel I want to share with other parents looking at reviews to make a decision. We took 10 steps back and huge blow to my toddlers confidence. read more

My son is fearless and has always had a love for water. I started him in regular swim lessons at just 6 months old at my gym. I wasn't happy with the teaching that he received there so I moved him to a swim school. Again I didn't feel like they were teaching him to survive, and as a parent that was what I was most concerned with. We tried 3 different swim programs by the time he was 2. A friend of mine sent me the link for ISR. The second I saw the Miles Video I knew this was the training I had spent 2 years looking for. I am so thankful for the training that ISR and Tracy Herbst have given to my children. I can honestly say that it saved my son's life and without it I would be in mourning. It was a beautiful spring day and our family got together for a cook out at my in-laws house. All of us were in the pool having a great time. When it was time to eat, I got my kids out of the pool, changed them into dry clothes and shoes and fed them dinner. After eating, my son who was almost 3 at the time wanted to go play on the playground with his 6 year old cousin. Unfortunately, to get to the playground the kids have to walk around the pool. I was standing about 10 yards from the pool and I watched both the boys walk out to the playground. I turned around to grab my dinner when I heard my father in law say "Courtney, Tyler is in the pool." 30 seconds hadn't even gone by from the time I watched them go around the corner till now. I looked at the pool and saw little ripples in the water, and then I saw Tyler. I didn't hear a splash or anything. There he was fully clothed in a pull-up with shoes on, floating in the middle of the pool with a HUGE smile on his face. I honestly, didn't know if I should smile or cry. I was so proud of him for floating, but so angry he had jumped in without an adult, but most of all so very thankful that he was ok. My kids love Ms. Tracy. It's been almost 8 months since their last lesson and they still ask me to go swimming at Ms. Tracy's house. Tracy started training my daughter when she was 8 months old and my son when he was 2. Friends and family who have seen my children swim and float are amazed at their abilities at such a young age. I tell Tracy all the time, she taught my children to survive in water and has saved their lives. Tyler proved it to be true that day. read more

We recently relocated from San Francisco, where NOBODY has pools, to Scottsdale, where they're ubiquitous. We have a pool and we had a couple of supervised scares with our 3 1/2 year old who thought he was invincible around the water. We needed water safety classes, and fast. Our neighbor told us about Tracy Herbst and ISR and we signed the kids up immediately. Long story short - Our 5 1/2 year old went from being completely unwilling to put his face in the water to doing cannonballs in a little more than 2 weeks. Our younger guy? After 3 1/2 weeks, he now jumps in the pool, swims to the side, floats on his back, and smiles all the while - at least at home. He still cries during the lessons but it's more out of habit than anything. All this being said, ISR requires a commitment - both in terms of time and money. Each lesson lasts a seemingly ridiculous 10 minutes (What? I'm going to drive all the way over there for 10 minutes?) and you go 5 days a week. This costs $90 a week for as long as your kid needs it. I am one extremely frugal mom so I was hesitant to shell out the cash for the lessons but I'd rather have them be safe than dead. Tracy is super honest and will "graduate" your child as soon as they're ready so you won't have to pay tuition for longer than need be. And, surprisingly, the 10 minutes your kid is in the pool is enough. They get TIRED! BTW, 'graduation' consists of your kid jumping in the pool, fully clothed, swimming to the side and climbing out. Pretty amazing to see. I have heard rumours that some people think this is a hardcore, toss-'em-in-the-pool course. It's not, although it is hard to see your kids unhappy, and I'm guessing that most of them are freaked at first. Shoot, they should be! They're out of their comfort zone and they're learning how to survive in a foreign environment. If you have heard these rumors, just go check out a class to see for yourself. Two other parents told me the following about their experience with ISR: "We accomplished in ONE lesson what took all last summer to accomplish." & "He fell in when he was little so was totally phobic of the pool. This is our third attempt at swim lessons and this has been the only one that worked." (I've seen this kid swim and you'd never know he had such a hard time before.) I'm so happy we did this. I will never leave my kids unattended in the pool but at least I know they can save themselves if anything extreme happens. read more

We tried a traditional swimming class first, but it seemed pointless. We had a pool and I wanted to give my daughter the tools to save herself "IF" the worst ever happened. We did classes with Ms. Becky. She is amazing. The lessons are not abusive as suggested on some other sites. They don't throw your kid in the pool with their clothes on the first day of class to see if they sink or swim. It costs more than other classes, but you get your money's worth if you compare the end result. My daughter is now almost 8 years old. Last summer she was jumping off the high diving board and she is a very strong swimmer. She loves the water and she has the skills to save herself. BIG THANKS to Ms. Becky and this program. The lessons will last her a life time. We practice our 'float' technique every year. read more

Tracy is absolutely phenomenal! I can't imagine experiencing swimming with anyone else. My son was 13 months when we started, and was floating confidently in a matter of weeks. Tracy is intuitive, warm, and certainly has a gift with children. I am so thrilled that we started our swimming journey with her. We will undoubtedly be back! read more