Foss Swim School - St. Louis Park

"Class instructors are awesome. My kids went from being comfortable in the water, but not able to swim to diving for rings by the 2nd class. Also has a decent and warm waiting area with toys, books and tv set to TPT. Four stars only “because of the shower situation” per my 10 yr old. (The bathroom set up means water gets everywhere, including near the toilet and sink)."

"UPDATE 10/19/2023: We returned to Foss SLP this session and wow has the new Management turned this sinking ship around! It's so great to see FOSS SLP being managed properly again and offer an experience that reflects the top quality of its swim instructors. My previous review gave the place 2 stars as we had experienced a significant decline in the school, but I'm revising that now to 5 stars and encourage those who left the SLP location as we had, to consider it again. I left my original review only for context below. Initial review (2 stars) If I was rating the swim instructors and curriculum, my rating would be 5+ stars hands down! Unfortunately, since we have been back to Foss in St Louis Park (after 1.5 years away due to Covid), consistency of lessons/teachers has been really bad/mismanaged. After just 6 weeks this session, 2 classes were cancelled (40min prior to their start...really??) and for another, the teacher had a personal conflict. Teachers can get sick and can have life events, I completely understand that, but Foss Management should plan on replacements on staff and/or notify parents earlier than less than an hour before class. This never used to be an issue and we should know as we went to Foss consistently for all of 2018 and 2019 It's frustrating for parents and disappointing for our child."

"Not recommended if you’re an adult learner. This facility offers a “trial lesson” on their website, but they do not specify that adults aren’t eligible for trial lessons, so you have no way to know if their instruction is right for you without fully committing to their lesson package. I’d like to know what I’m paying for if I’m going to drop over $300. If you pay for the full lessons package and they don’t work out for you after a lesson or two, you cannot get a full refund, only a credit with Foss. Basically, they force you to spend your money on them no matter what. Finally, they do not advertise this on their website, but many of the pools at their facilities around the Twin Cities are only 4 ft deep. While this is fine for complete beginners, any advancing adult learner will never be able to build comfort in deeper water or learn critical skills like treading. All in all, do not recommend for any adult learner."

"Our family has enjoyed BOTH exceptional instructors and inexperienced instructors, helpful desk staff and unhelpful desk staff, development of skills through quality instruction, but also instruction that neither monitors nor adjusts to the individual. It’s been an *expensive* rollercoaster of ups and downs. Those swim quarters where my children had inexperienced teachers, learning no new skills or struggling, cost the same as those quarters where the swim educator excelled at conveying clear direction, monitored for skill progress, and adjusted instruction to meet the needs of students. Foss taught my children to swim! BUT there were times where my child was put ahead a level because there were no class times at the appropriate level or even behind a level for the same reason. Recently, Foss alerted families that they will be removing the voucher system which provided make up lessons when children are sick (which happens often). It feels like another way to put profit ahead of actual learning. Foss has the potential to be a powerful tool for families and water safety if only it didn’t get in its own way. We’re continually asking ourselves, if we sign up this quarter will it be one of the good experiences or one of the poor ones? Enrollment costs too much to continually ask this question. We keep special teachers and memories in our hearts as we figure out how to move forward in light of recent changes."

"My baby started at 8months and enjoys her lessons every week. The location is easy to get too, and I can shop and grab a bite to ear before or after her lessons. I love Foss, the facility is clean, the staff is amazing, our instructor Erin is so good with the babies."