Wise Swim School 5992 149th Street West, Apple Valley, MN 55124

"Great instructers for all ages. They seem to have smaller groups, which i like. That way, they can focus more on each individual. They also offer swimming supplies, and they have the best prices around on swim diapers for the toddlers! Once you receive your spot, you dont have to keep re registering like you do with Foss. It is automatic until you cancel, so there is no need to remember to re register. Also, provide family changing rooms with privacy stalls and ample amount of storage for your belongings. Overrall a great place to enroll your little or big swimmers!"

"Sharing some kind suggestions here in the hopes that Wise will improve their practices. 1.) have life guards on duty: the extra staff present outside the pool are often talking to other staff or parents and do not always have eyes on the pool. 2.) bigger emphasis on water safety; have kids ask for permission to get in the pool, etc. when they begin a lesson (at least for younger kids). Easy/quick thing to reinforce that can save lives. We attended Wise swim school for several months, and I don’t feel this is the best program for beginner swimmers. There was a terrifying instance where my 5yo son leapt off the platform (which of course he shouldn’t have, but 5 yos make mistakes!) in water over his head and his swimming teacher was at the other end of the pool working with other children. He was bobbing under water and no one noticed him. I had to jump up and yell for attention at the edge of the pool for him to be rescued. The pool is very chaotic/busy and he was in a center lane. There is not a lot of emphasis on water safety in this program. We have since switched to YMCA swimming lessons in Burnsville and feel this is a much better program for beginners and he is getting more 1:1 attention in a less chaotic environment for a cheaper price (we got lucky with a small class size). They focus a lot more on water safety and practical techniques and have 2 life guards on duty with full attention on the pool. Something to consider for other parents of beginners. I don’t doubt that Wise is great for more serious/advanced kiddos."

"Good place to start younger kids, the pool isn't too big or deep, so less anxiety for them. But our 10yo is ready to move on, so I think we'll put her back in Community Ed sessions at the bigger school pool."

"We have been coming to Wise for a couple of months now. We are so pleased! Swimming is such an important life skill, especially in MN, and every teacher we've worked with has helped our son progressively become more confident in the water. He went from hating having his hair washed to fishing toys off the bottom of the pool! On one instance we showed up half an hour late because I thought it was the later time (dad usually brings him), and they graciously fit us in to a class in the next time slot. Even had that not worked out, I greatly appreciated how kind they were and willing to work with us during an imperfect parenting moment. Thanks Wise!"

"Have been going here for years with our two kids and love it. Organized, friendly service, male, female, and unisex change rooms. Two pools for various levels, from babies to swim team."