Foss Swim School - St. Louis Park

★★★★★Sarah Brown

The teachers are wonderful, patient, and highly skilled. My son is scared of getting his face wet and they work with him so well to decrease that fear. I love how organized the pool is. I also l appreciate the choice of paying in installments.

★★★★★Alexis

I actually learned to swim at Foss almost 30 years ago, so it’s pretty cool to be back now with my own child. We’ve tried a bunch of swim schools around town. Goldfish in Minnetonka was great when he was really little, but he lost interest, and Aqua-Tots in Edina just wasn’t a great experience overall (variable water temp and unskilled instructors for babies and toddlers). Foss has been a totally different story. The instructors are fantastic, the structure and class progression makes sense, and he is actually learning skills while having fun. It is definitely the best fit for us and our toddler.

★Chrissy

My daughter had a positive experience with instructor Shawn. However, when attempting to move on to the next level, an employee named Ben refused. We showed up to a new instructor and new kids in her regularly assigned lane. Those kids were adjusting to the water. I had to intervene because the instructor was not engaging with my child. At the end of the session, she apologized and stated that she didn't know how to teach the skills my daughter needed to learn. Ben switched instructors again the following week. I sent an email expecting the manager or GM to respond but the same employee named Ben called me. He is not helpful and seems to struggle communicating with black parents. The instruction she's received after switching from Shawn has been passive and almost non-existent (i.e. how to breathe properly). I don't think any kid can learn a skill that isn't being taught. Considering the history of pool access in the United States, I am shocked that it's still taking place today in the form of passive swim instruction & disengaged instructors. Normally, I'd ask for a full refund but Foss's refund policy is a credit to the account. A credit is useless in this instance. I've also witnessed questionable interactions between instructors and other black kids. Yelling, public shaming, and refusing to interact with them.

★★★★★BriZen

We’ve been loving Foss Swim School for our daughter (Age 4) who was not making as much progress at another Swim school we had been trying for a year. She had extreme aversion to getting her face and head wet, and rotating teachers would keep her out of the water. After a small break, we had a very steady first quarter with teacher Meg at Foss and had an incredible experience where my daughter really progressed. Now in her second quarter, she’s truly making remarkable progress, putting her face and whole head under the water willingly, jumping in with smiles and giggles. I don’t know if it was the age difference or the differences in format, but it’s been amazing for her confidence in the water. Definitely recommend!

★★★★Aneela Idnani

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).