ISR Hershey encourages families to consider lessons in the "off season" to arm their child with aquatic skills BEFORE pools begin to open for the summer. It is for this reason that Fall & Winter are the sessions that have the most slots for new students, but a common hesitation from parents is that the child will forget if they don't learn right before swim season. Luckily ISR Self-Rescue Skills are a sensorimotor skill- just like crawling, walking, or riding a bike. Sensorimotor skills are not simply forgotten, although they can certainly get rusty without use. This is why I will encourage you to return for Refresher and Maintenance lessons periodically after your child’s initial learning. These follow up learning opportunities will ensure your little one gets to adjust their skills to their rapid growth and will keep things sharp. Most importantly, regardless of what season your child learns in, maintenance will be recommended. So it's advised to get into lessons as soon as you are able vs waiting for the perfect time- the sooner the safer.

I offer lessons at four different locations. See which location works best for you on the Locations tab of this website.

Lessons are attended 10 minutes a day, 5 consecutive days a week for approximately 6 weeks. The consistency of daily lessons is critical for learning efficiency. These are NOT traditional swim lessons! We are teaching highly specialized skills and it is very important to attend class every day. If you cannot commit to this schedule, you may not register until you are sure you can.

Lessons are 5 consecutive days a week so you will always need to attend lessons on weekdays. Currently and for the foreseeable future, we will be operating on a Mon-Fri schedule.

Great question! ISR has been researched and developed for 55+ years. It’s globally recognized as the safest swim program for infants and children. Your children will learn life saving skills that traditional lessons do not provide. If you are looking for a swim class that focuses on socialization and play rather than safety and survival, you might consider traditional swim lessons. 1. ISR teaches your children to SWIM. There are no other programs in Pennsylvania that will teach your child to swim with his face in the water or offer any sort of guarantee about what he will learn. Many parents come to us after spending hundreds of dollars on traditional “swim” programs frustrated because their child doesn’t have any discernible skills after weeks, months, or even years of lessons. 2. You do not need to enroll your children into swim lessons summer after summer, year after year. Once they learn these skills, they have them forever. With maintenance and refresher lessons, they will retain their skills indefinitely. You end up spending more money over time on traditional lessons that are taught by former high school swimmers or college students trying to make some spending money over the summer. Speaking of teaching credentials… 3. Every ISR instructor undergoes 8 weeks of intense training. Hands on, in the pool with an ISR Master Instructor and students, learning the ISR method. For 8 weeks, we are in the pool 5x per week for several hours a day, for a minimum of 60 hours with ACTUAL students. In addition, we receive extensive hours of academic training in anatomy, physiology, child psychology, behavior and development, sensorimotor learning, and how each relates to the aquatic environment. Every instructor also maintains CPR and First Aid certifications, as well as annual recertification and testing to maintain our ISR certification and skills. Lastly, if you add up what you’d spend in a traditional swim program for a few weeks during the summer – where he leaves the class with little to no skills – and then multiply that by every summer until he is 6 years old, this program costs significantly less and the value is infinitely greater.

Cost varies by location. A deposit of the final 2 weeks' (week 5 & week 6) cost of lessons is required at sign-up. Then, the first of 4 weekly payments are due each week, starting the week preceding you lesson start date. The following are daily lesson fees by location, accompanied by the total cost (daily fee x 5 days/week x 6 weeks). Derry Township Community Center (Hershey, PA): $28/day (or $840 total) Elizabethtown College: $29/day (or $870 total) Messiah University or Enola (Private Residence): $30/day (or $900 total) Additionally, a one-time medical fee of $105 is paid directly to the ISR medical team.

Yes*! Please check out BecauseOfZane.org or LiveLikeJake.com to read their stories and apply for a scholarship. *Scholarship students may experience schedule limitations.

The soonest you can make lessons work for your family is the ideal time for your child to start ISR lessons. There is no perfect age or perfect time of year (although it is recommended to sign up for ISR Self-Rescue lessons in the "off" season (non-summer months).

Some children cry the first few lessons due to anxiety. He is in a new building with a pool he's never been to being handed into the water to a stranger - it's normal for him to be wary of the situation! It's important for us to teach your child to trust his/her instructor and eventually to trust the water. Many kids can't wait to come to lessons by the end of the first week! Remember, fear is a learned behavior. We didn't come out of the womb afraid of spiders or water or large dogs. When someone has a negative experience that involves the fearful object or experience, fear is developed. Your child will only truly be fearful of the water if he or she has witnessed or experienced a traumatic aquatic event.

YES! ISR is dedicated to safety and maintaining numerous safety protocols to promote safe lessons. Your child's health and well-being are our highest priority and are closely monitored on a daily basis. In addition, your child's medical and developmental history is a mandatory part of the ISR national registration process, all of which is held strictly confidential. All ISR instructors undergo an intensive and rigorous training that far exceeds any other training program of this kind. Each ISR instructor is also required to attend a yearly re-certification symposium that includes quality control as well as continuing education. Your education in the area of aquatic safety for your entire family is an integral part of your child's lessons. You will receive access to the "Parent Resource Guide", written by Dr. Harvey Barnett and JoAnn Barnett, which will inform you of every aspect of swimming for infants and children. With research, you will find that ISR is the safest survival swimming program but also the most effective for teaching infants and young children.

The ISR program is for infants and children aged 6 months-6 years, but really there is no upper age limit! Older children are just more likely to learn in a shorter period of time than the typical 6 week session. On the younger end, he or she must be 6 mos AND must be able to sit in an upright position independently.

These are some of the most common questions and concerns from parents who watch ISR videos and wonder....HOW in the world is that possible?! And is it safe?ISR with a real, Certified ISR Instructor is indeed safe. Our training to become certified is a rigorous process, as it should be given the vulnerable population we serve. Your child's medical and development history is a mandatory part of the ISR national registration process (this info is kept confidential) and their health and well-being are closely monitored by their instructor daily. As for teaching young/non-verbal children to hold their breath, this is our first and highest priority in lessons. We shape breath control in all students using highly effective positive reinforcement techniques and continue to reinforce proper breath control throughout all lessons. Lastly, dry drowning is an outdated term that terrifies many parents but is not a recognized medical term. It has been sensationalized by the media and sensationalized in tv/film. Drowning does not happen days after being in water and it is also not something to be concerned about in ISR lessons given the level of training of the instructor as well as numerous safety protocols employed to ensure safe lessons for all students. There are 3 types of drowning: fatal, non-fatal, and non-fatal with injury. If any person has a drowning event they should be seen by a medical professional immediately for monitoring and necessary care to avoid further complications and/or injury. Here are some reputable sources where you can read more about the subject: American College of Emergency Physicians, Critical Decisions in Emergency Medicine, Volume 32, Number 9 https://bit.ly/3geqls6 @ameracadpeds, Prevention of Drowning, May 2019, 143 (5) e20190850; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2019-0850 @uofmichigan, Dispelling ‘Dry Drowning’ and Other Swimming Safety Myths https://bit.ly/3Co81Fz @unitypointhealth Dispelling Myths about Dry Drowning https://bit.ly/3Akvffd @clevelandclinic ‘Dry Drowning’: Separating Fact From Fiction https://cle.clinic/3hH0oSG Kid Nurse ‘Your Kids Aren’t Dry Drowning (Because It’s Not Real)’ https://bit.ly/3IH8VBu

ISR might not be the right fit for your family. Parents who have lost a child to drowning will tell you they'd give everything to hear their child cry again. If it makes you uncomfortable to hear your child cry, think about what it would feel like to never have the opportunity to hear him at all. And more importantly, remember some of the reasons children cry...

Absolutely! We teach children to have a healthy respect for the water, and we work in very small increments each day. We present children with small achievable tasks and always set them up to succeed. They learn to trust their skills, and in turn, they gain an incredible amount of confidence in the water.

Children often fuss during the first few lessons because they are in a new environment and around new people. As your child becomes more confident in his/her ability in the water, the fussing will decrease. It is not unlike the first time you tried a new exercise class, or were asked to perform a task at work that you'd never done before: the first time you try a new task it is always challenging, until you get the hang of it. It is the same for your young child. Your child is learning to perform a skill that he/she's never done before.

Once your child has mastered the swim float swim sequence and shows readiness to progress their skills further, your instructor can help make a recommendation for other local providers who can help with strokes. This usually happens around age 5 and/or when your instructor determines your child's self-rescue skills are not at risk of being lost by moving on!

Regardless of what age your child is when they learn, it is essential to make a plan with your instructor before their initial session of learning ends if you want to keep your child's skills intact for the future. Maintenance lessons are suggested for most students at a cadence of 1 or 2 lessons (not weeks, just individual lessons) per month when available. Refresher Lessons- 1-2x weeks of daily lessons every 3-6 months- are another option but are limited in availability. Maintenance lessons are the primary offering for returning students. While maintenance/refreshers are fully optional, not making a plan with your instructor or not participating in the instructor-suggested follow up will make it more difficult to get back on the schedule in future sessions due to the high demand for lessons.

The reason for this is multifaceted. First, repetition and consistency are crucial elements of learning for young children. Research shows that short, more frequent lessons result in higher retention. Second, most children have fairly short attention spans and will not be able to focus on the task for longer and we want to take advantage of the best time for learning. A third reason is that, though the pool temperature is maintained at 78-88 degrees, the temperature is still lower than your child's body temperature. Lessons are work and therefore will also be loosing body heat. Instructors check students regularly for temperature fatigue since this is an indicator of physical fatigue.

No, lessons are always one-on-one.

Because 86% of children who fall in the water do so fully clothed, we want our students to have experience with this situation. If a child has experienced the sensations of being in the water in clothing prior to an emergency situation, he/she is less likely to experience panic and be able to focus on the task at hand. If you have ever been in water with clothes on, then you know that there is a significant difference in weight and feel with clothes as opposed to a bathing suit. ISR's goal is to equip students with this experience and knowledge so they can still self-rescue in the event that they find themselves fully clothed in the water.

Yes! All students do need to be cleared to participate in lessons by our team of nurses via a medical history that is completed online once a slot has been secured. Most often, when children have a medical or behavioral diagnosis, the nurses will communicate with the parent prior to lessons beginning to gather pertinent information. From there, they issue the instructor specific protocols that help customize the child's learning experience.

Parents are not required to get in the water during lessons BUT your instructor may suggest a time when it may make sense for you to join a few lessons with your child, towards the end of the session, to learn how to play with them in the water while honoring their hard earned skills!