As an adult learning to swim it's pretty daunting. I tried about 5 other places in the past trying…read moreto learn as an adult and never made any progress. I signed up for Foss with some determination and I'm happy to have graduated and am now able to swim! The teachers were great, personalized instruction for me, and even when there were subs (which was rare) I still learned a tip from every instructor I worked with. I was skeptical that only 30 minutes a week made a difference, but if you go consistently it really does. The water was always warm, and since adult classes are at less busy times there was always a good experience. Also everyone was so friendly and the front desk was great about communication and scheduling. Highly recommend!

My kids have taken lessons at Goldfish Evanston and the Glenview park district, and they've…read moreprogressed faster here. However, they are also older now, and we are more consistent in attendance, so those are also factors. Cost wise, it's about the same as Goldfish. At Goldfish Evanston, we had substitute teachers like 50% of the time, but at Foss it's more like 10%. For parents, you have the option to sit on deck (poolside) or outside the pool and observe via the large glass windows. You can also sign up for Family Swim, which means your family can reserve a lane for an hour, but they're currently only offering it on Friday evenings. This location opened in August 2024, so it's still new & clean. Love the location, and parking is easy. Lastly, Foss reinstated their makeup class policy, which is great! Send me a message if you'd like to use my referral code for a discount ($105 off your first enrollment).

WAir offers flight instruction in both G-1000 glass cockpit and more traditional C172 aircraft,…read moreboth of which are of recent vintage. It has a brand new Redbird full-motion simulator for instrument training. It has a full hangar right outside its offices, for maintancen and for not freezing your butt off in the winter months during pre-flight. And it has first-rate flight instruction and maintenance staffs, couches, offices for debriefings, and an app for scheduling. This is the place to train and maintain!!

So glad we found WAir. Our instructor Dave was very professional. My son had a great time and…read morelearned a lot. Thank you again WAir!

We truly can't say enough wonderful things about the teachers here. From the moment we first walked…read morein, we felt welcomed and cared for. Every single teacher we've met has been so loving, patient, and kind, and it's clear how much they genuinely care about the children. A special thank you to Ms. Christina, Ms. Sravini, Ms. Hari Priya, Ms. Lupe, and Ms. Bre. Each of them has gone above and beyond in ways big and small--whether it's giving extra comfort on a tough morning, celebrating the little milestones, or noticing the tiny details that make such a difference in our son's day. Christina and Sravini, in particular, have cared for him like he was their own. They've always looked out for him, picked up on his needs even before he could express them, and supported him in ways that helped him grow not just academically, but socially and emotionally too. As parents, it means so much to know our child is surrounded by teachers who truly see him, nurture him, and want the best for him. We are beyond grateful for the love, attention, and encouragement he's received here, and we feel incredibly lucky to be part of this community.

Beautiful facility, great team and wonderful owners. Very clean and organized facility. My child is…read moreso well taken care off. Highly recommend!

We had our daughter in park district swimming classes but she wasn't making progress. At Foss she…read morebecame more comfortable and confident, and after a couple years now swims considerably better than I do.

I am truly sad and disappointed in our Foss experience at Elmwood Park. When we started at Foss,…read morethe quality of instruction and kid-friendly environment made it worth the steep price. Our son loved his lessons. However, several major factors have caused us to pull our son out mid session. This year, Foss stopped offering any make up sessions. To us, this was unreasonable as the current session is 13 weeks long and the price is $30 for a half hour. Instead, Foss offers family swim as a substitute for a make-up lesson, which books out months in advance. Other swim schools offer tokens for make up sessions as inevitably, very few families are available for 13 weeks straight. We also experienced a major lack of communication with management. Nobody answers the phone. We missed a session once and when we arrived the following week, the building was closed. There was nothing on the website or any form of communication to inform us of this closure. When I called and asked why the building was closed I was told that there had been a note on the door the previous week (the week we missed.) Most unfortunately, the quality of swim instructors at Foss varies widely. Although our three teachers before this session were great, our most recent teacher wasn't in the pool when class started, had 4 year old kids sitting on the step for long periods of time, and put the kids in time out if they moved to the other end of their lane for their turn. Of course the top priority is safety, but she never showed the children what she expected of them. I'm still not sure how they were expected to get to the other side of the lane for their turn. I had to stick up for my son when the teacher put him in time out for moving down the lane. During the first class with her, my son only swam for 10 minutes total, as the kids sat on the step for the first 10 minutes, played games for 5 minutes and were sent out of the pool early. This is not acceptable when classes cost about $1 per minute. When I spoke with the manager about my concern, another mom was doing the same thing about the same teacher. Instead of listening to me, the manager said she'd call or email me the next day, but I never heard from her until I followed up a few days later. If I were the manager, I would be interested in knowing why families were ending their sessions. Overall, this lack of communication, and poor teacher experience is no longer worth the high cost (and parking nightmare.) We were hoping to keep our son (and eventually enroll our daughter) at Foss as there are few swim environments close to us that are as kid friendly. We know a lot of families at Foss who have had great experiences, but unfortunately, it was not for us.

The first week we all were quarantined for Covid-19 my kids were bummed to miss their favorite…read moreclasses. Then the realization hit that we would be stuck at home for weeks (maybe even months...fingers crossed not the case) local businesses got creative. Since then I've been a bit overwhelmed with my kids virtual schedules and would do anything to drop off one of my kids somewhere...and even drive a carpool. Some virtual classes have been better than others. Yesterday we had a music teacher (not at Rootz) send out the wrong zoom passcode and teach the entire class without realizing any kids were on there. But today we had my one of son's favorite classes, Super Hero Boot Camp, here at Rootz take place on zoom and it was the best virtual class I saw yet. Mr. David was well prepared by sending us parents some worksheets (scavenger hunt and coloring page) ahead of time. He had a fun superhero background on zoom and engaged the kids for 40 minutes with super hero activities. Since they are so young it did require a parent to be present and think my husband had so much fun that I may have to sign him up for the class in the future. Are 43 year olds allowed? My son did get distracted a few times, which probably also happens in class, but overall he had so much fun. While he wishes he could see all his fellow superheroes in person, this is a great plan b.

So fortunate to find Ninja class for my two sons. Maidson leads their class and she is simply life…read morechanging and cares deeply about the kids in the class. My oldest son is Autistic and Madison is wonderfully focused on inclusion which leaves us looking forward to every Saturday morning. We are raving fans!

My infant son and 2-year-old daughter attended Knowledge Beginnings for 3.5 months this year, and…read moreit was not a good experience. The biggest issue was teacher/student ratios: I routinely dropped off my children into classrooms that had too many kids and too few teachers. In the most extreme instances, my daughter's classroom had 13 2-year-olds and one teacher. One day in the infant room, there was a single teacher watching 8 babies alone across two adjoining rooms. I raised the understaffed classrooms to the center's managers, including the area director, Sarah; they addressed it for one day before both classrooms were understaffed again, in flagrant violation of state licensing standards. A few other things: There was high teacher turnover; both of my daughter's teachers left in the few months we were there and both cited "mental health" in their decision to leave. In my son's room, one teacher disappeared, and two others were let go. Our last week, I witnessed a screaming match between two teachers in a classroom full of 3 year olds looking on. Clearly, this isn't a positive work environment. There were also facility issues, like a light fixture dangling loose from the ceiling where the kids play. (I was told the handyman only comes once a month and it wouldn't be fixed until then.) In the infant room, multiple times I came to pick up my then-4-month-old to find him lying on his back feeding himself his own bottle, with no teacher nearby, spilling milk all over his face. I never felt comfortable leaving my kids at Knowledge Beginnings and literally counted down the days until we could get off the waitlist at another daycare. When things got really bad, I ended up pulling them out and relying on family support to bridge the gap. Bottom line: This isn't a safe or positive environment for kids (or teachers), and nothing that I saw suggested that it was a temporary fluke--this is how they operate. I'm so relieved that my children are out of there and I hope this review helps someone else avoid making the mistake that I did in sending them to Knowledge Beginnings.

This daycare is horrible, they are understaffed and very unorganized. Staff is not as welcoming as…read morethey could be, most look like they have had a bad morning. The director cares more about enrolling children but lack the needed staff to care for them. The toys and equipment is falling apart. Teachers are walking out of the classroom, leaving their co teachers alone and the children in danger. I highly recommend you unenroll your children as soon as possible.

We love Celebree. The staff is kind, caring, and truly seems to take a special interest in each…read morechild. The activities are well thought through and communicated to the parents every day. I'm also happy that they evaluate the safety of each child, including ones who may have more specialized needs, and make thoughtful decisions to ensure it's always a safe and welcoming environment for everyone.

The owner, Director and all staff are warm and welcoming people. Our daughters both go here and…read morethey absolutely love it. It's the cleanest and most open environment which makes for the ideal preschool. I highly recommend checking them out. We've been taking our daughter there for about 1 year now and the best preschool around North-shore.

My daughters took a swimming classes for about more than 3 months. They liked instructors and…read moreplace, but wished more than 30 minutes. Place is decent, not cleanest, classes are overcrowded to only for 30 minutes. Kids are waiting to get turn to swimming about more than half of their time. 3-4 kids per classes only 30 minutes not enough to learn!!! They cancel a classes but they always offer makeup classes.

My kids love that place, instructions are very friendly and engaging and kids always have fun…read morelearning new skills. The facility is clean and inviting and it's never been crowded when I was there. The manager Sveto is always there for us, ready to answer any question we might have! Overall highly recommend this place to everyone who wants their child to start feeling comfortable in the water and swim like a dolphin.