Like the majority of the reviewers here, I agree that Potomac Swim School is a great place for swim lessons. Full transparency, my daughter works at PSS and I've been very impressed by the structure and guidelines they need to follow to teach classes and with the training program that instructors need to pass. I've seen my daughter's confidence and skills grow and the kids that she teaches enjoy their time in the pool with her. The owner also does a fantastic job of mentoring the employees as a business owner, community leader, and life-long swimmer - she knows what she's doing. Sports skills, like swimming, take time to develop. Progress should be measured over time and not necessarily from week to week. I was a competitive swimmer for 10 yrs and know that there are peaks and valleys. A number of my neighbors have also had their kids in swim lessons at PSS. They've had nothing but great things to say about the employees and their instructors. read more

Great swim school! But.... Donna Boone is crazy. She seems to be into people's business that are in no way related to her or the swim school. What kind of swim school is that?! I think she should keep her mind and her business into the SWIM school and not my daughters business. From the looks of it she intimidates her employees and makes her girls cry. I saw it with my own eyes last year. These are just teenagers. I think it might be time for a new form of leadership. Again , great swim school, kids have fun, however a change needs to occur, for all of our sons and daughters sake. read more

We have four kids. We sent our first two here and the other two to a combination of aquatots and swim kids. This a comparison of our experiences with these schools (just PSS and aquatots because we did not go to swim kids long due to distance from home). Note: we have not gone to PSS recently so this review may not accurately reflect how they are today. In terms of pricing, PSS cost the most. Swim kids and aqua tots are about the same. I remember PSS's website used to say, "we are not a discount swim school". We currently send our two younger kids to aqua tots. In terms of friendliness, aquatots has been the nicest. Scheduling make-ups have been no issue. Was not like that for PSS (maybe part of their "we are not a discount swim school policy") Facilities are nicer at aquatots. More changing rooms. Cleaner. Newer building. I can only speak for the one at East Gate. PSS has been around a long time. Instruction seems to be about the same at all locations. Aquatots employs mostly younger instructors in their late teens or early twenties. PSS instructors were older (thirties, forties, fifties). I actually prefer the older instructors as they have more experience. At the end of the day though, my kids all progress with both swim schools. I will also say that it all depends on the instructor and both schools had some good and some bad instructors. I would only recommend PSS if they were more competitively priced and had an accommodating make-up policy. read more

We started my daughter in Water Babies classes here when she was 5mos. She's now 9mos and loves it! The pool is heated to 92 degrees and the room is kept at 90 degrees. The 30 minute classes are small and teach water safety to infants. Your child is never too young to learn to enjoy, respect and survive in a body of water. It also doesn't hurt that the owner of the swim school is a Tarheel... read more

I generally don't post negative reviews, but I feel I need to do in this case. We tried Potomac Swim School for my for my daughter for a few semesters. At first it seemed great. We realized, after a few months of lessons, that she was not progressing in either her skills because the school employs high school students as their instructors. The teachers are disengaged with the students and do not take the time to learn the individual child's skill level or name. These instructors have very little experience teaching. The school has not been communicating with us when a new instructor took over mid way through a semester. The new instructor was even worse then the old one. During the course my daughter told me that the instructor kept calling her by the wrong name and but didn't seem to get it right even after we corrected her numerous times. The school lacks personal attention. The school is also run down and the bathroom and changing area is hideous. The staff is extremely rude. The only time they are nice is when you are enrolling and making payments. We will no longer go here and will take our business elsewhere. I would not recommend this school as there are many others that are much newer and a nicer. read more

Terrible facility layout, high staff turnover and even worse customer service. Facility - There are all of 3 unisex changing rooms with small locker rooms for each gender. They run up to six classes at a time. While a sign on the locker room door advises parents not to bring opposite sex children over the age of 5 into a locker room, it is clearly ignored by parents and not enforced by staff. So, your option is to have your daughter change in front of a young male or wait in line for a changing room. Awesome! Staff Turnover - My children attended multiple sessions there and I do not remember them ever finishing the session with the same instructor that they started the session with. They also lost their front desk person mid-session and just didn't bother to staff the desk making it impossible to talk to someone about make-up dates. Customer Service - So, during the winter session one of my children's swim sessions were canceled three times out of 12. Two due to weather and 1 for a technical issue with the pool's equipment. Okay, really they closed because another child coughed up phlegm in the pool, but they can call it whatever they want. The issue was, I was there with my child in a swimsuit ready to swim and told the school was closing. So, I had to pack up a disappointed 5yo and take her home. My other child missed 2 classes due to weather. Again, these were all sessions cancelled by the school. I understand the closings and get that bad things happen. Not a problem. My children were permitted to attend one make-up session and the school extended the winter session by one week for everyone due to all the closures. That was great. However, when I asked about scheduling another make-up class for just my child that missed 3 sessions, I was told no because they did not have to offer make-ups for weather. I was further advised that after school care does not have make-ups when they are cancelled due to weather. I pointed out that would likely be a bad business practice and reminded her that one session was cancelled due to "equipment issues." I was then told that I should say "thank you" for getting to make-up 2 out of the 3 sessions. When I pay $287 for 12 weeks plus $20 registration (each child), I don't feel I should be grateful to receive the product for which I paid for. Oh, by the way......this conversation occurred with the Potomac Swim School President. I think this conversation would have gone much better if Madame President had a better delivery. I did end the conversation by thanking her for the good times my children did have there and explained we would be taking our business elsewhere. I am giving the school one star only because my children were showing progression in their swim skills. This is why I tolerated the facility layout deficiencies and staff turnover. However, I reached my tolerance level when someone wants to speak to me that way.......in front of my children. Mar 2015 - Update. Another class date was cancelled for "equipment issues." My husband was able to schedule a make up date for that cancellation because he was standing there again with disappointed children ready to swim when he was notified. Then today, an email was sent out to notify us that the make up date was cancelled. So, one of my children received 10 out of 12 lessons. The other received 11 lessons out of 12. So, buyer beware. They can and do close the school regularly, but feel no obligation to provide make up classes for the closures. read more

Two of my children have attended private swim lessons for a year and a half. The swim instructuors are fantastic! Unfortunately, Management and their Registration Policy leave much to be desired. read more

My little 5 year old that I nanny loves to go to swim! The classes here are wonderful and very small (usually 4 other kids). He has really excelled from being afraid to get his face wet to stretching his arms out nice and long and breathing on the sides of his face. Once my little one (2 1/2) year old is potty trained I hope to get her on the water too. Great school, little pricey but I love that the parents can watch the entire lesson from a glass viewing area I was once a swim teacher so I like to watch and make sure my kid is listening and learning. Also at the very end of each lesson they do a swim demonstration where the parents come in and watch their child swim and the teachers talk about what was taught. Super helpful! read more

Very patient and excellent coaches. Very clean. We have sent our children for last 3 years. I wish they have a better way for makeup classes due to bad weather or if child is sick. read more

Started classes for the 2014 winter session. Had 2 classes canceled due to snow and a third for a power outage. I understand this is beyond the school's control. My issue is I called numerous times to try and schedule makeup classes but no one ever answered the phone or returned my calls. I finally got a call back when I demanded a full refund. I decided to go ahead a continue with classes and scheduled a makeup class. Arrived for the makeup class and was told the time had been changed but I had never been told. read more

GREAT swim school!!! Only downfall is they don't offer online registration.

Strongly recommend you make the drive to Dolan. You get a different teacher every other week, zero consistency, more importantly building blocks from previous lessons are non existent. If you are truly looking for your child to learn how to swim, not the place. If you want to introduce your child to the water and safety, they do accomplish that (i.e. The 2 star rating vs. a 1). read more

It's already been mentioned by others but our experience has been frustrating mostly due to management and front desk staff. There is a high turn over in the front desk staff - we actually had a class cancelled becasue their front desk person didn't show up and they didn't have any coverage. We've found that management makes promises about make up classes that they don't keep...not really customer focused in their practices or communication - it's more about what's convenient for them. The one advantage was the pool is deep enough that the kids are forced to swim and not stand. We had 1 good teacher and 1 that was a little aggressive (she's no longer there) read more

This school is perfect for parents who just want to waste money and see no results. Sent my kid for a private lesson for the season, kid didn't learn anything. I saw more progress from 2 lessons from instructor at community pool than I did with 16 lessons at 3 times the price.. read more

I wanted to first start off by saying that it took me a good 3 months of research before making our decision on swimming lessons. I went to other local swim schools, but was not feeling comfortable at all. I opened up the new "I AM MODERN" magazine and saw Potomac Swim School rated top in the area. I decided to make an appointment to drop in and so glad I did. From the moment I walked in, I knew this was the place for us. It's not overcrowded, the instructors are very nice, and the pool is heated and VERY clean. My son is a natural fish in the water, as the instructor says! Our son is 2 and loves going swimming every week. The pricing is fair and the instructors really know what they are doing. Safety is a big concern for me as well and I feel VERY safe with having my son apart of this program. Thanks Potomac Swim School. We can't wait for next session! read more

I started sending both my kids here, and I was pretty happy in the beginning. Teachers/coaches are good with kids...but the on site manager and general management is not accommodating at all. I was told that If a class is cancelled even if for a reason by the school, or the kids can't make it for unforeseen reasons then there is no make up days/classes...no exceptions. Based on the prices, it turns out be about $40-50 per hour, and it just not customer friendly to have a policy that only benefits them even if it's not patrons fault. Otherwise the school is good. They maintain the pool good, coaches are very friendly. I would recommend them to anyone but for the inconvenient contract terms. read more

The teaching is very slow, some coaches are not experienced. Not happy with the management and owner. I'm very disappointed with the service and bad makeup policy due to pool closings. read more

Try avoiding this place....waste of money and time. The owner is all about the money and not the quality and she will not entertain anything other than her boasting about her school. My son was in the same level for 1 year...when I asked her when he was moving to the next level after 1 yearbeing in the same level she told me not to ask her about moving to next level. Then after I put in the notice to withdraw him, she moved him one level up hoping we would stay...Really??? read more

Just a quick review of the potomac swim school that has a very low rating in my opinion. I was disappointed when the facility did not give me a refund as my child had broken her leg before the session has started. the owner said I could bring another child from the family in place of "my only child" to the lesson. The owner was very stubborn and did not understand I could not pull another child out of thin air to replace the spot. Do not go to the PSS if your child gets sick or injured since they will not work with the family. But swim kids swim school gave us a discount for just switching over when my child was well. Too bad for the unsympathetic management. read more

I was totally shocked when I asked about their policy on swimming during a "thunderstorm." The person at the front desk informed me that they changed their policy and the instructors and students can continue lessons during a thunderstorm. I'm sorry but this is totally irresponsible of Potomac Swim School. People in or near water are among those most at risk during thunderstorms. Swimming is particularly dangerous, as not only do swimmers protrude from the water, presenting a potential channel for electrical discharge, but also because water is a good conductor of electricity. If lightning were to struck the water, people in or around the water could be killed or seriously injured. All other pools make you get out of the water and seek shelter at the first sound of thunder! I just so happened to be at this establishment during a thunderstorm and sure enough, lessons continued. My children will not be taking lessons here. Unbelievable! read more