Emler Swim School is excited to expand our fins and make a splash into the Portland, Oregon area! We are now open in Beaverton – and we can’t wait to meet you!
Looking to register for swim lessons? We’d love to have you splash with us! You can call, email, or fill out this form and we can help sign you up today! Come find out what it means to be Emler Sure!
Refund Policy
Emler swim lessons are fully guaranteed, and we are committed to delivering a world-class swim lesson and experience. We promise to do whatever it takes to ensure your child achieves the goals of the session in a positive, nurturing, and safe environment. In support of the Emler Guarantee and commitment, Emler continually invests in our facilities and equipment. Likewise, we commit significant resources to training our teachers and staffing each class for the entire semester as well as the next class level in subsequent semesters, so your child has a path to continuous improvement. As a result of these commitments, Emler’s lessons are non-refundable with only ONE exception:
Learn more about Pricing and Payments by visiting the FAQs page on our website.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends starting swim lessons at age 1 as a layer of drowning prevention. Emler recommends starting swim lessons as early as possible, and reiterates that it is never too late for someone to learn to swim.
Emler offers its low-cost Bathtime Babies class for newborns 2 months to 5 months old to teach parents how to use bath time to bond and help little ones become familiar and comfortable with water play, and Waterbabies classes for kiddos 6 months to 35 months.
Yes, it’s safe to be in pools! According to the CDC, there is no evidence that the coronavirus can spread through properly maintained pools. We’ve always valued health and safety, which is why we already had a top-of-the-line purification system with UV lights that kills and inactivates viruses and bacteria in addition to using proper chlorine levels. Every Emler pool meets or exceeds CDC health standards. Plus, our leading-edge air filtration systems replace stale air from the facility with fresh air 8 times per hour.
We’ve always had small class sizes of 3-4 kiddos, as well as private lessons, and nothing has changed. We now offer the option to form your own private group with family, friends or neighbors you know. Additionally, another option is the parent & child class, with appropriate spacing between families in the pool, where kids receive instruction from a teacher on the deck. We are monitoring and strictly adhering to all local, state and federal guidelines regarding levels of occupancy and the number of people that are allowed in gatherings so we can continue to be the healthiest, happiest pool in town.
You can get in touch with us in many different ways – call 855-232-2006, fill out this form or sit in on a virtual live information session that guarantees there won't be any phone tag. We host them on Zoom at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Central, Monday through Thursday. You can have your camera turned on or off, whatever you're most comfortable with! Sign up here.
Teaching kids to swim needs to happen as early as possible to prevent the risk of accidental drowning. Formal swim lessons result in an 88% reduction in drowning risk for children ages 1 to 4, studies have found, and children ages 1 to 4 have the highest drowning rates, according to the CDC. At Emler Swim School, safety is our top priority and why we are so passionate about teaching swim lessons. We want to empower children and their families with the water safety information they need to protect themselves.
Evidence tells us that children learn best in encouraging, supportive environments. At Emler Swim School, we create a warm, safe atmosphere to help children feel free to explore and try new things that may scare them initially. We know some children find the water daunting and we want to do everything we can not only to help them feel comfortable in the water but also enjoy swimming and playing in the pool.
Songs, games and playing make-believe are part of the curriculum. Progress is measured and milestones are celebrated, both big and small. Through encouraging words and high-fives during every class, learning to swim is as fun as possible. While safety is our number one priority, students also learn a love for the water.
Just like any skill or sport, perfect practice makes perfect. In the case of water safety, proper swimming and safety skills become muscle memory. The more a child is doing a specific activity, the more it becomes an instant reaction. If a little one finds themself unexpectedly in water, it is ideal for their instincts and muscle memory to take over without much conscious effort. One of the most popular lesson days at Emler is when the kids jump in the pool with all their clothes on so they know what it feels like to be in water in something other than bathing suits. They then turn around to the wall for a safe exit.
Both small and large achievements are celebrated, as mentioned earlier. For some kids, putting their face in the water is a big step forward, so we recognize and applaud this. We have informal and formal ways of marking progress, from showering the little swimmers with praise to providing ribbons of completion at the end of a level. At Emler, swimming is made as fun and rewarding as possible while teaching the basics of water safety so all the kiddos feel confident around water.
The best part about working for Emler everyday is interacting with kiddos and seeing their progression on a daily basis, seeing their smiles and excitement when they’ve reached a milestone and witnessing parents (at times with tears in their eyes) as they see their little ones reach those milestones.
What makes me a great manager is my ability to build relationships by connecting on a personal level and having interactions with our families to celebrate their milestone moments with them on an individual basis. I firmly believe that creating solid relationships is one of the most important parts of our role in this world.
During my time in rec swim lessons when I grew up in California, children were given the opportunity to jump off of the diving board as a reward for passing the program. I remember my parents telling me about how “graceful” my jump was because at the time I was a competitive gymnast. I didn’t realize that a jump could be considered “graceful!”
My favorite memory so far is with a child that started in our Waterbabies program last session and had a really hard time not crying, even with mom, which kept him from progressing. He turned 3 at the start of the spring session and went into Aquatots, but his anxiety increased exponentially as mom was no longer in the water with him. Each week we tried a new tactic to get him comfortable and week by week, he would allow teachers small moments of cooperation, but even then, mom and dad had to be out of the sight of the child and couldn’t enjoy those small achievements. Last week was a breakthrough moment – he not only allowed mom and dad to be on deck watching him but he had his first official submersion, did not cry when he came out of the water and was excited to stay in his class! Mom was in tears. After months of struggle, this child had what we at Emler call “when magic happens.” Those moments are what make my part in these family’s lives essential, taking part of watching a life-saving skill begin to take shape is truly the most rewarding part of my job.
I grew up living on a sailboat in the most northern coastal town in California (Crescent City). During a heavy gale, the spreader on the top of our mast broke and my dad told me I was the only one small enough to be hoisted up to be able to fix it. I naturally have a fear of heights and so just the mere thought of being pulled up the mast, which is 28 feet up into the air hovering above the ocean gave me a major tummy ache. I hesitantly sat down on the small wooden seat, held onto the the ropes, and my dad pulled me up, checking in with me every few minutes. I distinctly remember praying the entire way up for protection. Once I got to the top, I couldn’t believe my eyes. I had been so scared of the height and potential of falling that I wasn’t paying attention to what was around me. I could see a panoramic view of the lighthouse, castle rock (a large rock island near our favorite surf spot), the mountainous redwood forest and the city. Although it was incredibly scary, it ended up being one of my greatest memories of not only facing something extremely frightening and overcoming fear, but witnessing one of the most beautiful sights of my gorgeous childhood town.
I grew up learning to swim in a program very similar to Emler and want to give this life experience to the kids that come to our school. I love seeing kiddos conquer their fear and not only learning to enjoy swimming but also building confidence in themselves and what they can accomplish.
I absolutely love anything water-related. I play on a master water polo team, as well as being an avid hiker to find those remote swimming spots out in the woods. When I am not swimming, I am home with my husband and our two puppies watching the latest sci-fi and action movies – it doesn’t even really need to be a decent film.
