FAQ’S + Pricing

Infant Swimming Resource

Location & Schedule

  • I reside in Santa Cruz, but teach in the following areas: South Lake Tahoe, Los Gatos, Cupertino, Campbell, Saratoga, Almaden, Willow Glen, and Santa Cruz. Lessons are held at privately owned, heated outdoor pools between the months of January - November.

    I am always looking to expand my schedule and better serve my students. If you are interested in learning about hosting a session, especially in the Spring, Fall and/or Winter months, please contact me.

  • Available lesson times vary from session to session, but are consistently offered 1:30pm - 6:30pm.

    Depending on the availability of host pools, lessons might also be available 10am - 12:30pm.

  • At the moment, early morning lessons are unavailable on a consistent basis. However, I am always looking to expand my schedule and I am open to the idea. Feel free to reach out and inquire.

  • No. Lessons are taught five days per week, M-F. Lesson attendance is required during the weekdays. Currently and for the foreseeable future, ISR lessons will be operating on a Mon-Fri schedule.

  • ISR 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 time slots available for new students, but a common hesitation from parents is that their child will forget if they don't learn right before swim season.

    Luckily ISR Self-Rescue Skills are a sensorimotor skill, similar to crawling, walking, or riding a bike. Sensorimotor skills are not simply forgotten, although they can certainly get rusty without use and kiddos can lose their confidence.

    This is why ISR will encourage you to return for Refresher and Maintenance lessons periodically after your child’s initial learning. Maintenance in particular is a very low commitment. These follow up learning opportunities will ensure your little one gets to adjust their skills to their rapid growth and will keep things sharp.

  • For private lesson inquiries send me an email and I can let you know if it's something that can be worked into the existing or upcoming schedule. Private lessons start at $750/week/student (no sibling discounts can be applied) and depending on location may incur an additional travel fee.

    If you want lessons to be at your home for convenience purposes but without the private lesson premium, please consider applying to be a host pool.

  • Host families allow us to use their pool for a daily 4-7 hour block of time, M-F, for six consecutive weeks.

    The perks of hosting are free lessons for your kiddos, preferred choice of timeslot(s) for the host family's children, help with heating costs, and a non-existent commute. Hosting is also a great way to "do your part" ensuring not only your own children get skilled, but to help us reach more children in your very own community.

    Primary requirements are a convenient/centrally located location in an area that I already serve (Los Gatos, Cupertino, Campbell, Almaden, Saratoga, Willow Glen, and Santa Cruz), a pool heated to 88 degrees (by a heater, not just the sun!), a set of shallow end steps or sun shelf, and neighbors who won't mind a bit of "kid" noise.

    Email me if you are interested in learning more and providing access to these Life-Saving Self-Rescue Skills to other families in your community!

Lesson Structure

    • The program consists of lessons taught five days per week M-F, 10 minutes each day for approximately six weeks. Your child will hold the same 10-minute time slot each day with one-on-one lessons.

    • These lessons are for children between the ages of 8-month-olds and 6-year-olds.

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    • These are NOT traditional swim lessons! We are teaching highly specialized skills and it is very important to attend class every day. If you don’t think that you can commit to this schedule, please wait until you are certain that you can.

    • The program consists of lessons taught five days per week, M-F, 10 minutes each day for three weeks. Your child will hold the same 10-minute time slot each day with one-on-one lessons.

    • These lessons are for children who have already completed initial ISR lessons and need to refresh their skills. 

    • These are NOT Infant Swimming Resource lessons. 

    • These lessons are for students with some swim background ages 4yo-7yo, with a focus on deepening your child’s already present swim abilities. The focus includes the three main strokes: breast, back, and freestyle, as well as floating. 

    • Lessons are available at varying times and intervals depending on your child’s age and needs. Some lessons are 4 days per week, (M-Th), for four weeks; we also offer 3 days per week (M/W/F) or 2 days per week (T/Th) for six weeks.

    • No, lessons are always one-on-one and each child requires their own time slot. If you’re having an issue securing back-to-back time slots, please shoot me an email and I will do my best to accommodate you.

  • No, lessons are always one-on-one.

  • I prefer to get parents in the water AFTER their child is fully skilled or has developed enough of a trusting relationship with me. If your child is a swim-float-swimmer, I love getting parents in the pool to teach them how to swim with their little one’s in a way that will support, enhance, and honor their ISR Self-Rescue skills.

    Parents are not required to get in the water during lessons, but it may make sense to hop in with us towards the end of the session!

Program Pricing

  • 2026 tuition pricing for South Lake Tahoe is $1200 per student for a 6-week session.

    Note: Lessons are four days per week M-Th, for six weeks. A non-refundable, non-transferable $600 deposit is due to secure your time slot and is payable directly through the website scheduler.

    The remaining tuition balance is due on the first day of lessons and the card on file will be charged.

    There is a one-time registration fee of $105 which goes directly to ISR National - this is separate from tuition and does NOT go to your instructor. The registration fee covers a comprehensive medical background check that you complete online when you register your child. ISR’s staff of nurses reviews all the information in full to ensure your child can safely participate in lessons and safety protocols are put in place if deemed necessary. One example that might prevent your child from being trained by ISR is a history of seizures. Registration links will be available during the booking process and in your confirmation email after booking.


  • 2026 tuition pricing for San Jose is $1650 per student for a 6-week session.

    Note: Lessons are four days per week M-Th, for six weeks. A non-refundable, non-transferable $825 deposit is due to secure your time slot and is payable directly through the website scheduler.

    The remaining tuition balance is due on the first day of lessons and the card on file will be charged.

    There is a one-time registration fee of $105 which goes directly to ISR National - this is separate from tuition and does NOT go to your instructor. The registration fee covers a comprehensive medical background check that you complete online when you register your child. ISR’s staff of nurses reviews all the information in full to ensure your child can safely participate in lessons and safety protocols are put in place if deemed necessary. One example that might prevent your child from being trained by ISR is a history of seizures. Registration links will be available during the booking process and in your confirmation email after booking.

  • 2026 tuition pricing for Santa Cruz is $1250 per student for a 6 week session.

    Note: Lessons are five days per week M-F, for six weeks. A non-refundable, non-transferable $625 deposit is due to secure your time slot and is payable directly through the website scheduler.

    The remaining tuition balance is due on the first day of lessons and the card on file will be charged.

    There is a one-time registration fee of $105 which goes directly to ISR National - this is separate from tuition and does NOT go to your instructor. The registration fee covers a comprehensive medical background check that you complete online when you register your child. ISR’s staff of nurses reviews all the information in full to ensure your child can safely participate in lessons and safety protocols are put in place if deemed necessary. One example that might prevent your child from being trained by ISR is a history of seizures. Registration links will be available during the booking process and in your confirmation email after booking.

  • Great question! ISR has been researched and developed for 55+ years. It’s nationally recognized as the safest swim program for infants and children. Your kiddos 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, survival, and independent swimming, you might consider traditional swim lessons.

    ISR teaches your children to SWIM independently. My “swimmers” are kept on the horizontal axis and have two options: face up, floating, resting and breathing, or face down, eyes open, mouth closed, kicking, and propelling forward. Many parents come to ISR 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.

    If you add up what you’d spend in a traditional swim program for a few weeks during the summer – leaving the class with little to no independent skills – and then multiply that by every summer until the age of 6-years-old, this program costs significantly less and the value is infinitely greater because not only does your child learn how to swim independently, but they also learn how to Self-Rescue.

    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 if they are practiced. 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…

  • Every ISR instructor undergoes 8 weeks of intense training with one-on-one, hands-on instruction from an ISR Master Instructor. For 8 weeks, we are in the pool 5 days 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.

  • PAYMENT PLANS

    Working out a payment plan is a great option for families who may be a bit overwhelmed at the cost, particularly with siblings enrolled, but are not candidates for a financial scholarship. Please inquire about options to spread payments out a bit before and during a session.

    SCHOLARSHIPS

    If you think you are a candidate for scholarship assistance please shoot me an email to open up a dialogue.

    Live For Brie

    https://www.liveforbrie.com/

    Live Like Jake Foundation

    https://livelikejake.com/scholarship

  • Short answer, no.

    Lessons missed by the family for illness, vacation, late start date, late arrival to time slot, etc. will not be available for a make up lesson.

    Lessons are priced by the skill set in a session (Swim-Float-Swim or Rollback-to-Float) rather than priced by the lesson per day or the week.

    If a time slot is booked, financial responsibly is yours regardless of missed lessons. Lessons are not prorated.

    Note: if multiple lessons are missed, joining another session might be highly encouraged to ensure your child’s aquatic safety skills.

  • It's important to note that 6 weeks to learn is an average as some kiddos need more time! This is usually due to a child's temperament and personality. If a child needs more time (not because of missed lessons) to finish with reliable skills, more time will be carved out for them (likely in a subsequent session) and tuition will be discounted.

Age & Experience

  • The ISR program is for infants and children aged 12mo to 6yo, but really there is no upper age limit!

    My personal preference is that students begin their lessons when they are closer to 12mo. This is because at that age they are becoming more mobile and their abdominal wall is getting stronger as a result.

  • 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 lessons 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, the sensorimotor theory, and we continue to reinforce proper breath control throughout all lessons.

  • 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

  • According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), drowning is the number one cause of accidental death for infants and young children between the ages of 1-4 and the second leading cause of unintentional injury death for children 5-14, behind motor vehicle crashes.

    While children are at highest risk, anyone can drown. Every year in the United States there are an estimated 4,000 fatal unintentional drownings—that is an average of 11 drowning deaths per day and 8,000 nonfatal drownings—that is an average of 22 nonfatal drownings per day.

    An average of 4,012 unintentional drowning deaths occurred each year from 2011–2020. An average 8,061 estimated emergency department visits due to non-fatal drowning occurred each year from 2011–2020.

    Keeping your family safe in and around the water motivates everything that I do.

    The above statistics were taken from the Center of Disease Control CDC: Drowning Prevention → Drowning Facts

    https://www.cdc.gov/drowning/facts/index.htm

  • Some children cry the first few lessons due to anxiety and depending on their comfort level with water in general and their overall temperament/personality, the crying might persist. It's normal for kiddos to be wary of the situation. It's important to teach your child to trust me and eventually to trust the water. Many kiddo’s can't wait to come to lessons by the end of the session, but it is a process, so hang in there and keep the end goal in mind!

    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.

    Your child will be looking to you to see if they are safe. As a reminder, they are. I am highly trained and safety is my number one priority. I encourage my families to use verbiage such as: “you are safe, you are with Mrs. Tay and she is safe” or “I know this is hard, but you can do hard things”.

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

  • Does your child cry when you take away an unsafe item that they deemed the perfect toy? Does your child cry when you open their bag of Cheez Its wrong? Crying is a way that little ones communicate. So, will your child cry when they are at a house that they’ve never been to, handed off to a stranger (me) that they’ve never met, and placed into a pool that is not as warm as a bathtub? Yes, there is a high probability that your child might cry, but most kiddos don’t after a few days.

    Remember, these skills could save their life and I would rather have a child cry in lessons than never cry again because they had no defense against the water.

    https://www.boredpanda.com/funny-reasons-why-kids-cry/

Registration & Enrollment

  • Click the icon “Start Swimming” and it will take you to the “Book Your Session” page with step-by-step registration instructions.

  • When you enrolled initially, you paid a non-refundable & non-transferable tuition deposit to lock in your child's slot.

    The non-refundable and non-transferrable verbiage is mentioned multiple times during the digital enrollment process to ensure everyone is aware of the policy prior to committing to a session of lessons.

    While we totally understand "life things" come up that may throw a wrench in your plans to participate, the business incurs hard costs to be able to guarantee your child their slot in the specific session you originally selected, hence the non-refundable and non-transferable terms.

    As a small business, thank you in advance for understanding why this policy is in place and why it needs to be strictly enforced, regardless of the circumstances behind the request.

    If you wish to make a change you can consider one of the following options:

    ** If your lesson slot time (not the session dates) are the issue, you can inquire with your instructor if there are any other slots in your current session still available or if any have come available last minute. Many sessions do book out fully ~6 months in advance, but if you have flexible timing there is the possibility I may be able to accommodate a shift in lesson time. Please note: this is very unlikely in highly sought after sessions (Spring, Summer) and at certain times of day (3-6:30pm). That said, if we are able to help accommodate a shift in lesson time within your current session we will, and you will not need to forfeit your deposit.

    **If the session dates are the issue, or if the slot time is the issue and you cannot shift within the session you are enrolled in, you can forfeit your deposit & re-book a new slot for your child in a different session during the next enrollment opportunity. You will need to submit a new deposit to lock in your new selection.

Subsequent Lessons After Initial Learning

  • Once your child completes the session, he/she is fully skilled to survive an aquatic emergency and in most cases has a successful rollback-to-float or swim-float-swim sequence.

    I love getting my parents into the pool with my Swim Float Swim students! I will teach you how to swim with your child in a way that supports, enhances, and maintains their ISR Self–Rescue swimming skills.

    Children who have completed a lesson series should only practice and review their skills with an ADULT who has received instruction from an ISR Instructor on how to do this properly. Although everyone loves to see a child show off new skills, accidental interference could encourage behaviors that will not allow a child to Self-Rescue in the event of a water accident.

    Despite being skilled, there is no substitute for constant, uninterrupted adult supervision and parents should always employ layers of protection such as pool fences, pool alarms, door alarms, etc.

    Maintenance and Refresher Lessons are highly recommended.

  • Maintenance Lessons are designed to fine tune the student’s skills, or to prevent problems with the child’s technique for returning families only. As a child’s confidence in the water grows, they may try to experiment with new behaviors or try to emulate siblings or adults. This may negatively affect his or her ability to swim or float. These lessons are conducted periodically, based on the Instructor’s assessment of need and the parent’s scheduling preferences.

    Maintenance Lessons are suggested for most students at a cadence of 1-3 one time, pay-as-you-go lessons per week when available. Every child is different and might only need 1-2 lessons per month.

    Email me for more details.

  • Refresher Lessons are a condensed version of initial lessons and are offered on at least an annual basis for returning families only. Because children grow rapidly, physically and mentally, during the course of a year and are continually developing new skills, these lessons assist the child to adjust their previously mastered skills to their new bodies. It is not unusual for children to not swim or float at the same skill level that they did during the previous season’s lessons. This does not mean that they have "forgotten" to swim or float, it means that they need to practice their skills in their new larger, stronger body. The length of refresher lessons will vary based on the child’s water experience and any interference that may have occurred since the last lesson.

    Refresher lessons are geared towards skill advancement. Students return for 3-6 weeks to advance their current skill set. For example, an infant would return for a swim-rollback to float sequence.

    Refresher Lessons are highly recommended every 3-6 months to adjust your child's skills to their growing body.

    Email me for more details.