Initial Lessons
Initial ISR® Lessons Infant
Updated schedule and investment beginning 2026:
- Requirements: 6-24 Months
- Duration: 10 minutes
- Frequency: Daily, M-T
- Session: 6 Weeks
- Location: RLS Swim Academy Sartell Facility
- Class Size: 1-on-1
- Investment: $125/week
Description: (6-24 Months) Lessons for infants at least 6 months of age and beyond to learn the fundamental skill of rolling onto their backs to float, rest, breathe, and maintain this life-saving position until help arrives.
Initial ISR® Lessons Preschool
Updated schedule and investment beginning 2026:
- Requirements: 2-6 Years
- Duration: 10 minutes
- Frequency: Daily, M-T
- Session: 6 Weeks
- Location: RLS Swim Academy Sartell Facility
- Class Size: 1-on-1
- Investment: $125/week
Description: (2-6 Years) Lessons for toddlers two and older, preschoolers, and young children focus on teaching the swim-float-swim survival sequence. Children learn the foundation of swimming with their heads down, roll onto their backs to float, rest, and breathe, and then flip over to swim again. Combining these skills allows a child to reach the side of the pool or edge of the water, where they can either crawl out or float until they can be rescued.
Initial Lessons School-Age
- Requirements: 6+ Years
- Duration: 15-minutes
- Frequency: Twice Weekly | Mon/Wed OR Tues/Thurs
- Session: 6 Weeks
- Location: RLS Swim Academy Sartell Facility
- Class Size: 1-on-1
- Investment: $70/week
Description: (6+ Years) Lessons for young children focused on teaching the swim-float-swim survival sequence. Children learn the foundation of swimming with their heads down, roll onto their backs to float, rest, and breathe, and then flip over to swim again. Combining these skills allows a child to reach the side of the pool or edge of the water, where they can either crawl out or float until they can be rescued.
After completing an Initial Session, regular use of swim skills and/or ongoing swimming lessons are expected in order for your child to maintain their learned skills. As with anything, learned skills cannot be maintained to their highest potential if they’re not used. Your child’s body is growing in size and muscle often and it’s important their swim exposure and practice is ongoing.
Even if your child has had swimming lessons, no child is drown-proof and there is absolutely no substitute for adult supervision.
Enhancement Lessons
Progress Building
- Description: For students to strengthen & enhance their learned swim, float, swim skills and confidence.
- Requirements: Completion of Initial ISR Session
- Duration: 15-minutes
- Frequency: Once Weekly
- Session: 6 Weeks
- Location: RLS Swim Academy Sartell Facility
- Class Size: 1-on-1
Description: Following Initial Lessons (Initial ISR® or 6+), these lessons are for students who are still early in their skill-building and growing confidence in those skills after learning the fundamentals and foundation of a swim, float, swim sequence. Additionally, these lessons are for newly independent swim and float swimmers to maintain their current skills while building technique, strength, and distance in their swimming skills, abilities, and confidence to prepare them for Next-Level lessons!
Advanced Lessons
Next-Level/Intro to Strokes
- Description: For students with an independent swim, float, swim looking to enhance and advance their swimming skill & learn intro to strokes.
- Requirements: Completion of Initial ISR Session + Confident Swimmer
- Duration: 15-minutes
- Frequency: Once Weekly
- Session: 6 Weeks
- Location: RLS Swim Academy Sartell Facility
- Class Size: 1-on-1
Description: Following Initial Lessons (Initial ISR® or 6+), these lessons are for students skilled in independent swim, float, swim for at least 15 feet and are ready to start advancing to the next level of swimming skills including Intro to Strokes. These lessons will refine and enhance swim technique and increase swim duration/distance. They will also introduce stroke skills, front crawl/freestyle, backstroke, and treading water to prepare them for Stroke Development lessons.
Stroke Development
- Description: For students with an independent swim, float, swim and intro to stroke swim, looking to enhance and advance their swimming skills with in-depth stroke skill learning.
- Requirements: Completion of Next-Level/Intro to Strokes Session
- Duration: 15-minutes
- Frequency: Once Weekly
- Session: 6 Weeks
- Location: RLS Swim Academy Sartell Facility
- Class Size: 1-on-1
Description: Following Initial lessons (Initial ISR® or 6+) or Next-Level sessions, these lessons are for students who already have front stroke, backstroke, and treading water fundamentals and are ready to develop/refine and enhance their stroke skills fully. If the child cannot swim with these techniques, they should attend Next-Level first. Along with the development and/or refinement of front crawl/freestyle, and backstroke, these lessons will work towards increasing distance and swimming stamina and efficiency. Swimming can be a very tiring activity; learning the proper strokes allows students to use their muscles in the right way to avoid unnecessary movement in swimming to decrease energy exertion/fatigue, retain energy and increase safe swimming skills, and set them up to advance on to more competitive programs, as desired.
Schedule
Lesson schedules vary depending on the lesson type. See lesson details above. Lessons are held daily, Monday through Friday, for 10 minutes each or one to two times weekly for 15 minutes each.
Why are lessons so short?
It sounds a little crazy, but this is very much by design. Here’s some information on why our swimming courses consist of short, frequent lessons.
- It’s the way young children learn. As babies, we don’t practice walking once a week. Standing, balancing, and cruising are done in tiny increments each day as part of our experience of learning to walk. Similar to walking, swimming is a sensorimotor skill, best learned by experience over time.
- Kids thrive on routine. A consistent lesson schedule creates an optimal learning environment. When kids know where they are going, who they will be with, and what is expected of them, they begin to feel confident and secure, building trust with their instructor as they are taught these priceless skills.
- It’s work! People often consider swimming a “for fun” activity but forget it’s a workout! Little bodies get tired quickly, and fatigued muscles + water = dangerous. Remember, I am working with just your child for the entire session, not multiple children over a longer timeframe. Safety is our top priority, so instructors closely monitor your child’s fatigue to ensure they practice efficiently for an optimal learning experience.
Your Instructor
Alyssa Mohs, a Sartell native and mother of four, owns RLS Swim Academy (formerly ISR Sartell Swim). Concerned about drowning risks—the leading cause of death for children ages 1–4, she discovered Infant Swimming Resource® and became a certified instructor to teach life-saving skills. Alyssa has been a Certified ISR Instructor & teaching lessons since 2022.
Investment Policies
Initial ISR Lessons:
$125/week (beginning in 2026)
- Lesson fees for initial sessions may be paid by cash and check only.
- When lessons begin, you will be invoiced every Friday for the following week’s lessons. Payment is due before each week’s lesson starts. You can pay for your child’s lesson on Friday or Monday before the lesson begins.
- You may also choose to pay in full.
- A non-refundable deposit is due at the time of registration.
- This payment can be made by card online.
- Your deposit holds your time slot and is non-refundable.
- After completing the ISR® Initial Session, your deposit will be credited towards future lessons.
Initial 6+ Lessons:
$70/week
- Lesson fees for initial sessions may be paid by cash and check only.
- When lessons begin, you will be invoiced every Friday for the following week’s lessons. Payment is due before each week’s lesson starts. You can pay for your child’s lesson on Friday or Monday before the lesson begins.
- A $210 non-refundable deposit is due at the time of registration.
- This payment can be made by card online.
- Your deposit holds your time slot and is non-refundable.
- After completing the Initial Session, your deposit will be credited towards future lessons.
After completing an Initial Session, regular use of swim skills and/or ongoing swimming lessons are expected in order for your child to maintain their learned skills. As with anything, learned skills cannot be maintained to their highest potential if they’re not used. Your child’s body is growing in size and muscle often and it’s important their swim exposure and practice is ongoing.
Even if your child has had swimming lessons, no child is drown-proof and there is absolutely no substitute for adult supervision.
Availability
RLS Swim Academy is dedicated to fostering a love and respect for water – teaching to prevent drowning, one child at a time. We’re committed to ensuring that each child is equipped with the skills, knowledge, and understanding to stay safe in and around water.