Children take to the water at Goldfish Swim School’s new Madison location

FA new business in town is answering an important need for children in a comfortable and safe manner.

Goldfish Swim School is the country’s leading water safety and swim lesson school that offers infant and child swim lessons. “The Goldfish Swim School Madison team understands how important water safety is to Huntsvillearea families,” General Manager Michael Reams said.

“We are thrilled to bring the Goldfish curriculum, high quality instruction and state-of-the-art facility to families in this community. I’ve long had a passion for aquatics and water safety,” Reams said.

Goldfish Swim School Madison provides indoor, yearround swim instruction to children, ranging in age from four months to 12 years old. Highly trained instructors instruct the children in a safe, fun and family-friendly setting. “We start with our Parent/Child Mini Classes and work up through our Pro Levels,” he said.

“Students then have the opportunity to move on to our Swim Force Program, which is a recreational swim team.

We run every level of swim lessons every half-hour in our large, 90-degree pool,” Reams said. “We follow a perpetual lesson model, and students progress through our award-winning curriculum at their own pace.”

Each swim lesson is 30 minutes, and classes meet once each week. In addition to perpetual lessons, Goldfish offers week-long Jump Start Clinics during school breaks and summer months.

Class sizes are small, with a maximum of 4:1 studentto-teacher ratio. The water temperature of 90 degrees guarantees a shiver-free visit to the pool. Goldfish takes pride in its state-of-the-art water purification system.

“Goldfish offers perpetual lessons, and families can enroll at any time,” Reams said. The school offers convenient scheduling options, and families can easily book makeup classes, when necessary.

In addition to swim lessons, Goldfish offers frequent family swims for both members and non-members, along with party packages.

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Goldfish Swim School is the premier learn-to-swim facility for kids ages 4 months to 12 years. We use our holistic philosophy, The Science of SwimPlay®, to build life skills both in and out of the water using play-based learning in a fun and safe environment.

Learning to swim is paramount to safety, especially considering the popularity of back-yard pools today. “Drowning remains the number one cause of accidental death for kids under age four. The Goldfish team is committed to changing this statistic by providing swim lessons and water safety education to local families,” Reams said.

The American Academy of Pediatrics or AAP recommends that children participate in regular, high-quality swim lessons starting at age one, he said. In addition to providing swim lessons, the Goldfish Swim School Madison team offers free water safety presentations to any interested school, organization or community group.

Founded by husband and wife team Chris and Jenny McCuiston, Goldfish Swim School has specially trained instructors in a safe, child-friendly and fun environment. Their research-based philosophy is called “The Science of SwimPlay.”

With headquarters now in Troy, Michigan, Goldfish Swim School was established in Birmingham, Michigan in 2006 and opened its first franchise location in 2009. Company executives currently are expanding franchise opportunities throughout North America. More than 125 schools are open, and 130-plus are in development across the United States and Canada.

Guests at Goldfish will find an air-conditioned viewing gallery for parents to watch lessons, individual/private changing rooms, blow dry station, snack bar, retail shop and warm, tropical decor.

“Our team of instructors is growing as we add new lesson times to meet the incredible demand that we’ve seen for swim lessons since we opened in January of 2023,” Reams said.

“All of our instructors undergo at least 40 hours of in-house training and follow our award-winning curriculum,” Reams said. “Ongoing training sessions and in-services occur regularly to keep instructors and other staff current on our curriculum and safety protocols.”

Reams’ experience has prepared him well. “I’ve worked as a scuba Instructor since 2016. My previous roles in scuba training and aquatics have prepared me for my role at Goldfish Swim School Madison,” he said “Most recently, I worked as Aquatics Manager for the U.S. Space and Rocket Center from 2020 through 2022.”

“I live locally with my spouse and two kids -- Brooklynn, 8, and Max, 11. My family moved to the Huntsville area in February of 2020. We chose the area because of the family-friendly environment and the great schools,” Reams said.

Goldfish Swim School’s address is 7696 U.S. 72 West, Suite 110. For more information, call 256-500-8422, email swimmadison@goldfishss.com or visit goldfishswimschool.com/Madison, Facebook.com/goldfishmadison or Instagram @goldfish_madison.