We hear from families that what sets Foss Swim School apart, and the reason they keep coming back, is the people. We couldn’t agree more – hiring the right kinds of people and training them well is a huge part of what FOSS does. We hire people who love working with kids, who are patient, and who care passionately about child safety and child development.
Less visible to families is how the people at your local Foss Swim School work together and support each other, but the effects of that can be seen not only in the positive teaching environment they create but also in the little things that make enrolling and attending Foss better for parents – the customer service side.
Practice what we preach: The FOSS philosophy
The first thing to realize is that everyone who works at a Foss Swim School is trained as a teacher – the person behind the front desk, the person in the back office, the person walking around the pool area. Different people have different roles and responsibilities, of course, but it all hinges on understanding the FOSS way of teaching swimming.
Here is a quick tour of the people you’ll meet at FOSS and what they can do for you:
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Shift manager:
This is the person supervising the pool deck, lessons, teachers and talking with parents or caregivers. Shift managers are the ones ultimately responsible for ensuring your experience is FOSS quality. They are there to monitor skill progression in lessons, safety protocols, classroom management, communicate with parents, and generally keep the “shift” operating smoothly. They are also certified lifeguards. Shift managers are often seen in the water at various times as some of our most knowledgeable teachers.
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Deck assistant:
This is the person who supports the manager, and often are found poolside in their swimsuit ready to jump in and lend a hand. They help track student progress and make sure whatever is happening in the water at the moment goes smoothly – they support the teacher, but also might jump into the pool to help a class if one of the students needs one-on-one attention.
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School director:
Each Foss Swim School has a Director that is responsible for the entire operations of that location. This person provides the direction and management of all staff and ensures lesson quality, safety, enrollment and customer service are held to our standards. Most of our directors are also teachers and shift managers during the week and are well known to many of our families in and out of the pool.
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Office manager:
Their work consists mainly of talking to families throughout the day, either on the phone, in person or via web chat to assist with any and all questions surrounding our program, curriculum, enrollments, billing, calendars, lost items, and really any question you can think of! Our office managers excel as masters of scheduling and service and they too can be seen at times in the pool teaching or on deck.
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Enrollment specialists:
As soon as you enter a FOSS school or call our offices, you will likely meet one of our enrollment specialists who are ready to assist in many of the same customer service and enrollment duties as our office manager. Enrollment specialists can answer questions, direct swimmers to and fro and make great suggestions for items you may need from our Swim Shop. Keep and eye out in the pool as many of our enrollment specialists will likely be jumping into the pool to teach their own classes!
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Teachers:
As you’ve seen, the people teaching the classes might also have one of a number of other roles, but when they get in the pool with your kids they are focused on teaching, sharing information about skills and techniques while also making the experience fun.
The bottom line: Everyone at FOSS loves to help
Whether that means helping kids learn to swim, or helping parents with questions, we believe that the team of people you meet at your Foss Swim School are the best in the business, both as individuals and as part of the school.
So now that you know more about who we are, we hope you feel free to approach us any time you want to learn more. We look forward to seeing you at the pool!
