Mills College Swim Classes

Oakland
Operated By:
Mills College
Ages:
All Ages

Parent Reviews

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RE:

My kids learned to swim (summer) at Mills and loved it there. I'm on the mail list and it is open for lap swim but I don't think they've reopened for rec swim yet - the Northeastern transition is still looming large. Also, I don't know if they have a jacuzzi. But the woman who is running it seems very nice, you might want to reach out to her with questions - it seems closer to where you are and it's a lovely pool. Good luck!

This place is absolutely awesome. We started in April with no swimming level however my son had no fear of water and he's now swimming and it's July. My son has ASD very mild... most likely what would have been called Asperger's back in the day. I let the staff know and they have done a wonderful job working with him.
Teacher Josh and Connor are edpecially amazing for my son.

Archived Q&A and Reviews


June 2010

Re: Swim lessons for 16 y.o. almost-beginner
Hi, I think your son would do better with private lessons. Its always hard to be a beginner when your 16 and others are watching. I recommend either Erin Lucas or Claire Donaldson at the Mills College pool. They are both experience teachers who teach children and adults. They are aware of their students, when to push and when to back off. Also, the Mills pool is great because they have a large wide area (about 4 lanes wide) that is all shallow enough that your son can stand up any time he needs to and the lap swimmers are in a different area. Tyler


June 2009

Does anyone have any recent experience with the toddler swim class at the Mills College pool? I found a brief review from 2004--would appreciate feedback from anyone who's been more recently. I'm thinking about signing up--my son will be 2 y.o. when we take the class this summer. Mills College area mama


I have to preface this by saying our experience is almost three years old when our daughter was three. However, I would strongly advise against the toddler class at Mills if things have not changed (and I believe the director of the swim program is the same). Even though there is generally a 3/1 ratio student/teacher ratio there are over 24 kids being taught at the same time. No safety rules were given or enforced to the students who were not out with the instructor at the time which meant that kids were bouncing down the steps in the water, almost jumping off the edge when they just couldn't wait for their turn, etc. Parents are asked to sit away from the pool on the grassy area. We had reservations, but then our daughter bounced down the steps and went under but neither our daughter's teacher nor the lifeguard noticed! I ran yelling at another instructor to grab her. Needless to say, we withdrew, got a refund and had to deal with a child who refused any form of swim lessons. She has managed to teach herself to swim in spite of it all. Even worse than our experience was that NOTHING changed in their protocols after the incident. Love the Mills pool but not their kids' class


June 2004

Hi, I'm wondering if anyone has any feedback, either good or bad, about the Mills College Preschool Swim Classes. My son is 3 1/2 and I am thinking of enrolling him. Thanks in advance. looking to swim


You probably already know that the pool at Mills is absolutely stunning. It seems to be the cleanest public pool I've ever been in. My son took swim classes there when he was about three, and we liked the teacher and the classes quite a bit. Nanu