ISR Self-Rescue Lessons
Life-saving survival swim lessons designed to teach children how to survive in the water.
For children ages 6 months to 4+ years
ISR (Infant Swimming Resource) is the safest, most effective provider of survival swimming lessons for infants and young children. Backed by over 50 years of research and development, ISR teaches children how to survive in the water if they were to reach it alone.
Unlike traditional swim lessons, ISR focuses on teaching self-rescue skills, not just swimming ability.
Each lesson is customized to the individual child, supporting their unique physical and emotional development while building real, life-saving skills.
What is ISR Self-Rescue?
Why ISR?
Drowning is the leading cause of accidental death for children ages 1–4.
ISR lessons are designed specifically for young children, focusing on the skills they are developmentally ready to learn—and the ones most critical for their safety in and around the water.
For infants and young swimmers, this means learning how to roll onto their back to float, rest, and breathe. As children grow, they progress to a swim-float-swim sequence, allowing them to move through the water, rest as needed, and continue toward safety.
These are not just swimming skills, they are life-saving responses.
While many families initially seek traditional swim lessons, young children are not yet developmentally ready for stroke-based instruction. ISR provides a strong, safety-first foundation, giving children the ability to respond if they were to reach the water alone.
Once these skills are established and maintained, swimmers are better prepared to transition into longer, skill-based lessons as they grow.
Infant Swimming Resource®
-
Founded in 1966, Infant Swimming Resource (ISR), with it’s Self-Rescue™ program, is nationally recognized as the safest provider of survival swimming lessons for infants and young children. We recognize that parents need their children to feel comfortable in and around water.
At ISR, your child’s safety is our first priority. Each survival swim lesson is uniquely tailored to your child’s needs based on a comprehensive assessment and continual monitoring of your child’s health and skill attainment.
We understand that every child learns at his or her own pace, and accordingly your child will be gently guided through each skill level based on his or her level of development and readiness.
-
Going beyond traditional swimming instruction, ISR teaches children aquatic survival techniques designed to help them survive should they reach the water alone. For more than 45 years ISR’s proven, Self-RescueTM program has and continues to provide:
Safety: ISR’s number one priority for your child.
• Prior to beginning lessons, your child’s unique medical history is reviewed by a team of medical professionals to identify any potential health issues that may affect your child’s lessons and safety.
• Parent education: Your child is not the only one learning during lessons. ISR’s program includes comprehensive parent education on aquatic safety and drowning prevention.
Results:
• Each ISR Instructor safely and gently guides your child through the process of mastering his/her survival skills. The protocols and ongoing education your Instructor receives ensures that your child, at the end of lessons, will be able to successfully demonstrate the age appropriate survival sequence, including a roll-
back-to-float and/or a swim-float-swim.
-
Each certified ISR Instructor, completes a rigorous, 8-week in-water and academic training course and participates in a highly specialized annual recertification to maintain the highest level of safety and caliber of instruction.
What Your Child Will Learn
Infants begin by learning the foundational ISR skill of rolling onto their back to float, rest, and breathe. This allows them to maintain a safe, breathing position in the water until help can reach them.
Lessons are designed around each child’s development, helping them become comfortable, calm, and able to hold this life-saving position when it matters most.
Infants (6-12 months)
As children grow and gain more physical control, they are ready to build on these skills. ISR teaches children to swim a short distance, roll onto their back to float, rest and breathe, and then continue moving through the water using a swim-float-swim sequence.
This sequence allows children to move toward safety, whether that’s the wall, steps, or edge of the pool, while resting as needed along the way.
Toddlers & Young Children (Walking)
Individualized, one-on-one lessons focused on developing consistent, life-saving self-rescue skills.
-
ISR lessons are different from traditional swim lessons because the focus is on survival skills and water safety first. Each child learns how to respond if they unexpectedly enter the water.
Lessons are one-on-one private lessons and are customized for each child. Ages 6-12 months will focus on teaching the child to roll onto their back to float, rest and breathe, and to be able to maintain this life-saving position until help arrives. Ages 1-6 years focus on teaching the swim-float-swim survival sequence. Children learn to swim with their head down; roll onto their back to float, rest, and breathe; and roll back over to resume swimming until they reach the side of the pool, where they can either crawl out or until they can be rescued.
Children can begin lessons as early as 6 months old once they are sitting independently and students typically participate through age 6.
You can learn more about ISR on their website here and read additional FAQs on our website here.
Lesson Structure:
New Student & Refresher ISR Lessons are:
10 minutes per day
Your child will attend 4-days per week, Monday through Thursday, for 6-8 weeks
Private, one-one-one instruction
Lesson times are scheduled every 10 minutes (for example: 9:00am, 9:10am, 9:20am, etc.).
Consistency is extremely important for skill development which is why lessons occur daily throughout the program.
Most new ISR students complete the ISR program in approximately 30 lessons over 6-8 weeks. We schedule for 8 weeks and adjust as needed based on how your little one progresses.
Each child progresses at their own pace and safety is always our priority. We would never push a child to finish the program before they are fully skilled and confident.
Some children complete their skills closer to 5-6 weeks, while others benefit from and need the full 6-8 weeks of lessons to learn the skills.
-
Refresher lessons are extremely important in continuing and maintaining your child’s ISR Self-Rescue™ skill development. Children grow and develop rapidly from infants to toddlers and young children. This development process represents improved strength, coordination, and a more finely tuned cognitive ability. In accordance with this growth, children enrolled in ISR return periodically to participate in Refresher Lessons.
Refresher lessons are designed to fine-tune your child’s existing ISR Self-Rescue™ skills to meet the demands of their growing bodies. It will allow them to make adjustments in their float and strengthen their swim.
Previous Swim-Float-Swim students will take approximately 2-3 weeks to complete.
Previous Rollback-to-Float students returning to learn Swim-Float-Swim, refresher lessons will likely take approximately 3-4 weeks.Maintenance lessons are also available at any time for regular fine-tuning of your child's skills. These lessons are highly recommended.
At Palekana Swim, we view ISR as an ongoing process, not a one-time lesson set.
Our goal is to support your child over time, helping them maintain strong, reliable self-rescue skills as they grow and develop.
As your child becomes ready for longer lesson times and more advanced skill development, we offer private lesson options focused on stroke technique, endurance, and overall swimming ability. This allows swimmers to continue progressing in a familiar, supportive environment with our team.
We’re proud to support families beyond ISR, giving children the opportunity to grow with us every step of the way.
-
ISR Registration Fee: $105 for New ISR students & $45 to update for returning students (paid directly to ISR)
New ISR Student Session Cost: Session Tuition: $800 per student
Families may choose one of two payment options:
Pay in Full (5% discount)
Installment Plan: $100 deposit at enrollment followed by seven weekly installment payments of $100.
ISR is offered as a complete instructional session rather than week-to-week enrollment. Because every child progresses at a different pace, the exact length of a session may vary based on individual progress.
ISR Refresher Session Cost:
Refresher sessions are individually recommended based on each child's current skills, time away from lessons, and confidence in the water. Because every child has different needs, refresher sessions vary in length and tuition.
Most refresher sessions range from 2–4 weeks, though some students may require more or less time. We'll provide a personalized recommendation after discussing your child's experience.
2-week refresher = $200
3-week refresher = $300
4-week refresher = $400
Maintenance Lessons: $25/lesson per student
The ISR Registration Fee is a one-time, non-refundable fee that goes directly to ISR. This fee allows ISR to evaluate your child prior to starting lessons and helps ensure the safest most effective instruction possible.
While we schedule lesson times in 6 week sessions, lessons are billed weekly rather than as a full session fee. This allows families to only pay for the weeks their child needs. Some children complete their skills in closer to 4 weeks, while others benefit and need the full 6-8 weeks of lessons.
Deposit to Reserve Your Spot:
A $100 non-refundable deposit is required to reserve your child's lesson time.
The deposit reserves your child's place in a specific session.
If you need to change lesson times before the session begins, your deposit may be applied to another available lesson time within the same session and start date, subject to availability.
Deposits cannot be transferred to another session, another student, or refunded.
In the rare case that Palekana needs to cancel a session due to low enrollment, any deposits for that session will be fully refunded.
Discounts & Scholarships
If you are a Military or First Responder family please mention this when replying or booking as we offer a Military and First Responder discount. (The pay-in-full discount and Military/First Responder discount cannot be combined.)
There are also wonderful ISR scholarships for qualifying available to help cover the cost of lessons. If you'd like more information about available scholarships please contact us here.
Attendance & Billing Notes
ISR is designed as a consistent, progressive program. Families are expected to attend every scheduled lesson whenever possible.
Because every child learns at a different pace, Session Tuition covers enrollment in a complete instructional session rather than a specific number of lessons. Occasional absences due to illness or unforeseen circumstances may extend the overall session when appropriate.
Frequent absences, vacations, or inconsistent attendance may significantly impact progress and could require enrollment in an additional session to achieve program goals.
If Palekana cancels lessons due to weather, facility issues, instructor illness, or other unforeseen circumstances beyond the family's control, the session will be extended as needed by one instructional day for each missed lesson day.
-
Matt Lowell - Owner, Palekana Swim & Certified ISR Instructor
Matt began working as a swim instructor and lifeguard at age 15 and has spent 20 years teaching children and adults how to swim safely and confidently. He grew up in the Portland area and now lives in Beaverton with his wife Katherine and their three children, Theo (8), Benji (6) and Bella (3). After becoming parents, Matt and Katherine enrolled their own children in ISR lessons when the two oldest were 1 and 3 years old. Seeing the confidence and life-saving skills their children developed inspired Matt to train as an ISR instructor himself so he could bring those same skills to families in the community. Since becoming an ISR instructor 4 years ago he has taught 240 ISR students totaling over 4,925 lessons!
In addition to ISR lessons, Matt also teaches traditional private swim lessons (for ages 4+/ISR grads), swim team preparation and advanced stroke conditioning, building on his experience the last 20 years teaching at THPRD, VillaSport and as an independent instructor when Matt and Katherine founded Palekana Swim in 2021.
-
ISR builds a strong, safety-first foundation, but it’s just the beginning of your child’s swim journey.
As your child grows and is ready for longer lesson times, we offer private lessons focused on stroke development, endurance, and overall swimming ability.
Many of our families continue with us after ISR, allowing their children to build on their foundation in a familiar, supportive environment with our team.
-
Whether your child is under 6 months, your schedule isn’t ready for daily lessons, or you’re looking for early water exposure and safety guidance, Parent & Me is a great place to begin.
These small-group classes focus on water exposure, parent education, and building comfort in a safe, supported environment, while also introducing foundational safety concepts.
For families who are unsure about ISR or looking for a starting point, Parent & Me can be a great first step. When your child is ready, we’ll help guide you into ISR lessons with confidence.
4,900+ ISR Lessons Taught!
"For over a year we had been trying swimming private weekly lessons, drop-ins, summer programs, and all kinds of options for our now 5-year-old. We were referred to Matthew Lowell for swimming lessons by a friend. In a few days, our daughter was floating and swimming independently. Matt not only helped our daughter have the safety skills she needs in the water, he helped her gain confidence in trusting herself. I wish we knew about ISR and Matt sooner! We’re enrolling our second baby as soon as we are able to."
-ISR Parent 2022“Matt Lowell was great with Cyrus and Sloane in their refresher classes. One week for Cyrus, 6, was enough to get his float in top form. Matt was very generous with his time during Sloane's lessons and she made great progress in all aspects of swimming. Both kids are very comfortable in the water and this makes a huge difference to us as we are a water sport family - from white water rafting to snorkeling in tropical locales."
-Terry L. "Matt Lowell was very patient with my 4-year old Isabelle, and knew how to push her slightly and also offer comfort and security when needed. He’s an excellent instructor and has a great demeanor with kids and parents. My child trusted him right away, and the way the instructor was able to communicate with her was very age appropriate, encouraging, and positive. Highly recommend!"
-Jen D.
How to Get Started
ISR sessions are offered year round. To get started, submit an ISR Lesson Request Form and we'll guide you through:
Upcoming session availability
Scheduling options that fit your family's routine
Next steps for enrollment
Creating your Customer Portal account
If your child is not yet 6 months old or you're planning ahead, you're welcome to submit a form to join our waitlist for a future session. We'll help you determine the best timing based on your child's age and our upcoming availability.
For updates on future sessions, enrollment opportunities, and occasional special offers, be sure to check the box for news and updates when submitting your request form. We don't offer discounts often, so joining our email list is the best way to stay informed.
Once enrolled, families can use our Customer Portal to manage their account, view lesson information, update payment details, and access important program information.
Still have questions? We’re here to help guide you.
