Swimming is an important lifetime skill that can be enjoyed by all ages and all fitness levels. The Recreation Center of Highland Park indoor aquatic center is a perfect place to enjoy swimming all year-long. The center offers open swim, lap swim, and is home to our Learn-to-Swim program.

All Park District of Highland Park lifeguard staff receive rigorous certification training through the American Red Cross Aquatics Training Program. 

All lifeguard staff members are required to successfully complete training and on-going in-service training to prevent and respond to aquatic emergencies. This includes land and water rescue skills, First Aid and CPR. 

All Learn-to-Swim instructors are required to successfully complete training on how to conduct classes and to evaluate participant progression, as well as Basic Water Rescue and Personal Water Safety.

Please remember, when visiting any guarded pool or beach, lifeguards are there to enforce rules/regulations and to respond to aquatic emergencies. Parents/guardians are responsible for supervising their children. 

Children who have never taken swim lessons are recommended to begin in Paddlers 1 or Little Swimmers 1 unless otherwise approved by the Learn-to-Swim Coordinator or Aquatics Supervisor. If your child has taken lessons at another facility or has taken lessons at the park district but not recently, it is recommended that a pre-lesson swim assessment be conducted. Pre-lessons assessments are free services provided to ensure students get placed in the proper level. For more information and to sign up, please contact Alex Casler at 847.579.4050 or [email protected]

The Park District does not guarantee a participant’s ability to make up a class that is missed.

1. Limit of 2 make-ups per session.
2. Participants can only make up at their level.
3. If a participant shows up to a class that is full, the class will not be overloaded to accommodate a make-up.
4. Reserving a make-up slot and then not attending or notifying the aquatics staff will count as the make-up.
5. Call Alex Casler at 847.579.4050 or [email protected] with any questions or to schedule a makeup.

Based on the American Red Cross Learn-to-Swim curriculum, we offer private and semi-private swimming lessons for all ages. Personalized instruction addresses participants’ specific needs and abilities. For safety purposes, all spectators must observe classes from the observation room.

We focus on teaching water safety. Skill breakdowns at each level provide an ideal environment for students to practice and progress through the program. Each level has exit skills required to pass it, as well as working skills that are not required to pass but will be practiced. Instructors and coordinators conduct assessments during the second-to-last lesson, and report cards are provided after the last class.

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