I'm interested in learning more about the Bay-O-Vista Swim School in San Leandro. Has anyone on this list taken their kids there for lessons and would they recommend this school for a 4-year-old to acquire some skills and 2-year-old to get comfortable in the water? Thanks!

The swimming lessons at bay-o-vista were excellent. They cost about twice as much as the lessons offered by the park & recs dept but have a ratio of 4-1 vs 10-1 per class. The red cross swimming levels were further subdivided so that instead of spending four sessions in one level, each session would see an incremental progress.

For tiny tots I would start with the cheaper, city, lessons as they have a ratio of 3-1 until age 6. When my son was 4 he took lessons at the castro valley pool and wound up with a fantastic teacher who had him swimming after 3 sessions. The city wouldn't let him into the levelled lessons until he turned 6 so we went to bay-o-vista where he was placed according to ability, not age. ---Sophie