Since 2017, Speer Swim School has taught hundreds of children in our community how to swim. Owner Emily Speer and her husband Ed are active members of the Marple community and are raising their five children here in Broomall. I sat down with Emily to hear about her inspiration for becoming a swim instructor and how Speer Swim School’s approach to teaching swim lessons sets them apart from other swim schools.
Q: What inspired you to start Speer Swim School?
Emily: As a mom of five children from ages 4-12, I understand the importance of water safety. I also realized that each of my children needed a different approach to learning how to swim. That’s what we aim to provide for our clients—personalized swim instruction that builds both safety skills and confidence.
Q: What led you to officially launch Speer Swim School?
Emily: After having my third child in 2017, swim safety became even more important to me. I realized there was a need for flexible, high-quality swim instruction, so I started Speer Swim School. Through word of mouth and social media, our client base quickly grew.
Q: How did you get started in swim instruction?
Emily: I’ve always loved working with children and being around water. At 13, I started teaching swim lessons. A family friend who went to the Olympic trials encouraged me to teach at Malvern Prep, and I continued teaching through high school and college. While studying Elementary Education at Penn State, I developed my own swim curriculum and taught lessons to children of faculty and staff.
Q: What did you do before starting Speer Swim School?
Emily: After graduating from Penn State in 2004, I became a math teacher at Paxon Hollow Middle School. I later earned a Master’s in Instructional Technology from Arcadia University and a doctorate in Educational Leadership. Even while teaching, I continued offering private swim lessons in backyard pools during the summers.
Q: What services does Speer Swim School offer?
Emily: Since 2017, we’ve been providing personalized swim lessons in backyard pools throughout Delaware County and the Main Line. We offer individual and small group lessons for all levels, from beginner to expert. Speer Swim School offers weekly lessons at Marple Newtown High School (MNHS) throughout the spring and fall and weekly on Sundays at Splash Swim Club or in your backyard. We also offer two-week intensives in June
(at MNHS and mobile), July (Splash and mobile) and August (Splash and mobile). We also run an after-school program at Villa Maria Academy, teaching swimming to their K-5 students.
Q: What makes your swim school different from others?
Emily: My mission is to make swim lessons as easy as possible for parents. Whether it’s summer camps, weekend lessons, afterwork hours, spring, evening, summer, fall, indoor, outdoor or in your backyard, we want to make it convenient for parents. Our instructors also focus on building relationships with their students, which helps boost confidence and makes learning more effective.
Q: What is Speer Swim School’s teaching approach?
Emily: Our curriculum is based on over 30 years of swim instruction experience. We start with safety skills before progressing to proper swim techniques. All of our instructors are highly trained in our method, and they tailor lessons to each child’s needs. The groups allow us to personalize every lesson and continue to teach the next-level skills when the student is ready.
Q: How has your business grown since its launch?
Emily: We are now in our eighth year and have 38 instructors. Last year, we taught nearly 10,000 lessons to more than 750 students. Our staff has expanded to include an administrator and pool deck supervisors. And we are always looking to improve. We are part of the United States Swim School
Association, an association for swim schools and learn-to-swim programs that focuses on supporting better, safer swim school businesses and fosters a community of passionate professionals in the aquatic education industry. I’m always looking for ways that we can better serve our students and our community.
Q: How has swim safety impacted your own family?
Emily: Teaching my own children to be safe around water has been a top priority. All five of my kids have been in our program. Four continue to take lessons because they love them so much! I’m looking for my youngest, Winnie, to pass her swim test this summer.
Q: What do you love most about running Speer Swim School?
Emily: The best part is seeing our students succeed. I love getting texts from parents saying their child is swimming independently, passed their
swim test or made the swim team. For parents, having their children be safe in the water gives them peace of mind. And of course, it’s always fun to be in the pool!
Visit SpeerSwimSchool.com for more information on their programs and how to sign up.