KIDS FIRST Swim Schools - Franchise
Quick Summary
Everyone wants to be on a winning team. If you dream of owning your own business, love children, and believe that every child should know how to swim, join the winning team of KIDS FIRST Swim Schools! Learn more about the costs, benefits, and available locations today!
*Please contact "BrooksLink Franchise Advisors" to confirm the accuracy of any information provided on this page.
KIDS FIRST Swim Schools
Business Cost, Fees & Facts for 2026
| Minimum Cash Required | $195,000 |
Available In These States:
- AK
- AL
- AR
- AZ
- CO
- CT
- DC
- DE
- FL
- GA
- IA
- ID
- IL
- KS
- KY
- LA
- MA
- MD
- ME
- MI
- MO
- MS
- MT
- NC
- ND
- NH
- NJ
- NM
- NV
- NY
- OH
- OK
- OR
- PA
- RI
- SC
- SD
- TN
- TX
- VA
- VT
- WI
- WV
- WY
- Overview
- Testimonials
KIDS FIRST Swim Schools - Franchise
Why a KIDS FIRST Franchise?
- Proprietary KIDS FIRST / KICK FIRST Learn To Swim System
- Over 17 years of a proven business model (intellectual capital)
- Semi – Absentee Ownership
- Recession Proof
- Site selection support including lease negotiations
- KIDS FIRST Construction Company will build your pool
- Design layout of the pool and the entire facility
- Extensive field training and support
- Great ROI
About KIDS FIRST Swim Schools
KIDS FIRST Swim Schools was incorporated in Maryland in 2001 by owner and founder Gary Roth. His dream was to develop a better way to teach swimming to children in America.
Our fundamental beliefs are that:
- We believe that children learn best in an environment designed especially for them. Would you teach a child to play basketball on an adult basketball court? Or, teach baseball to a child on a major league diamond? Well, it’s just as silly to teach a child to swim in an adult pool! Most general purpose pools are simply too deep and too cold for children. KIDS FIRST pools have the proper depths, pool temperatures and amenities conducive to early learning.
- As they do in Europe and Australia, we believe that children should start developing their swimming skills earlier, rather than later. Americans have traditionally been too conservative regarding how we “reintroduce our children to water” (yes, we all came from an aquatic environment). The American Pediatrics Academy is partially to blame for this. Their ultra conservative position has scared some parents. And, the absence of specially designed facilities for children has also contributed. KIDS FIRST looks to change all this and help our children here in the United States catch up to more progressive countries around the world.
- We believe we have a better way to teach swimming. Unlike other “learn to swim programs”, KIDS FIRST recognizes that proper swimming is a very unnatural movement done in 1/6 timing. You may have noticed how your arms and legs swing in a natural 1/1 timing as you walk down the street. As you pick it up into a jog, your arms will move faster and faster to maintain this 1/1 timing. And, if you were to break into a full sprint, your arms would pump faster and faster to maintain that 1/1 timing. This is natural. Watch an Olympic athlete run down the track; they are trained to run in perfect 1/1 timing. Yet, swimming is 1/6 timing. How can we teach children to kick 6X faster than their arms are moving? The KIDS FIRST/Kick First Learn to Swim System® tackles this challenge in a logical systematic fashion like no other program out there. The curriculum is so different and has been so successful, that it was awarded copyright status by the United States Library of Congress!
The Ideal Franchisee
- Has unconditional love and respect for children
- Is trustworthy
- Recognizes the concept of teamwork
- Is interested in personal growth
- Embraces life with a sense of humor and goodwill
- Intends to be actively involved in operating the business
- Has strong business skills (i.e. leadership, organizational, personal)
- Ideally has a background in aquatics
- Is active in the community
- Is prepared to make an initial investment of $150,000-$200,000
If you meet the above qualifications, our Kids First Franchise Team is excited to talk with you. Please go to the contact page and fill out the “Preliminary Information Form” for consideration.
"We decided to open the Kids First Swim Schools Franchise based on the fact that we had such a positive experience with Kids First Swim Schools at their Finksburg location. Our eldest son learned his swim-lessons at the Finksburg location, where we found that KFSS was based solely focusing on teaching high quality swim lessons. When we moved across town to a new City, we discovered there was not a Kids First Swim Schools, and had to enroll our son in a different swim school company, and we found that it was not of the same quality or consistency of swim lessons. This proved to be the impetus for us wanting to start our own Kids First Swim School Franchise location in our own City".Sakar & Anuja Kawle
"I have two children who both learned how to swim with Kids First Swim Schools. The Kids First / Kick First Learn to Swim System taught them how to become proficient swimmers. And as a pool company owner myself, I have been building pools for Kids First Swim Schools for the past three years. As a result of understanding the Kids First Swim Schools business model, and watching the company grow, I decided to open up my own Kids First Swim School franchise in York, PA. I am excited to become the owner of a business where every day, we can teach a lifesaving skill doing it the Kids First Swim School way."Dave Hofmeister
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