Today we’d like to introduce you to Christie Cloutman.
Hi Christie, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work life, how can you bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I have been teaching ISR Survival Swim lessons since 2015 in the St. Louis area. Before becoming a Certified ISR Instructor, I was a full-time mom and also working in graphic design/marketing. I learned these life-saving lessons from a friend after my oldest daughter fell in our hot tub and did nothing to save herself. At that moment, I learned how quickly and quietly a drowning could occur. And while my daughter was unharmed, I knew I needed to do more for her regarding water safety. She did nothing, I had to do something! We enrolled her in ISR lessons shortly after her incident in Austin, TX (where we lived at the time.) I watched in amazement as my almost 2-year-old learned to swim independently in just a few weeks! When we moved to St. Louis in 2007, our two younger children took lessons. I was driving 45 minutes each way to the only instructor in the area at the time, and while it was worth it, it was a commitment! Our instructor encouraged me to train to become certified to teach ISR, and I thought, “why not?!” That was over 8 years ago, and the rest is history. I’ve been fortunate to find a career I believe in and am passionate about.
What started as a life-saving mission to skill my children has become a passion for teaching water safety to thousands of children in St. Louis and beyond. We have grown ISR St. Louis to reach over 200 families yearly, with more than ten thousand lessons given in 2022 alone. I’m excited about what is to come in 2023 and am looking forward to new partnerships and opportunities to provide lessons for even more area families.
You wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been smooth?
While I am passionate about what I do, and it never feels like work, it takes a lot of my time. I am in the water teaching lessons from about 7 am – 7 pm in the busiest seasons and can be found in the pool from January – mid-November! (My swim families joke that I am a true mermaid). In addition to teaching here in St. Louis, I can teach lessons seasonally in Orange County, CA, and Chicago, IL. Finding balance and time for my family is important and something I am constantly trying to improve.
One of the things I find difficult is when the initial session of lessons is over, and I have to say “see you later” to my little swimmers. ISR is designed to work in small, consistent lessons built over several weeks (10 minutes, 5 days a week for about 5-7 weeks). As you can imagine, we build quite a relationship in that time, and it is always bittersweet to see them move on to a different phase of their water safety journey. I am extremely proud of all my students and am thankful for my time with each of them.
Let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
ISR St. Louis teaches Infant Swimming Resource (ISR) lessons to infants and young children as young as 6 months old. These survival swim lessons equip young children to become “aquatic problem solvers” by giving them the tools to navigate the water and find air safely and to survive an unexpected aquatic situation. Essentially, giving them the skills necessary to save their own lives!
This survival swim method is the safest and most age-appropriate way for a young child to move through the water and can be used for safety and fun in the pool! Babies as young as six months old are taught to hold their breath, rotate to a float from various presentations, and maintain that floating position until help arrives. Toddlers and young children are taught to swim face-in, roll to float, rest for air, and flip back to continue swimming. This “swim-float-swim” can be sequenced to navigate to the nearest edge/steps and exit to safety.
Because most aquatic accidents happen during non-swim times, all ISR students practice their mastered skills fully clothed. This gives students the experience of confidently knowing what to do should they unexpectedly find themselves in the water.
The beauty of the ISR method, developed over 50 years ago by Dr. Harvey Barnett, is that children are taught in the way they learn best – by engaging in the environment and receiving feedback. This sensory-motor learning method allows me as the instructor to customize each lesson to the individual child – creating a learning environment that is tailored to their needed scope and pace. Lessons are short (up to 10 minutes at a time) and are attended 5 days a week for an average of 5-7 weeks. This schedule allows us to build skills in small steps and maximize retention for each student. It is truly amazing what a child can accomplish in just a few short weeks of lessons!
What are your plans for the future?
The future of ISR St. Louis is exciting – something I’m constantly thinking about, envisioning, and re-evaluating. We’ve grown so much in the last 4 years – and I’m looking forward to new opportunities that will make room for even more families to access lessons for their children.
Over the last year, I’ve become affiliated with CAST Water Safety Foundation to provide scholarships and water safety education to our local St. Louis community and beyond. This non-profit is a wealth of knowledge for anyone who wants to prioritize the safety of their family around water. A visit to their website provides access to an invaluable list of information and resources – all geared toward equipping your family with the knowledge to enjoy water activities more safely. They work tirelessly to empower families to make educated decisions about the water safety needs of their family. I’m excited to be a provider of survival swim scholarships for their foundation here in the St. Louis area! More information about CAST can be found on their website at www.castwatersafety.org and Instagram at @castinghope_.
In addition to partnering with CAST, I’m learning to delegate and bring alongside me, people who can help ISR St. Louis grow. When I started teaching ISR lessons, there was only one other instructor in the greater St. Louis area and myself. Since then, we’ve grown in scope and reach to provide lessons all over the region! As the awareness of what we are doing has grown, so has the need to bring on like-minded individuals who can help further the mission and vision of ISR St. Louis. This has become the year we grow our team and expand our reach to greater areas of St. Louis. This past year, we were able to extend lessons to Colombia, MO. I’m excited to continue to reach communities without access to survival swim lessons for years to come!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.isrstl.com
- Instagram: @infantswimmom
- Facebook: @infantswimmom
- Education/Scholarships: www.castwatersafety.org
Image Credits:
@danielleevonnephotography
