Family Life Aquatics

Darla Bartell owned Family Life Aquatics for 10 years in Santa Monica. They were named BEST OF LA by Los Angeles Magazine. Darla Bartell has a BA in Child Development. After 10 successful years in business in one of the most competitive markets, Family Life Aquatics had to close their doors. Thousands of students learned to swim and over 500 employees were provided seasonal jobs for over the 10 years. more

For 10 years, Family Life Aquatics operated in Family Life Aquatics. They even were named in the prestigious LA Magazine, Best Swim School in LA. Over 10 years they taught 15,000 children and adults how to swim. Darla Bishop had a vision of a swim school that taught children how to swim with a gentle method- hence her creation of The Gentle Touch Method. Since the very sad and unexpected closing of Family Life Aquatics in 2007, Darla Bishop still experiences the joy of teaching swimming to her 1 and 2 year olds. Thank you for your years of service teaching swim lessons. I thought I would like to just ad a line:) more

I was a Family Life Aquatics swim instructor last summer. After having my schedule constantly changed at the last minute and driving for hours teach a 1/2 hour lesson, I informed Darla that I would no longer be working at Family Life Aquatics. In addition to having problems, I was also leaving the LA area to go back to my home in another city. Darla refused to send my paycheck and stopped returning my phone calls or emails. So, I put in hours of work and miles on my car, and I was never paid anything. I taught lessons for three weeks and Darla kept all of the money that was supposed to go to me. I am still extremely upset and I think this is a terribly unfair and dishonest business practice. Cons: dishonest more

We were part of a Mom's group that was taught by Family Life. We received our refunds and kept going on with swim lessons with our same teacher. We are hoping to get Darla to teach our kids this summer. Darla, please call Becca Rosenstein, I have the same number and you can look me up on Face Book. If you have time, we hope to have you this summer. We were disappointed we didn't get you last summer because the summer before was so awesome. Give me a call. We had ANOTHER baby and want you to do a Mommy and Me class. Please give me a call. more

We also received our refunds. We were emailed about three weeks after they closed to dispute charges with the credit cards. Our moms group was very sad that the school closed because for most of us this was the 2nd or 3rd child they taught. My husband also owns a small business, and it is a risk. Darla survived in the toughest market for about 10 years, with a steller reputation. Darla, call the Krafts, my husband will hire you. We still have the same number. Seriously, call us! more

Our mom's group all called our credit cards to reverse the charges and they did not dispute it. They told us to do it in the email they sent to all of us. Our swim instructor kept teaching for us and said she was paid, no problem. I decided to write because we were trying to see if Darla would teach our kids this summer. When we saw this blog we wanted to offer some words of encourgment and support to a wonderful swim teacher who taught 1,000's of children to swim. Call me, Jakes Mom, Brenda! more

when family life aquatics was in business, they did have some great lifeguards. i know that the young lady who taught my child to swim was always on time, always friendly, and always trying to defend darla and why my phone calls werent returned, was infrequently notified if we had cancelled lessons that day and would still show up, but always very patient, and had a smile on her face no matter what. so she had great EMPLOYEES but might not have been the greatest employer. my swim instructor did still show up after the company closed to inform me that she had been let go without a reason and was no longer being paid for lessons, but it was at least two weeks after she told us this before darla informed me, via a very vague email, that the company had closed. while she had been sucessful for 10 years, there is no reason that she should have waited so long to inform me or any of my friends that the company had shut down and no one was going to show up for their lessons. i had friends waiting at the pool for instructors. it was very poor etiquete for someone who flouts that their business was so wonderful. additionally the week before she closed down she had me sign up for more lessons. i can not believe that she was not aware that there was about to be a bump in the road, and am flabbergasted that it took her so long to bring to my attention that the company had closed. friends of mine that swam at the hotels, asked the front desk who had no idea that the company was no longer allowed to swim there. it all sounds a little fishy, but the company is now non existant so at least no one has to worry about their business ethics in the future. i see however that at least 3 of her employees did not recieve their tax forms, so i take whatever she says with a grain of salt more

I am Darla Bishop. After reading these reviews, I must make sure the information out there is correct. I operated Family Life Aquatics for 10 years and even voted Best Of LA by Los Angeles Magazine. That did not happen by me being dishonest and doing other horrible things stated on this site. Over 15,000 children learned to swim through my program. Unfortunately, after 10 wonderful years, we could not keep our business open. We had lost access to our 2 most popular pools which cut our business in half. Therefore, we decided to open in other cities and tried to expand. To my absolute horror, we realized we could not keep the business open. Regretful, all swim instructors had to be let go in July 2007 and all received their final paychecks. We sent out emails to all clients informing them arrangements would be made to somehow refund or provide swim lessons at a later date. As to date, a high majority of our clients received chargebacks from there credit cards, the only form of payment we take. Anyone can still receive a charge back from their credit cards, as we informed clients to do. We took a risk starting our own business and was successful for a very long time in a very tough market. I regret more than anyone how the summer of 2007 had to end. I want to thank everyones emails of support and understanding. Anyone who has had a business close understands the trauma that is experienced because of it. The 10 years teaching swim lessons was so wonderful and I look forward to setteling all the matters that still need to be resolved and are working on those responsibly. Sincerely, Darla Bishop more

I was a swim instructor signed on with Darla Bishop at Family Life Aquatics, the Fresno/Clovis division. Not only were all instructors being paid only 5 dollars an hour but we were refused time off, she had us scheduled all over town with no compensation for travel, she was unreliable, and now she has closed up shop and I am unable to get my tax return form. I would never encourage anyone to use Darla Bishop when considering Family Life Aquatics. That was truly one of the worst summers I have experienced and now that I see she was laundering money, it all makes sense. Please use caution. more

I had 3 children take swim lessons at Family Life Aquatics at the Brentwood pool. We know Darla personally and know what dedication she put into providing swim lessons for 10 years! When her business UNFORTUNATELY closed, she instructed EVERYONE to dispute the remaining balances with their credit card companies- she only took credit cards, call your credit card company folks! WE LOVE YOU DARLA and KNOW that you will go on to do wonderful things! We hope you return to swim lessons because you always had the best teachers. Ours from last summer is now our babysitter and she informed us that you were honorable with the employees. Thank you for all prizes at the end of lessons, extra time, thoughtful cards, even balloons on our mailbox. Best of Luck! more

We took swim lessons with Family Life Aquatics. Our teacher was Nate. We love that he made my 4 year old so comfortable. He always brought prizes and pool toys to each lesson. The lessons were at our home. Josiah took 3 times a week for 3 weeks and could swim after that. They emphaized learning how to SAVE YOURSELF, which was their motto through out all the classes. I highly recommend taking with Family Life Aquatics, teacher Nick. We will return next year for swim lessons. My cousin and her kids also took, there teacher was Colleen. They had an equally successful experience. more

We went to 2 other swim schools before we found Family Life Aquatics. The owner, Darla Bishop, taught my daughter how to swim in just 2 lessons!!!! She took an interest in us after we told her our horrible experiences with swim lessons. She is the QUEEN of teaching children how to swim. I suggest you request Darla because she loves children and she loves to teach them how to swim. Pros: Take with Darla- she is the best! Cons: Darla's schedule is really booked. more

My son learned to swim and he is only 2 years old. We are very loyal to Family Life Aquatics. We trust them with our children and the service that they provide is always more than professional. They come to our home which not many people do in this area. I am having my second child and WILL be signing her/him up for the infant swim class. I would highly recommend taking lessons from these people, they are wonderful! more

I love Family Life Aquatics. They taught my whole family. They are very accepting and popular of the INDIAN community. They taught my husband, myself, and my three children. We have recommended many people in our community. If you are INDIAN, this is the school to come to. more

Family Life Aquatics has taught all 3 of my children how to swim. The instructors bring pool toys and prizes to every lesson and are trained with the Gentle Touch Method, which was perfect for my son. We love the attention our child receives and the life saving skills that are the core of all the teaching. I recommend ALL my friends to come here to learn to swim. more

My daughter was an instructor for Family Life Aquatics from May through July. She has only received partial payment for the lessons that she taught and Darla doesn't return emails or voicemails. It looks like they're placing ads on Craigslist for for instructors and customers in the Fresno area. Beware. more

DARLA HAS FABRICATED POSITIVE REVIEWS ON THIS SITE. THEY HAVE NOT BEEN WRITTEN BY SATISFIED PARENTS!!! Do not believe any positive reviews regarding Darla Bishop aka Darla Bartell, the owner of Family Life Aquatics who ripped off hundreds of dollars from parents and who did not pay her swim instructors. Any positive reviews on this site with 5 stars have been written by Darla herself under alias names. Although Darla said that credit card companies refunded monies, they did not. Darla strung the parents along until it was too late to have charges reversed on credit cards. All her phone nos. are disconnected and she has ignored emails. She glady accepted hundreds of dollars from parents who prepaid for swim lessons and then she kipped town without making any attempt at refunds. She should be ashamed of herself and also should not write raving reviews about herself using fake user names! Cons: Owner kept parents money and moved to another city. more