UNIQUE SPACES
LOCATION: ASHBURN TECHNOLOGY PARK 21730 RED RUM DRIVE, SUITE 107 ASHBURN, VA 20147 703.726.2500 WWW.POTOMACSWIMSCHOOL.COM
Potomac Swim School
Donna Boone was just 15 years old when she started teaching swim lessons. Years later, she is still in the water and has been able to transform a passion into a career and a successful business. Boone is founder and CEO of the Potomac Swim School.
“The St. John property was the first I looked at and the last I looked at ... It has a lot of windows, and light and sun — all of it — makes people very happy.” Boone was able to work with St. John on the build-out. “We were fortunate that St. John was open to having a pool in their building, which at the time as a concept was unheard of,” Boone said. In 2004, when the building was complete and the school opened, Boone had 520 students. In just five months, 800 were enrolled, and after just one and a half years, the student body number was at 1,000. The school is exceeding expectations, Boone says, and looks bright for more years of growth.
The Potomac Swim School in Ashburn, Virginia, serves the Washington, D.C., Metro area and has been a tenant of St. John Properties for 12 years. The school offers a unique experience for children and families through a safe, warm and inviting environment and works closely with the community and the parents of the students it teaches. “We enjoy working with our parents because our parents are very, very child centered, and they want what is best for their children, and that’s why they choose Potomac Swim School,” Boone said. “We also offer birthday parties!” Boone said. “When people have birthday parties at Potomac Swim School, they have one hour in the pool and one hour in the party room, and they can decorate it any way they choose.” Two-hour party reservations can be made on-site or by phone. The Potomac Swim School takes great pride in its unique curricu- lum, which was developed specifically for the Potomac program, including elements of child psychology and child development. “You don’t work with a six-year-old the same way that you work with a three-year-old,” Boone said. “We work with children and adapt to children based on their ages and where they are in their development.” This aspect of including child psychology in the cur- riculum is especially important when the coaches and teachers are helping young students conquer their fears and reach new abili- ties. “We always take the degree of fear into account. In the psych aspect, you don’t have fear in many sports, but you do in swim- ming because of water,” Boone explained. “You can challenge a child, but you have to be very patient with them if they’re fearful.” The location of Potomac Swim School has many nearby fami- lies with children in a very family-centered community, Boone explained. “That’s one of the reasons I ended up choosing Ash- burn,” she said.
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