Sean Alexis and Aldona Clottey to Open 3 Big Blue Swim Schools in San Francisco Bay Area

Big Blue Swim School, one of the nation’s fastest-growing swim school franchises, is coming to the San Francisco Bay area through an agreement for three pools with local East Bay residents Sean Alexis and Aldona Clottey. The couple plans to open their first location in Fremont in 2023, with the other two locations opening in El Cerrito and Oakland soon after. Alexis and Clottey signed on as franchise partners after learning about the high-quality investment opportunity and best-in-class consumer offerings provided by Big Blue Swim School.

“We are most excited about becoming more ingrained in our local community,” Clottey said. “We really love the East Bay. This is home, and being able to build a business here and make an impact in kids’ lives by teaching them how to swim is not an opportunity we take lightly.”

Clottey noted she’s always been passionate about swimming. She started swimming when she was 8 years old and later swam at Harvard as a walk-on. Her interest in Big Blue Swim School was sparked when Alexis began researching business ideas in the health and wellness space.

Franchise partnership

Alexis and Clottey saw firsthand the demand for quality swim lessons in their community. After researching Big Blue’s capabilities and seeing the success of franchise partners with the brand in other markets, they knew they had a potentially lucrative opportunity to bring the brand to the East Bay.

“Big Blue’s mission is to show kids they can do anything by unlocking their full potential in the water,” said Chris DeJong, Big Blue’s founder and president. “This mission drives our every operation, and we’re confident that Sean and Aldona will deliver that mission with passion and enthusiasm, making a significant difference in the lives of thousands of East Bay area children.”

Big Blue provides swim lessons and water safety instruction to children 3 months to 12 years old. The brand’s friendly swim associates, unique skills-based teaching methodology, and proprietary enterprise software, LessonBuddy™, are just a few of the ways Big Blue sets itself apart from the competition.

Swim lessons and technology

“All of our pools have room for progress move-ups immediately when kids are ready, and families can schedule multiple kids of various levels and ages to swim all at the same time,” DeJong said. “Our proprietary software powers our customer mobile app, which eliminates the challenges families can have when scheduling lessons and tracking progress. And rescheduling lessons, when necessary, is always easy.”

LessonBuddy also allows franchise partners to manage their business remotely. And other top-tier franchisor support services include data-driven real estate site selection, construction, technology, and marketing. “When our franchise partners open on day one, they operate like it is year five, setting them up to scale quickly,” DeJong said.

With an aggressive growth plan in place, Big Blue has already signed 211 units in 24 states across the country. With a goal of reaching 240 pools sold by the end of 2022, the brand is uniquely positioned to be the leader in the $3 billion learn-to-swim industry.

Big Blue Swim School franchise opportunities are still available in key markets across the country. To learn more, visit

Big Blue Swim School was founded in 2009 by competitive swimmer Chris DeJong. The first location opened in Wilmette, Illinois, followed by four additional Chicagoland schools. In 2017, Level 5 Capital Partners acquired a stake in the brand, and pools are now open in Chicago, Atlanta, Denver and Northern Virginia.

Big Blue is currently growing through franchising with plans to have a minimum of 240 pools sold by the end of 2022. Big Blue Swim School's real estate expertise, strong brand, proprietary technology, and leadership support, coupled with its best-in-class consumer offerings, position its franchise partners for long-term success.