---
title: "Franchise Times: Pool of Franchisees Keeps Growing for Big Blue Swim School"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/e2214cb7-0f40-457e-a3e8-2c0330e017dc
source: "1851 Franchise"
original_url: https://1851franchise.com/franchise-times-pool-of-franchisees-keeps-growing-for-big-blue-swim-school-2713119
category: "Swim"
industry: "Education & Childcare"
segment: "Swim"
published: 2020-05-20T00:19:18.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T02:29:18.157Z
image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/2df27943451d8c57110a4dd15e25488c3799.jpg
---

# Franchise Times: Pool of Franchisees Keeps Growing for Big Blue Swim School

**TL;DR:** Big Blue Swim School has signed three new franchisees to open 11 swim schools in New York, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania. The brand is continuing to pay its employees during the pandemic.

*originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2020-05-20. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/franchise-times-pool-of-franchisees-keeps-growing-for-big-blue-swim-school-2713119).*

## Story

**Chicago-based** **Big Blue Swim School** **is doing everything possible to stay engaged with its employees and students amid the COVID-19 pandemic, including providing e-learning activities and sending personalized videos to students. The swim school franchise is continuing to pay its 100-plus employees and full-time swim associates across five Chicago locations that are currently closed due to COVID-19.**

**According to Franchise Times****, the recession-resistant brand has also signed three new franchisees to open 11 swim schools in New York, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania. A fourth franchisee also signed a second deal for three additional schools after signing for one location in early 2020.**

**“We started** **Big Blue Swim School** **really in the height of the last recession, and what we learned then is that parents will continue to spend money on their kids, especially when it’s for a life-saving activity like swim lessons,” Chris DeJong, founder and president of Big Blue Swim School, told Franchise Times.**

**DeJong is hopeful that the demand for swim lessons will increase as local restrictions ease. “This is going to be the summer and fall of staying local,” he said. “Parents are going to continue to invest in their kids. And so they’re going to continue to take their kids to swim lessons, almost as a little tropical vacation.”**

## Entities

- 1851 Franchise (publication)
- franchise expansion (topic)
- Education & Childcare (sector)
- new york (location)
- Chicago (location)
- Pennsylvania (location)
- Big Blue Swim School (company)
- pandemic response (topic)
- Connecticut (location)
- Chris DeJong (person)
- recession resistance (topic)

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Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/franchise-times-pool-of-franchisees-keeps-growing-for-big-blue-swim-school-2713119). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/e2214cb7-0f40-457e-a3e8-2c0330e017dc).