No, you are not seeing double! :) Afton ISR consists of two instructors, Ms. Kristin Ailer and Ms. Kaitlyn Hutchinson, who happen to be identical twin sisters. Kristin started Afton ISR in 2021 and Kaitlyn will be joining her starting in the 2022 season. They both completed training in Fort Myers, Florida, with Senior master instructor Kathy Cole. It is their goal to make ISR lessons more attainable to families in Augusta County and surrounding areas and to spread awareness of the importance of these survival swim lessons. Did you know that drowning is the leading cause of death in children ages 0-4? That’s right, more young children die from drowning each year than in car accidents, and most of these drownings occur when children aren’t even swimming! Please follow Afton ISR on both Facebook and Instagram for more insight into the magical process of Infant Swimming Resource, which is the product of over 50 years of ongoing development in the area of aquatic survival for infants and children.

No, you are not seeing double! :) Afton ISR consists of two instructors, Ms. Kristin Ailer and Ms. Kaitlyn Hutchinson, who happen to be identical twin sisters. Kristin started Afton ISR in 2021 and Kaitlyn will be joining her starting in the 2022 season. They both completed training in Fort Myers, Florida, with Senior master instructor Kathy Cole. It is their goal to make ISR lessons more attainable to families in Augusta County and surrounding areas and to spread awareness of the importance of these survival swim lessons. Did you know that drowning is the leading cause of death in children ages 0-4? That’s right, more young children die from drowning each year than in car accidents, and most of these drownings occur when children aren’t even swimming! Please follow Afton ISR on both Facebook and Instagram for more insight into the magical process of Infant Swimming Resource, which is the product of over 50 years of ongoing development in the area of aquatic survival for infants and children.

 

Meet Ms. Kristin

I live in Waynesboro, Virginia with my husband, Buck, 5 year old daughter Lennox, 3 year old son Abel, and 1 year old son Jack. I first became familiar with ISR before Lennox was even born. I remember doing research and finding there were no certified instructors within a 3 hour radius of our home. Fast forward to the summer of 2018, the drowning of Bode Miller’s daughter, Emeline, took the internet by storm. How openly and honestly her parents shared their story touched me to my core. The pleas from the mourning parents to take drowning seriously is something that has stuck with me, and made me think how easily this could happen to us. It was only a couple months later that the amazing Ashley Beahm with Valley ISR came into our lives! When she announced that she would be bringing ISR to Harrisonburg, I knew I needed to get my kids in lessons with her right away! I didn’t care how far I had to drive! The 45 minute drive to Harrisonburg everyday was an easy trade off for my kids safety. I remember following her ISR journey in awe, so very grateful that a valley mother was so passionate about water safety, that she took it upon herself to get certified. After my children’s lessons were completed, I decided I needed to follow in Ashley’s footsteps and make ISR more accessible for families in Waynesboro, Charlottesville and Augusta county areas! I spent 6 weeks in Ft. Myers Florida with Senior Master Instructor, Kathy Cole. I can honestly say I learned from the BEST! I cannot wait to pass the skills Kathy taught me onto the kiddos of our community.

My background includes a Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education.  I have 5 years teaching experience in various school systems, teaching Kindergarten and 3rd grade. I made the decision a few years ago to stay home and raise my family, which has ultimately led me to my true passion of teaching ISR. I also maintain certification in CPR, First Aid and AED.  I am passionate about bringing ISR Self-Rescue® to our community, and cannot wait to watch the children of our community grow their confidence in the water through ISR®!  

Infant Swimming Resource is an extremely effective drowning prevention program and I am proud to be part of a team of individuals whose mission it is to keep babies and children safe in and around the water by teaching them to be aquatic problem-solvers.  Our children are so precious to us and it is our job as parents to be diligent in keeping them safe.  I look forward to working with each of your little ones and teaching them a love for the water as well as very necessary swimming and self-rescue® skills!

 

MEET MS. KAITLYN

I live in Fishersville, VA with my husband, Jacob, and our three daughters, five year old Sutton, four year old Blayke, and two year old Logan. I have a Masters Degree in Elementary Education from James Madison University. I taught Elementary School for four years before deciding to stay home and care for our rapidly growing family. I learned about ISR 6 years ago when I came across the Live Like Jake Facebook page. At that point in time, ISR lessons were not available anywhere close to us, but with a pool in our back yard, drowning was a constant worry. In June of 2018, I remember reading about three year old Levi Hughes drowning in the pool while on vacation at the beach with his family. They were not swimming. His mom was cleaning up from dinner and had split a brownie with him. He ran off to play and she was distracted with dishes. A few minutes later she spotted him at the bottom of the deep end in the outdoor swimming pool, the brownie still in her mouth! Drowning is fast, often silent, and it happens to the best of parents. I decided to become an ISR instructor because just as we carefully pick out the safest car seats and slice our children’s food into bite sized pieces, families need to be educated on childhood drowning and quality survival swim lessons need to be accessible.