Our Instructor, Jackie Stern

Jackie Stern teaches at Upstate Aquatics, and what makes her classes different is not the syllabus. Everyone teaches the same syllabus. It is that she spends the rest of her working life as a firefighter and EMT, so the scenarios she runs are drawn from calls rather than from a manual.

Why an instructor’s field experience changes the class

Anyone can read a rescue sequence aloud. The difference shows in the questions a class does not know to ask. A real patient does not lie still. A compression rate slips when you are frightened. A spinal board goes on differently when the water is moving and there is a crowd on the deck. Those details are what separate a certificate from competence, and they only come from someone who has done it outside a pool.

What that looks like in a session

• Rescue scenarios are run with an uncooperative victim, because that is the normal case
• CPR practice is timed under distraction rather than in silence
• Spinal management is taught with the awkward angles a real pool deck forces on you
• Candidates are asked what they would do next, not just shown what to do

Teaching approach

Classes run long, to 8:30 PM, and the assessment is at the end for a reason: the skills are tested when candidates are tired, which is when they will actually be used. Nobody is passed on attendance.

Frequently asked questions

Who teaches the courses at Upstate Aquatics?

Jackie Stern leads instruction, working alongside a team of certified instructors. She has taught lifeguarding for over twenty years.

What are Jackie Stern’s qualifications?

Lifeguard Instructor, firefighter, EMT and swim instructor. The emergency skills taught in the courses are the same ones used in the field.

Does the same instructor teach every class?

Not every session, since courses run across multiple sites and dates. Every instructor is certified and works to the same assessment standard.

What courses does she teach?

Lifeguard certification and recertification, CPR and AED for the Professional Rescuer, First Aid, and swim instruction. See lifeguard certification.