Parent Sues Preschool

03/18/2011

Children will listen to you after they feel listened to.
Jane Nelsen

Just when you thought it was safe to hang out your shingle, comes this headline, spotted by Zvia Dover, in the New York Daily News (March 14, 2011): "Manhattan mom sues $19K/yr. preschool for damaging 4-year-old daughter's Ivy League chances." The paper reported...

"A Manhattan mom is suing a pricey preschool for dumping her 'very smart' 4-year-old with tykes half her age and boring her with lessons about shapes and colors. In court papers, Nicole Imprescia suggests York Avenue Preschool jeopardized little Lucia's chances of getting into an elite private school or, one day, the Ivy League. She's demanding a refund of the $19,000 tuition and class-action status for other toddlers who weren't properly prepped for the standardized test that can mean the difference between Dalton and (gasp!) public school...

"Impressed by the school's pledge to ready its young students for the ERB — a test used for admission at top private schools — Imprescia enrolled her daughter at York in 2009. A month into this school year, she transferred the child out of the upper East Side center because she was forced to slum with 2-year-olds. 'Indeed, the school proved not to be a school at all, but just one big playroom,' the suit says. The court papers implied the school could have damaged Lucia's chances of getting into a top college, citing an article that identifies preschools as the first step to 'the Ivy League.'

"...York's owner, Michael Branciforte, declined comment on the suit, but his lawyer said the school has a 'great reputation, which is richly deserved. They've never had a problem like this and they only hope the child has found a school that better suits her needs,' lawyer William Wachtel said. On its website, York touts its music and physical education programs, weekly library trips, and French classes for four-year-olds.

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