The Neighborhood School

The first review for The Neighborhood School reminded me of the reviews on Unilocal where someone gives a restaurant a low rating because they couldn’t find parking. o_​O TNS is a small preschool and accepting a child usually means telling another family no, which is part of why deposits are not refundable.
But on to my review!
i’m a slightly nervous parent and I looked at a lot of preschools. The Neighborhood School was the first place where I felt at ease, and it was right away. I could see how amazing the space was. When my son was at TNS, they were located in the Richmond, but the staff and philosophy are still the same at their new Sunset location.
Some of the highlights:
— mixed ages — from under 2 to Kindergarten age, and the older kids really do watch out for the younger ones
— they accept kids before they are potty trained, and I believe seeing the older kids being out of diapers helped make my son’s potty training easy
— they serve the kids home made meals for breakfast and lunch. As a working mom, this was AMAZING. And the kids all eat together family style, it’s completely sweet.
— there are art projects and learning of course but the focus is on playing well with others. Don’t you wish some of the people you knew had learned that?
Too soon for my tastes my son was saying «awwww do I have to go?» when I went to pick him up. That means a lot to me.
The Neighborhood School was everything I could have hoped for… we still go back to visit!

Let me preface this review by saying that I have no personal experience with the quality of education at this school. I have a good friend whose daughter does attend the school and is happy there. However, I feel compelled to warn people about my experience. Because of my friend’s recommendation, I looked at the school and took a tour with the owner. It seemed like an ok school so I filled out an application. A couple of weeks later, the owner called me and offered me a slot in the school. At the time, I was panicking because my nanny share situation was ending and I was afraid that I would be left with no good daycare options. I am a single mom and work full time, so needed to find something quickly. The owner told me that I had one day to give her an answer and to send in the deposit, as she had a waiting list and needed to know ASAP. So I decided to go for it and sent in the $ 1300 deposit (one month’s tuition), which is A LOT for a deposit. I did note that policy stated that the deposit was non-​refundable. However, the policy also stated that this would be used for last month’s tuition, with a 30-​day notice of withdrawal from the school.
A couple of weeks later, I wasn’t looking for another school, but I happened to find another one that was cheaper, with longer hours, and better suited to my needs. So after agonizing for several days, I decided to withdraw from the Neighborhood School. This was THREE MONTHS before we were scheduled to start school. Though I knew the deposit was non-​refundable, I thought, given that there was a waiting list and that the owner would have no problem filling the slot, that she would be reasonable and understanding and at least give me PART of the deposit. She said she would consider it. Three months later, when the week that my daughter was supposed to start school arrived, I called her and emailed her several times with no response. Finally she emailed me back that she had decided to NOT return any part of my deposit.
You can pass your own judgement on whether you think I am right, but I believe that it is completely unethical to keep my money. Yes, the policy is set up to protect the school so that people don’t withdraw at the last minute and leave them hanging. But I am SURE that she was able to fill the slot and therefore is making double tuition for one month. I did consider sending my daughter for one month and then moving her to the other school, so as not to losing so much money, but this would not be in the best interest of my daughter.
Again, I have no experience with the quality of the education here, but if the owner is unwilling to be compassionate and understanding about what is best for me and my daughter, I am left with wondering about whether she prioritizes herself or the children and their families.