AntZ
03-16-2011, 06:49 PM
Mom files suit against UES preschool, claims elite school didn't prep tot for entry exam
By DAREH GREGORIAN
Last Updated: 2:11 PM, March 14, 2011
A miffed Manhattan mom has filed suit against a $19,000-a-year Upper East Side preschool, charging it wasn't sophisticated enough for her four-year-old and failed to properly prepare the tyke for the city's elite schools.
In papers filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, Nicole Imprescia says her daughter Lucia was forced to spend time with lesser-minded two- and three-year-olds while the attending York Avenue Preschool instead of focusing on test preparation.
The school told Imprescia it would "prepare her daughter for the ERB, an exam required for admission into nearly all the elite private elementary schools," but as time went on, "it became obvious that defendant's promises were a complete fraud," the suit says.
"Indeed, the school proved not to be a school at all, but just one big playroom," the suit says.
School owner Michael Branciforte declined immediate comment, except to say Imprescia's charges were a "first" in their 30 years in business.
Imprescia's suit seeks class action status on behalf of "all other consumers of preschool services provided by [York] during the years 2009 through 2011," and cites many news articles on the importance of a preschool education, including one that said, "It is no secret that for many Manhattan parents, getting a child into the Ivy League starts in nursery school."
"Studies have shown entry into a good nursery school guarantees more income than entry into an average school," the suit says. "As a result, there is tremendous pressure to choose the right preschool."
Imprescia's suit said the school claimed it was "a certified ERB testing site," with an age-appropriate curriculum and "high success rate in getting its students into high caliber Manhattan elementary schools, both public and private."
Imprescia said she soon realized she'd gotten schooled.
"Plaintiff's daughter, as well as the sons and daughters of the other parents, were dumped amongst each other, notwithstanding their age differences," the suit says.
"In one instance, plaintiff's daughter, who at the time was 4 - perhaps the most important year for a pre-schooler, just shy of taking the ERB - was dumped with two-year-olds," the suit says.
Also at age four, the school was "still teaching plaintiff's daughters about shapes and colors," the suit says. "In other words, there was no 'curriculum designed for a specific age group' also as promised,'" the suit says.
Imprescia said she "brought her concerns to the attention of defendant's administrators," and they "acknowledged the falsehood," the suit says, without elaborating.
Imprescia's lawyer, Matthew Paulose, declined immediate comment.
The suit seeks the return of Imprescia's $19,000 advance payment to the school because they engaged in "fraudulent misrepresentation."
By DAREH GREGORIAN
Last Updated: 2:11 PM, March 14, 2011
A miffed Manhattan mom has filed suit against a $19,000-a-year Upper East Side preschool, charging it wasn't sophisticated enough for her four-year-old and failed to properly prepare the tyke for the city's elite schools.
In papers filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, Nicole Imprescia says her daughter Lucia was forced to spend time with lesser-minded two- and three-year-olds while the attending York Avenue Preschool instead of focusing on test preparation.
The school told Imprescia it would "prepare her daughter for the ERB, an exam required for admission into nearly all the elite private elementary schools," but as time went on, "it became obvious that defendant's promises were a complete fraud," the suit says.
"Indeed, the school proved not to be a school at all, but just one big playroom," the suit says.
School owner Michael Branciforte declined immediate comment, except to say Imprescia's charges were a "first" in their 30 years in business.
Imprescia's suit seeks class action status on behalf of "all other consumers of preschool services provided by [York] during the years 2009 through 2011," and cites many news articles on the importance of a preschool education, including one that said, "It is no secret that for many Manhattan parents, getting a child into the Ivy League starts in nursery school."
"Studies have shown entry into a good nursery school guarantees more income than entry into an average school," the suit says. "As a result, there is tremendous pressure to choose the right preschool."
Imprescia's suit said the school claimed it was "a certified ERB testing site," with an age-appropriate curriculum and "high success rate in getting its students into high caliber Manhattan elementary schools, both public and private."
Imprescia said she soon realized she'd gotten schooled.
"Plaintiff's daughter, as well as the sons and daughters of the other parents, were dumped amongst each other, notwithstanding their age differences," the suit says.
"In one instance, plaintiff's daughter, who at the time was 4 - perhaps the most important year for a pre-schooler, just shy of taking the ERB - was dumped with two-year-olds," the suit says.
Also at age four, the school was "still teaching plaintiff's daughters about shapes and colors," the suit says. "In other words, there was no 'curriculum designed for a specific age group' also as promised,'" the suit says.
Imprescia said she "brought her concerns to the attention of defendant's administrators," and they "acknowledged the falsehood," the suit says, without elaborating.
Imprescia's lawyer, Matthew Paulose, declined immediate comment.
The suit seeks the return of Imprescia's $19,000 advance payment to the school because they engaged in "fraudulent misrepresentation."