EuropaKids Preschool

We had been highly excited about our child joining this language immersion program, however, there have been several issues that raised concerns and ultimately led to us withdrawing our child.

Though the teachers intend well, this school is poorly run, with inconsistent practices in terms of notification to parents of incidents and accidents, as well. My child (who was 2 at the time) often was the first to inform me if she had injured herself or was injured by another child (both happened multiple times). The teachers are often running trying to maintain the class (20 kids) and though the ratios are within the state norms, the 'open concept' set up of 2 preschool classrooms (spanish/chinese and spanish/german) was often chaotic and disruptive.

With that stated, the major concerns were not with the teachers, but with the owners and their lack of consideration on proper accounting and billing.

Within the first month of being with the center, there were overcharges on my account and unclear dates as to when charges were to be removed (you are required to have electronic withdrawals when you join this business). Next were the sudden changes in pricing (we had joined the business less than two months before a 'price increase'. Though we had asked about their charging practices (directly to the owners) they did not disclose that there was likely to be a price hike within a short time of our joining. The other part of the change was the removal of benefit for registering for the program on a full time basis, though their parent handbooks both the one we signed and the one that was issued at the time we withdrew stated that they offer discounts for multiple days and multiple children in attendance. There were also additional 'fees' that are not disclosed in their handbook. Though this school is one of the highest charging in the area, they threw in a 'new' supplies fee of $100 prior to the start of the major holiday season. Through all of this, my family and I tried to be considerate that they are ultimately a business and this is how it works. That was until mid December when three days after they had made the semi-monthly withdrawal, they made a second withdrawal on our bank account. When questioned about this, the owners response was that the withdrawal was processed early to ensure the daycare was paid timely with the upcoming holidays. Be aware, their charging already has a 3 day 'window' where they state they will withdraw funds for payment prior to the 15th and 1st pay dates - per their notice to parents - "to compensate for the 1st/15th falling on weekends or holidays". The withdrawal they made was well over 10 days early and being one week prior to Christmas, was the last straw for our family. We immediately notified the school of our intent to withdrawal and provided the requisite 2 weeks notice (more than) - though we had no intention of continuing to take our child there for that time period. However, since multiple payments had gone through, we were paid for 1.5 months from the date of notification. Though they wired (not refunded - so that the accounts could be made whole) the last withdrawal that was incorrectly taken, they have yet to respond to request for the refund on the final two weeks they owe us still.

There are many other options for immersion in the Seattle area and I would strongly advise against associating with this group as they have little consideration for your child or your finances.