Notifying private school of withdrawal 4 days after deadline

[Anonymous]

Schools absolutely have gone after contract breakers who try not pay the tuition. An acquaintance at a previous school tried to do get out of a contract and failed. That doesn’t mean your school necessarily will, but it certainly happens.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does your child’s school really want to have a child who doesn’t want to be there for a full year?

What’s your point?

Kid holds school hostage by “not liking them,” and gets $60k back?

Op is not from the DMV. So maybe this sort of thing flies where they live.

I’m just surprised admin wouldn’t be happy to wash their hands of a difficult child

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does your child’s school really want to have a child who doesn’t want to be there for a full year?

What’s your point?

Kid holds school hostage by “not liking them,” and gets $60k back?

Op is not from the DMV. So maybe this sort of thing flies where they live.

I’m just surprised admin wouldn’t be happy to wash their hands of a difficult child

I don’t think yiy get it, kid can leave but parents are still on hook for tuition. If they stay, kid is still subject to all normal disciplinary measures for bad behavior, including suspension or expulsion. They have to pay tuition regardless.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does your child’s school really want to have a child who doesn’t want to be there for a full year?

What’s your point?

Kid holds school hostage by “not liking them,” and gets $60k back?

Op is not from the DMV. So maybe this sort of thing flies where they live.

I’m just surprised admin wouldn’t be happy to wash their hands of a difficult child

They can get rid of them and still get their $$ too. The family is at fault for not abiding by contract.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Other than attending private school for 2 weeks and then withdrawing are there any other ways a child can withdraw and still be covered by insurance (ex: medical, etc)?

No.

Tuition insurance is a joke. It doesn’t make sense for anyone to do

Yes it does - we know several families that used it for a move

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I guess you tell your daughter it's not happening this year. Do it next year and plan accordingly so deadlines aren't missed.

This. Sorry op, that’s just bad planning and bad communication. Did you renew contact without really talking to your dd?

Your only option at this stage is to appeal to the school’s good will. They could probably accommodate, but they are probably annoyed that you didn’t notify them with all the time you had between renewing contract; which happens before new students are even notified, so sometime early February to 4 days after end of May deadline. It would have been one thing if it was a force majeure but your child suddenly changing her mind is not.

This is VERY unlikely. School's need this $ and they need security in their admissions and budgeting process. If they start caving, they lose this. This is why contracts are sent in Feb and why there are deadlines in June. Schools coordinate on these deadlines to accommodate for admissions WL decisions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think your best bet is to contact the school, admit that this was 100% your screw up, but ask if they can consider even a partial refund if they are able to fill the spot from the wait list. The key here is to be clear that they don't owe you anything and you know you're asking for their kindness (while also pointing out that if they're able to fill the spot, they're not suffering any hardship from your withdrawal.)

They already contacted the school. School said no.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This happens all the time and there’s no way to school and spend the resources going after you

Not true - schools DO go after families for this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why would you throw money at a lawyer when you have a contract? That would just be losing more money.
A classmate of my dd changed to public when her family ended up moving to a good district over the summer. She attended the first week of public, said she was sick for 2 weeks and attended the private and then went back to public.

+1 on not bothering to get a lawyer. There is no point. You signed a valid contract.

Public schools are a lot more fussy about absences than private. Two weeks is a long time to be absent and I can't see how you could be out that long without a doctor's note. I think you would just need to wait until the two weeks was up to enroll.

That said, if it were me I would just tell my kid that you missed the deadline, she was going to private next year, and be done with it. If your child was miserable I would have a different answer, but there's no way I could spend that amount of money for nothing. She can go to public next year.

This is a ridiculous answer. Please go google "sunk costs," then come back and revise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Consult a lawyer ASAP. Contracts are meant to be challenged and broken. And maybe the school will settle in the very least. This is your child you're talking about and what is best.

No, this is money she is talking about. OP's kid is still able to attend public school. That's independent of whether OP has to pay private tuition or not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does your child’s school really want to have a child who doesn’t want to be there for a full year?

What’s your point?

Kid holds school hostage by “not liking them,” and gets $60k back?

Op is not from the DMV. So maybe this sort of thing flies where they live.

I’m just surprised admin wouldn’t be happy to wash their hands of a difficult child

I don’t think yiy get it, kid can leave but parents are still on hook for tuition. If they stay, kid is still subject to all normal disciplinary measures for bad behavior, including suspension or expulsion. They have to pay tuition regardless.

In between being a happy student and expulsion is a big area where an unhappy student behaves well enough not to be disciplined but brings down class morale, creates headaches, contributes to an unwelcome vibe. If I were an admin I’d want the child who didn’t want to be there to just leave.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does your child’s school really want to have a child who doesn’t want to be there for a full year?

What’s your point?

Kid holds school hostage by “not liking them,” and gets $60k back?

Op is not from the DMV. So maybe this sort of thing flies where they live.

I’m just surprised admin wouldn’t be happy to wash their hands of a difficult child

I don’t think yiy get it, kid can leave but parents are still on hook for tuition. If they stay, kid is still subject to all normal disciplinary measures for bad behavior, including suspension or expulsion. They have to pay tuition regardless.

In between being a happy student and expulsion is a big area where an unhappy student behaves well enough not to be disciplined but brings down class morale, creates headaches, contributes to an unwelcome vibe. If I were an admin I’d want the child who didn’t want to be there to just leave.

Not sure what your point is, op said her kid was happy at the private, but she isn’t getting out of her tuition obligation by turning her kid into a behavioral problem. No rational person would teach their kid bad behavior in this situation. No one wants a kid with no friends that their teachers hate. You need to get in touch with the real world.

[Anonymous]

You signed and broke a contract. What do you expect, really? You have zero ground to stand on. I get wishing it were different, but letting your kid call the shots on this -- assuming there is no bullying or abuse at the private school, in which case that's a whole different issue to be discussed -- seems wrong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does your child’s school really want to have a child who doesn’t want to be there for a full year?

What’s your point?

Kid holds school hostage by “not liking them,” and gets $60k back?

Op is not from the DMV. So maybe this sort of thing flies where they live.

I’m just surprised admin wouldn’t be happy to wash their hands of a difficult child

No, if they didn’t want her back, they wouldn’t have extended an offer and would have counseled her out. She has taken a spot from someone else who is likely locked in elsewhere now. I absolutely would hope the school would go after then for tuition they signed a contract to pay.

[Anonymous]

Tell your kid that since you’re on the hook for a year’s tuition, you will deduct it from her college savings and she can plan accordingly for a less expensive university or take out a loan. If your kid gets to make the decision, then she gets to absorb the consequences.