Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/04/2022

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I contacted Community School on 9/13 and had a phone call with the operations manager (*******) on 9/14. There was an opening for my son, and I proceeded to move forward with our registration. I asked about their universal masking policy, and ******* indicated that it may change soon. On Friday, 9/15, I talked with ***** prospective teachers. During our conversation, they told me that there were five kids in the class, and that the class could accommodate up to 14 kids. They also told me that there were no plans to change the masking policy at that point. On Saturday, 9/16, I emailed the school because I was concerned about the ambiguity around the masking policy. I asked them to put our registration on hold and stop all preparation for Axel to start school. The Executive Director, *******, called me that day. She reiterated that they had not plans to change the policy. She said decision were made based on staff comfort. This concerned me.During the course of this phone conversation, ******* stressed that we were very lucky to get a spot at the school, and it had only opened up because a family moved away. This conflicted with information from the teachers. Later, she told me that because of masking policies the school rarely had to close last year, but I know that the school had to close frequently. After this phone call I did not feel comfortable enrolling my child at CS.That day (Sat.), **** broke his leg! I alerted CS that he was completely immobile, and again asked to hold on our registration. On Tuesday, 9/21, I asked that our registration be cancelled and that CS refund our deposit and Sept. tuition. ******* responded that the school would keep our entire deposit - more than $1700. Aside from processing our registration (presumably covered by the registration fee), Community School - West Seattle did not appear to incur any expense, forego any other child enrollment/revenue, or provide any service associated with our temporary intent to enroll Axel.

  Business Response

  Date: 10/04/2022

  This family has been in communication many times with the Community School of West Seattle. They enrolled their child in the school and signed all paperwork, including a contract with the refund policies clearly stated. After multiple calls with several staff members, including the initial parent/teacher meeting prior to their child's first day of school, CSWS has invested many hours responding to this families enrollment process. 

  Families are of course welcome to dis-enroll their child at any point. This family chose to do this. CSWS assumes that every family reads and understands the contracts they sign enrolling their child. I encourage the family to review the legally binding contract that they signed.

  As a good faith offering, we have already provided a refund of their entire prorated September tuition. We are retaining the deposit and enrollment fee as spelled out in the contract the family signed.