When Ye Li paid an increased tuition deposit for her daughters' education at Christ Church Cathedral School, she had no inkling of the curveball heading her way. Weeks later, the school dropped a bombshell: a switch to composite classes that Li says undermines her ADHD daughter's learning needs and leaves her fighting for a refund of nearly $2,000.
In a phone call with Black Press Media on Aug. 26, Li said parents were asked by Christ Church Cathedral School to pay a non-refundable deposit of of $500 for the first child and $275 for another child in the same family.
"In February, we were asked to pay the required 10 per cent of the annual tuition fee for the upcoming school year. I paid a significantly increased deposit of $1,976, up from $775, trusting that the school's structure would remain consistent, as no changes had been communicated at that time", Li said.
Composite, or split-year classes, are those in which students from two or more grade levels are put in the same classroom.
"It's the very environment that my older daughter struggles with. These changes were made without any prior consultation with parents, leaving us in a difficult position," she added.
Her daughters previously attended a Montessori school with composite classes, but due to her older daughter's ADHD, she moved them to C.C.C.S. where they greatly benefited from the school's single-class structured learning environment in the last four years. On Apr. 29, parents received a letter from the school informing them about a change from structured to composite classes. The school cited "enrolment fluctuations" as one of the reasons behind the shift in classes.
In the same letter, C.C.C.S. invited parents to a couple of information meetings held on May 2 - 3 at the school auditorium, but Li said the messages were inconsistent.
After careful consideration, she decided to withdraw her daughters' enrolment and sent an official notice to the school head on Jun. 10 along with a request for a full refund of the deposit she paid in February. Her appeal was unsuccessful. That's when she brought the matter up to the school board in a letter sent on Aug. 14, but have yet to receive any response.
In an email to Black Press Media, school head Crystal Harvey said their policy for new and returning families is that their tuition deposit is non-refundable after the Jun. 1 deadline. The re-enrolment form sent to parents in February indicated a non-refundable policy on payment of fees where the remaining deposit balance must be paid by Jun. 1, 2024 that will be credited toward the Jun. 2025 tuition fees.
Li said had the school communicated the upcoming changes before requesting the deposit, she would not have proceeded with the payment, therefore, the school’s policy of non-refundable deposits should not apply in this special case.
Her daughters, grades four and six, are now enrolled in another school.
Black Press Media has yet to hear from both the school head and board why the changes were made without informing the parents ahead of the request for a school deposit to be made.
