The couple spent more than $1.1 million to send their three daughters to the exclusive private school on the Upper East Side, which counts Jennifer Aniston among its alumni, only to find that administrators had the courage to hire public school teachers. Shocked at what he had done, he is asking for his money back.
Rudolf Steiner School made “multiple false promises,” according to a lawsuit filed by parents Dean and Yin Eliasson, who enrolled their children at the East 79th Street school more than a decade ago. They then reportedly withdrew their children because the specialized education they paid was too expensive. It is said that it was not delivered.
The $56,000-a-year school “intentionally hired public school teachers who had no Waldorf certification or background in Waldorf education, and who had never served as teaching assistants for the promised minimum two years,” the couple said in Manhattan. argued in a Supreme Court case.
Waldorf education emphasizes the arts, limits the use of technology in early grades, and ensures that students are taught by the same teacher from elementary school through eighth grade.
About 1,000 schools in 60 countries offer Waldorf education, according to Sunbridge Institute in Chestnut Ridge, New York, which helps certify Waldorf teachers. educational philosophy Released about a century ago by an austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner.
The problem of non-Waldorf-certified teachers in Manhattan schools was exacerbated in day care centers and kindergartens, where schools were “knowingly employing the guardians of their own students.” . . Eliasson and others claimed to be the lead teachers. Work in the fashion industry.
“This problem was so pervasive that on at least one occasion the school administrator had to intervene in a matter involving their child's class,” the Eliasons claimed.
The couple, who have one of their daughters in the same class, watched one unqualified teacher leave the Waldorf school, but two were replaced before the board president finally replaced him with a Waldorf-certified educator. He said he saw the second teacher take up his post.
“However, by that time, the students had fallen far behind,” the couple's court documents say.
The couple quickly asserted that they were “not disputing the general teaching ability of these teachers.”
“However, the Eliasons agreed to pay the school more than $1 million based on specific representations regarding the qualifications and qualifications of the female teachers,” they said in court documents.
They removed their children from Steiner before the 2023-2024 school year and demanded a refund, but not only did the school refuse, but administrators also demanded a $64,000 payment, the couple said. spoke.
“Out of respect for the legal process and the privacy of our students, families, faculty and staff, we are unable to comment on the specifics of this incident at this time,” the school said in a statement. “We can share that we strongly disagree with the allegations in the complaint and are committed to vigorously defending against these claims.”
