I was sued by Ela Erickson owner of Early Learning Academy Pre School in downtown Jersey City. On April 2013 my wife and I signed a contract to enroll our child for the 2013/2014 school year that would start in September. When my wife took my daughter to preview a 15 minute music class in April 2013 they were both treated like not being wanted there, they were ignored by the head teacher and also felt they were unwelcomed being there. After being treated like they were unwanted, ignored and unwelcomed a very negative review was found online later that evening. After discovering this very negative review and being treated the way we were by the head teacher we decided to pull our daughter out. I gave them 3 1/2 months notice before the school year started. I tried getting my two months deposit back but was not successful. When I called Elizabeth Erickson the owner of Early Learning Academy in Jersey City about getting my deposit back I was not able to reach her for two days. She did finally send me an email two days later saying that I was harassing the school. Instead of addressing my concerns about getting my refund in that email she was confrontational with me. She stated that I had called ten times one morning and was harassing the school. I replied that it was not true but she continued to tell me via email that my behavior was abusive. She was very rude and unprofessional. I couldn't believe how a lady who owns a school could be so aggressive towards me. After all I was very polite with her. On June 2014 I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau hoping they would help me get some of my money back. A month later Ela Erikson sued me. My wife and I were sued for the remaining balance of the year which is the other 10 months. She already had the first two because she never returned any of my deposit. This sum totaled $12,000. The lawsuit stated that they provided all services and satisfied all obligations and as a result of the breach of contract incurred damages. I don't understand how they could have provided all services since my child never attended the school. I don't understand what kind of damages Early learning Academy suffered since she took $3,100 from me and didn't give me a penny back. Ela Erikson had plenty of time to find a replacement since I gave her 3 1/2 months notice. I want to point out the PROBLEM that I had with the CONTRACT and why Early Learning Academy in Jersey City sued me. As per the contract when you sign it you are responsible for the ENTIRE SCHOOL YEAR. The only option you have out of this contract is due to circumstances such as relocation, job loss, divorce, and etc., unlike other schools in this area. When you go to others schools in the area you can usually get out of the annual contract if you give them notice. You also can't give them notice of early withdrawal prior to the beginning of the school year which usually begins in September. The school has the option to cancel the contract at any time it wants but you can't. This contract gives the school many rights over you. The school has the right under the contract to make you responsible for the entire year and you can only cancel under certain situations which I just mentioned. If you don't like the school you still won't be able to get out of the contract. If you don'tg comply with their early withdrawal options they have the right to collect from you the balance of the remainder of the year. The lawsuit was served upon me on 8/4/14 shortly after I filed my complaint with the Better Business Bureau. It was settled on 9/15/14. Her collection lawyer was harassing me with mountains of paper work until I hired my own attorney. The paper work they sent me had a lot of tricks and traps in them. One of them was that they wanted me to sign that I was indebted to the school for $12,000. Elizabeth Erickson decided to settle with me as soon as I hired my own attorney. All I wanted was half of my $3,100 deposit which I though was very FAIR. I asked her very politely for half of my money back. She made my family go though an enormous amount of stress and in return I got nothing back from her not even an apology. read more

The class my daughter was in had very few toys for the children. The toys that they did have were not kept out accessible to the children. The teacher stored them in cabinets and up high so that the children could not take them out when they wanted to. I saw no consistency with this school. They said that they would take the kids to the potty in groups but then let them go one at a time. I was never told when my child is leaving the school on a walking trip. After I said I would NOT give my child permission to walk to the park, the director asked my husband to sign the permission slip (perhaps so that they would not have to make anyone stay behind with my daughter). The school had no respect for my wishes to not let my daughter cross a busy intersection to get to the park. The school's outdoor area has no shade and no playground and no toys. They took the children out in the heat during that week when there was 100 degree weather. They regularly take the children out when the UV rays are most harmful instead of first thing in the morning. Administration said this was to make sure the afternoon only children get to go outside. I would send my daughter with a variety of foods to choose from during lunch, but the teacher would always send home the fruit. They seemed to always offer her the easiest foods and failed to push the fruit. I did not get consistent incident/accident reports. We did not get phone calls home when our daughter was absent. The school did not ask for a dr's note upon return to school nor did they even ask if she was sick or what she had to be able to determine if she should be coming back to school. Once when my daughter came home with food and snot smeared all over her face and caked on to indicate that her face had not been washed all day making her look more like an animal than a child the director basically told me I was over reacting. The aides do care about the children but The owner and director incompetant. Their poor management has a negative impact on the classroom. The policies in place are careless and haphazad and some just inadequate. There is not enough structure here to keep the children safe. They do not use the fingerprint machine consistently. read more

We have been at the school only since spring but are happy overall. I will admit that there were some things we didn's like, food not included in the price and some of the classrooms combine kids during the aftercare time, but nothing was a huge deal. We are enrolled in the day program and we see the teacher every morning and afternoon, and if we come late, the teacher always answers my emails with hours. She's very helpful and really loves her class. You can even read about the teachers on the school website. There are some parents that seem to complain and I just think that nothing is perfect. We like it here and already signed the 2011 paperwork for another school year. I think all the problems the school had were either fixed or they are working on fixing them now. I just know that the projects that come home, the class trips and events they have, the hard work the teachers do, seeing the director getting involved, and most importantly hearing all the great things my daughter says at night reassures me that I made the right choice for my family. read more

ELA contracts don't try to trick you. They are pretty much the same as other schools in the area. It seems to me like a disgruntled parent, who failed to read what he signed, is harassing the owner of this preschool. Our kids have been attending ELA since September 2011. They have never once complained about any of their teachers. We find it very enriching and the programs they offer are great. The children even have a presentation every few months to show us parents what they have been learning. It's wonderful. Our kids love it at ELA and we highly recommend to all families! We've had no problems with the staff or teachers or administration and will continue to recommend ELA to our colleagues and friends. We are sad that our kids will be leaving ELA next year since they are going to grade school. We hope that they enjoy their new school as much as they loved being at ELA. But for now we're looking forward to the holiday presentation!!! read more

I usually don't give reviews but I feel this place is great. I currently have a my daughter enrolled into ELA and she absolutely loves it. She is in the Toddler II class and loves talking about her teachers and friends. She loves learning new material everyday and is actual doing Pre-K work. She loves the extra curricular classes that are offered in the afternoon which are sign language, dance, yoga and music classes. I love the fact that every few months the children put on a program for parents that show case what they have learned in the afternoon classes. I like the fact that the administration is always available when any issues come up. Just in case you were wondering the school is opened from 7:30am to 6:30pm and compared to other schools I find the prices reasonable and there is always someone in the school willing to help. Overall my child is very happy and so am I. I recommend this place. read more

Our son was enrolled in two other preschools in the area. At one, he was being completely neglected and at the other the staff were just rude and awful to deal with. We were so frustrated and scheduled interviews at two other preschools in the area. When we first went to ELA we met with the owner and she was great. Answered all our questions and we were able to observe a class. Our son was thrilled and we decided to enroll him at ELA. We are so happy to have found ELA. Our son has improved so much and just loves his teachers. The administration is also wonderful. They are very approachable and address all matters quick and efficiently. We are not disappointed. We have recommended ELA to many of our friends in the area. So, if you're looking for a great enriching atmosphere for your little one, save yourself the frustration. ELA is the best in the area. We know, since we've tried many of the others. read more

My wife's review, for some reason is filtered in "not recommended". I'm now writing because I feel that the current reviews do not depict the true reviews of this business. Before enrolling our children at ELA, we did try another school within walking distance. Our kids were unhappy and it needed improvements. We found ELA to be clean and spacious. It offered great programs for our kids and since their enrollment, Sept. 2011, we have not been disappointed. The children love their teachers and the activities they do during the day. We actually find their programs very enriching and our kids are excelling in read and writing. To quote my wife, "Our kids love it at ELA!" We recommend taking a tour of the facilities to get a better idea of the school. We have not had a single issue with the staff or administration. It's too bad they don't offer grades 1-5! read more

We don't usually write reviews but we have been pleased with ELA. We have a little girl who was ridiculously shy. We tried everything to make her more comfortable and not pressure her to interact. She was enrolled in 2-3 other preschools and she just hated it. She would be so miserable, we changed our work schedules to make sure one of us was at home with her. Then one of our friends told us how she had heard of ELA. We decided to take the tour and bring her with us. As the owner was showing us the facilities, we noticed that our little princess was actually taking interest in an activity that was going on. We decided to give it a try. And now she has improved so much. She has made several friends and talks all the time about her teachers and the activities they've done. We are very happy and thank ELA for helping our daughter. read more

This is an excellent daycare center where children come to be dropped off and watched over by an adult. There is not a lot of learning going on because the staff is incompetent. The incompetence stems all they way up to the owner who does not seem to ever know what is going on. When I tried to talk to her about my concerns she just blankly looks at me while nodding her head as if there is not much going on in there. I suspect she treats me like this because of the color of my skin as I overheard her saying some borderline offensive things to one of her employees one morning. One day I spoke to the educational director who looks like someone I once knew growing up in Guyana. He seemed like he was holier then thou to take any notice to my concerns, it was weird. I am happy to be moving and pulling my child out. read more

I think the gossip is getting out of hand. My wife and I met with the directors the week this started being spread all over the internet and they were open and honest. The offered to give us the inspector name and number too in case we had more questions. I am not happy that this happened, but, I don't know if the accusation is even true yet. We have looked around the area since theis whole thing happened and my wife thinks we should keep looking just in case. In the meantime we are staying here and I am not worried. If there was something that serious, the place would have closed the day of inspection. We love the teachers from the infant room. read more

Jacob, Please respond to my emails, your review is confusing, our fees structure is in line with other places in our area and the operating hours did not chance since the inception of the school. I would like to meet with you if you are still in our area. EE read more

Very unfriendly management! The owner is just after your money and is not flexible in accommodating slightest requests once your child is enrolled. read more