If youre looking to send your child to preschool / kindergarten, youre looking to spend between $25,000 to $40,000 a year. For that kind of money, you kind of expect a certain level of service.Ive been researching preschools for my daughter for the past few months and went from zero knowledge to semi-knowledgeable the topic.On the face of it, City and Country looks like a good school, but sadly, I will never find out. My main complaint stems from their school tour policy. They require a $50 fee in order to view the premises and see the classrooms.Why is that weird? Imagine...* a restaurant that requires you to pay to get a menu.* a car dealership that charges a fee to view their cars.* buying a home that charges $50 for the open house.* a library that charges to peruse the stacks of books.You get the picture.I understand an application fee, but a fee to simply see the school is absurd.When I asked to waive the tour fee, the City and Country School wrote back that its common for private schools to charge a fee for a school tour.Not true. A few do. Wetherby-Pembridge and The Episcopal School do. The vast majority dont. Considering that I wouldnt want my child to be in the stifling atmosphere of a Wetherby-Pembridge or Episcopal School, Im just going to assume that requiring a fee for a school tour is a warning sign of a school thats not right for our family. I want my daughter to be a confident free-spirit, in an atmosphere of fraternity and equality. This is NOT the impression I get from Wetherby-Pembride and The Episcopal School. Extrapolating, this probably isnt the case for C&C either.The shining gold star standards of New York City private and independent preschools, The Avenues, 92nd Y, Saint Anns, Berkeley Carroll do NOT require this absurd fee, and these are the schools I strongly desire for my daughter. In fact, Avenues (perhaps the best preschool in the city) wants me to come to *two* tours before applying.If City and Country has taught me anything, its that requiring a fee to see a school is a good warning sign of a school whose environment is not right for my happy, curious and free-spirited daughter.

This is the best school ever! I love it!