Mother Left High & Dry After School Takes Her Money For Summer Camp
By Jamie Leary
BROOMFIELD, Colo. (CBS4) - After spending $600 on summer camp for her son, Vanessa Ewing never imagined the school in charge of the camp would deposit her check and cut off communication.
"I've never heard of a school walking with someone's money," said Ewing. "I've sent numerous emails and a few phone calls and haven't heard back."
Ewing, a 42-year-old single mother from Westminster, signed her son up for summer camp through The Colorado International School in November.
She attended an open house the school hosted at its new Broomfield location in November. Her last response from the school was in January when they told her they were looking for a new location to host the camp.
"They said they were looking for a new location, that they wouldn't be refunding my money because they would be in a new location. They mentioned one site in Denver as a possibility and that they would get back to me," she said.
In addition to being a teacher, Ewing wears a number of hats in the education world. She doesn't know how many people are impacted, but says as an educator, she is disappointed to see a school put its children and their families in this position.
"I think there's a variety of ways to go about it, but always thinking about our ultimate goal of putting kids first. Putting students first," she said.
Ewing doesn't expect to see her money back. She has filed a formal complaint with the Better Business Bureau and is considering legal action.
Ewing wishes the school would be forthright about what's going on.
"It looks strongly out of integrity and without heart which is the last thing I want to see a school connected with,"
The Colorado International School is listed as sharing a building with the Broomfield Academy, but the academy confirmed Monday that it no longer resided on the property.
It refused to comment further.
CBS4 attempted to contact the school directly, but the listed number is no longer accepting calls. We have also reached out to board members at Colorado International, as well as several faculty members and school administration. We are waiting to hear back.
The agency, Advanc-Ed, confirmed the school was one of its accredited schools, but didn't have a representative to come physically see if the school was closed. It confirmed it would be investigating.
LINK: Colorado International School
Jamie Leary joined the CBS4 team in 2015 and currently works as a reporter for CBS4 News at 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. She couldn't imagine a better place to live and work and will stop at nothing to find the next great story. Jamie loves learning about and hearing from her fellow community members, so connect with her on Facebook or Twitter @JamieALeary.
