Children are not the only ones missing out at a well-known school in Suzhou; many of their parents have also found themselves out of pocket, to the tune of five figures in many cases. Meanwhile, teachers at the school have realised they are missing their salaries.
孩子们并不是唯一错过苏州知名学校的学生；他们的许多父母也发现自己陷入了困境，在许多情况下，损失高达五位数。与此同时，学校的老师们意识到他们的工资被拖欠了。
Today, the doors the Suzhou Montessori International Children’s Home on the City’s Fangzhou Lu remain locked. Over 100 youngsters are enrolled in early-learning classes at the school, for which their parents have in many cases paid as much as ¥50,000.
如今，位于市方洲路的苏州蒙特梭利国际儿童之家的大门仍然紧锁。学校有超过 100 名孩子参加早教班，很多家长为此支付的费用高达 5 万日元。
One parent purchased more than ¥40,000 worth of courses, but found the school closed before their child had attended a single one.
一位家长购买了价值超过 4 万日元的课程，但发现孩子还没上完一门课程，学校就关门了。
The situation hit the headlines after some of the disgruntled parents took a consumer-complaint platform run by media outlet, The Paper. That publication found that during the “6.18” shopping festival, the school was aggressively offering preferential policies.
在一些心怀不满的家长占领了澎湃新闻运营的消费者投诉平台后，这一情况登上了头条新闻。该刊物发现，“6.18”购物节期间，学校积极推出优惠政策。
But after parents were all signed up and had paid their class fees, they lost contact with the early-education provider. They described it as being as if they had just run away.
但在家长全部报名并支付学费后，他们与早教机构失去了联系。他们形容这就像他们刚刚逃跑一样。
A teacher with the school told The Paper that there was no warning before the institution closed and that teachers were in arrears of 1 and a half month’s wages. The rent for the building has also gone unpaid.
该校一名老师告诉澎湃新闻，学校关闭前没有任何预警，老师们被拖欠了1个半月的工资。大楼的租金也没有支付。
During this time, parents also learned that the school’s controlling shareholder, surnamed Huang, had gone on to open an art-education provider upstairs from where the Montessori institution is located. But when parents marched upstairs to defend their rights, Huang said that he no longer had a share in the school. Out of sympathy, Huang offered parents credit for art classes. While some accepted, others continued to demand a refund.
在此期间，家长们还了解到，该校控股股东黄姓在蒙台梭利机构楼上开设了一家艺术教育机构。但当家长上楼游行维权时，黄说他不再拥有学校股份。出于同情，黄给家长提供了艺术课程的学分。虽然一些人接受了，但另一些人继续要求退款。
Back on the consumer-complaint platform, one parent said, ”We are a dual-career family; both parents have jobs. Originally, we had no choice but to send our children to nursery school. Now that the institution has up and left, there is no place to send our children. It is difficult for us as parents in every way”.
回到消费投诉平台，一位家长表示，“我们是双职工家庭，父母都有工作，本来我们只能送孩子去幼儿园，现在机构倒闭了，孩子没地方送了，我们做家长都很难”。
The Montessori method of education, pioneered over a century ago by the physician and educator, Dr. Maria Montessori, has been well regarded in China for decades. But not being a registered brand has also meant schools using the name have popped up in a somewhat haphazard fashion, with many operating questionable practices.
蒙特梭利教育法由医生和教育家玛丽亚·蒙特梭利博士在一个多世纪前首创，几十年来在中国广受好评。但由于没有注册品牌，也意味着使用该名称的学校以某种随意的方式出现，其中许多经营做法存在问题。
