JLL's post inspired me for this post.

You know the situation: you want to place a new kid in a lower level then Mom wants.

Response one:
"I can certainly understand why you are not happy with this and I can certainly understand why you will complain about this at your former school. If they had taught her better, she would have been on a higher level now. We will work hard to get her there as soon as possible and I'm sure you will cooperate to that."


And for the Moms that go with the line: "But my 9 year old Suzy has already done 12 years of dancing!"

Response two:
"O my God, and she still can't make a decent plié? Maybe you should have invested more in quality then in quantity of her classes."

That is true. I have minced words before, trying to not be insulting for the other school by saying things like, "Not all schools teach the same syllabus or progress at the same rate," but now that I teach and do not own a school, I am more inclined to being honest that I was not impressed with the quality of instruction at their former school.