Personally, when I think of "academic" preschools I think of "promises to teach" and expectations and pressure on the children to learn. I also think of learning through lessons rather than play and "tests" (continued evaluations of the children to mark where they are at.)
Where we used to live these preschools were expensive and were advertised and geared to teach pre-reading skills as well as the skills needed to do well on the IQ tests taken to get into the exclusive private schools in the area.
