Pursuing Excellence through Creative Expression
2024-2025 Policies and Procedures
General Information | Weekly private lessons are offered in 30, 45, or 60-minute sessions, depending on the student’s age/level.
Lesson & Practice Space | Families are expected to provide a designated place in their home for lessons and practice to take place.
Practice & Instrument | Piano students are expected to practice 4-6x weekly on an acoustic piano or keyboard. Acoustic pianos should be tuned once a year. Vocal students are expected to practice at least 3x per week.
Materials | Students will be given an assignment binder at their first lesson, which will be used to track lesson notes and homework assignments. The instructor will purchase any other required materials and will add the charge to the next month's tuition payment.
Tuition and Payment | Annual tuition is based on the academic year with vacation weeks and makeups built into the schedule. 34 lessons will be scheduled for each student. Payment can be divided into 10 equal payments (Sept-June) or paid in 2 installments at the beginning of each semester (Sept & Feb). Payments may be made by ACH or credit card. Auto-pay setup is required for all ACH or credit card payment options. Payment is due on the 1st of the month. The teacher reserves the right to raise fees at the beginning of each new academic year.
Summer Tuition | Summer semester is optional. It is billed separately and is more flexible. The weeks available and the # of lessons will be at the discretion of the instructor. Students who do not continue lessons during the summer will be required to pay a non-refundable deposit on their fall tuition to reserve their spot in the studio.
Missed Lessons | Students have the opportunity for 2 makeup lessons each academic year, 1 per semester. These makeups will happen at the end of each semester and can be used for any reason; sickness, vacation, activity conflicts, etc. If the student cannot attend during these dedicated makeup weeks they forfeit the missed lesson. These makeup weeks can also be utilized to makeup any cancellations on the part of the instructor. Family emergencies, extended illness, or long absences will be discussed on a case by case basis. There are no refunds, discounts or makeups given outside of these two weeks unless the instructor is unable to teach the promised number of lessons.
Sick Days | In the event of illness, please cancel your lesson or request a swap to virtual format for the day. Any student who attempts to attend a lesson in-person when they have a fever, or are too ill to attend school will not be served and that lesson will not be made up.
Inclement Weather | In the case of inclement weather (snow, heavy storms, etc), all lessons will be moved to a virtual format for that day only. If the student or instructor loses power and is unable to attend a virtual lesson, every attempt will be made to make up the missed lesson.
Virtual Lessons | Virtual lessons may be used at any time during the semester when they are deemed necessary by the instructor. This may be due to travel, inclement weather, sickness, etc. No refunds or discounts will be given for virtual weeks.
Office Hours | Office hours are available between 12-2 most weekdays. Email or text is the most reliable way of reaching the instructor, and phone calls or zoom appointments will be scheduled as needed.
Discontinuing Lessons | Students must notify the teacher 30 days in advance if they are discontinuing lessons. Students will be charged for one last month of tuition and will not receive any refunds.
Makeup Policy Clarification | If a student needs to miss more than 1 lesson per semester they have the following options for a makeup. If they choose not to utilize any of these options they forfeit the lesson and no refunds will be made.
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Asynchronous Lesson | The student will make an audio or video recording of their assigned repertoire and upload it to their google drive folder within 48 hours of their usual lesson time. The instructor will then review the recordings during office hours and email an updated assignment to the student.
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Lesson Swap | Due to other student's cancellations, there will occasionally be times where the instructor has openings during the week. When you inform the instructor you have a conflict, they will review their schedule and see if they can accommodate a swap for the week. This lesson may occur in-person or virtually.
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Virtual Lesson | If the student is sick enough to stay home from school, but feeling well enough to have a zoom lesson, the instructor may be available to accommodate a virtual lesson during school hours.