Studio Policies | Regina Cartwright

**Studio Policies**

Beginning lessons in my studio constitutes an acceptance of the terms an policies listed below.

This Studio Policy sets out the terms that the studio has established as a business contract between the teacher and parent/adult student to make the learning experience beneficial for all students and is in accordance with the Music Teachers National Association. While unexpected events may arise that necessitate an exception to these rules, this studio reserves the right tot determine when to grant any such exception.

**These studio policies are in accordance with the Music Teachers National Association. The tuition takes into consideration actual lesson time plus all of the costs of managing a private studio and the time that is invested to offer a comprehensive and quality studio for musical excellence. In addition to lesson times, the teacher spends much time planning lessons, recitals, participating in seminars, study, research, scheduling, correspondence, phone calls, bookkeeping, and other studio related administrative duties. As a small business, tuition not goes towards the teacher salary but also towards government mandated self-employment taxes and health insurance, as well as retirement savings.

Please Note: Beginning lessons in this studio constitutes an acceptance of the terms and policies listed below.

Membership

Students enroll in a year-round program. Lessons are not invoiced by the week. During the year, there are 40 scheduled lesson weeks plus at least 2 performance opportunities (recitals).

The studio is closed the following weeks: Spring Break, Thanksgiving, Winter Break (2 weeks), and 3 weeks TBA by the teacher for illness, professional development, personal time, and/or vacation.

The studio will be closed on July 4th.

Payment Terms/Tuition

The studio operates year-round; therefore, the membership fee/tuition is based on a yearly tuition. The tuition is payable in 12 equal monthly installments. All students are required to enroll in auto-pay and will fill out an authorization form at the first lesson. Payments are not accepted in any other form. Tuition payments are processed automatically on the 1st day of the month through Quickbooks/Intuit. (A reminder of this will be emailed 2 days prior to this date.)

Monthly Payments.

The tuition for the year will be paid in 12 equal monthly installments. The monthly payments are due by the first day of the month.

Rate Increases.

Rates typically increase once per year but may occur sooner if the price of gas and/or other costs rise. I will give a 30 day notice if this occurs.

Music Purchases.

When new music is necessary, the teacher will purchase, pick up, and deliver to the student. The music cost (which includes sales tax and any processing fees that I pay) will be invoiced and the payment processed through Quickbooks/Intuit using the account authorized. The teacher provides this service as a convenience to all in-person students at no extra charge. Online students are expected to purchase their music from a music retailer of their choice.

**I will happily provide you with the monthly tuition rate if requested. Please fill out the contact form found in the "Contact" tab. Thanks!**

Make-Up Lessons and Refunds

There are no make-up lessons given. If a student misses a lesson for whatever reason, the studio does NOT offer make-up lessons or any type of refund/credit. Due to the volume of students taught by the studio, make-up lessons are not available. There are no exceptions to this policy. Specific lesson times are reserved for specific students. A student who does not attend a lesson will simply miss the benefit of that lesson. A student may, however, record their weekly assignment and submit it to the teacher via the PracticeSpace app for feedback and/or a new assignment, if appropriate. (NB - the studio tuition rate is based on 40 paid lesson weeks. This means that the student has 5 weeks that they may cancel for any reason and will not be penalized OR attend up to 5 lessons beyond the 40 lessons at no extra charge.)

Note: If a student has a lesson conflict and needs to switch times on their scheduled lesson day (to avoid a cancellation) AND the teacher receives another cancellation on the SAME day, then the teacher may offer to move the student to the other lesson time. The teacher will not ask other students to switch times to accommodate another student’s lesson conflict.

Student/Teacher Illness.

The teacher tries not to spread illnesses from one student to another. If the student is sick with a fever or contagious (i.e. pink eye, flu, strep, etc.) please either cancel the lesson or schedule it online on the morning of their lesson day but should give the teacher as much advance notice as possible.

If the teacher is sick lessons will be offered online at the regularly scheduled time in lieu of in-person to prevent an illness from spreading. Students will be notified either the evening before or before noon on the day of the lesson. In the event that the teacher is unable to teach the lesson online the day of the lesson either a make-up lesson will be offered or the teacher will use one of her personal/vacation days.

Travel Issues/Inclement Weather.

There may be times due to hazardous travel conditions, bad weather, and unforeseen road closures that lessons will be given in an online format instead of in-person. The teacher will give as much advance notice as possible and will text you ahead of time to notify you of this change.

Schedule Changes.

In the event another long-term commitment necessitates a schedule change to prevent a large number of cancellations. If this occurs, please give the teacher as much advance notice as possible so that an alternative lesson time may be found.

Teacher Absences

Emergencies may arise which prevent the teacher from offering a lesson at a scheduled time. In the event of car trouble or needing to be home for any other reason (i.e. emergency repairman scheduled) an online lesson may be given in lieu of in-person at the regularly scheduled lesson time. If the teacher is unable to provide a scheduled lesson for any reason, the teacher will either use a personal/vacation days or will make-up lessons will be scheduled at a time when the student and teacher are available. No refunds or credits will be provided if the make-up lesson cannot be scheduled.

The teacher will give advance notice of any of the 3 week of personal/vacation time that will be used. There will be no make-ups offered for these weeks.

Student Termination

If a student decides for whatever reason to stop taking lessons, the studio requires 15 days advance notice of the termination. No refunds or credits will be provided. Any unpaid fees (i.e. music purchases) will be processed via Quickbooks/Intuit prior to termination.

The studio reserves the right to terminate the contract with the student/parent if the student has excessive absences or if the teacher determines that the student is not cooperating or progressing in his/her music studies. Prior to any decision to terminate, the teacher will discuss the situation with the parents. Refunds for pre-paid lessons will be provided at the discretion of the studio.

Miscellaneous Policies

Recitals.

Studio sponsored performance opportunities are generally held in May and December of each year. This is an important part of the musical experience. These performances help students become more confident in an encouraging group atmosphere. Students will be assigned a recital piece approximately 1 month prior to the recital. Students are not required to memorize their recital piece. Friends and family are encouraged to attend the recital. These performances are free. The costs involved in organizing these events are included in the monthly tuition.

Summer Lessons.

The studio is open year-round for lessons, including the summer months.

The teacher will disseminate a summer lesson form at the beginning of May to ascertain when students are available during the summer. This form will be due by the 3rd week of May so that the teacher may determine the summer schedule based on each student’s availability. If a student’s summer schedule is not submitted before the deadline, then available lesson times will be limited and a student may have to take online lessons for the summer instead of concierge lessons. Summer lesson conflicts that are submitted after the schedule is created may not be able to be accommodated.

Lesson days/times are much more flexible during the summer months. Concierge lessons are offered Monday through Thursday 9am-5pm. Most online lessons and lessons in Denton are offered on Fridays and Saturdays 9am-4pm. Please understand that, for concierge lessons, the teacher tries to consolidate the schedule to eliminate downtime from student vacations and to avoid having to sit in a hot car for more than 30 minutes on concierge lesson days.

Changing lesson times during the summer does not affect the pre-reserved school-year lesson time. Some students may choose to take longer lessons in the summer months or even take more than 1 lesson per week (for an additional fee). Students pay the regular monthly tuition during the summer months to maintain their spot in the studio.

All students are expected to continue lessons (or pay the regular tuition rate) during the summer months in order to guarantee a lesson time for the school year.

Practice Expectations/Practice Space App

Regular practice is essential to success in music study. Lesson time should not be used as practice time. During lesson time, practice skills are taught so that the student will know how to work on their assignments at home. Most beginning students should practice 15-20 minutes 3-4 days per week. More advanced students should practice 30 minutes or more 3-4 days per week. Parents should ensure that the student has a quiet practice area.

The teacher pays for a subscription to the PracticeSpaceApp and each student/parent sets up their own portal (on a computer or portable device) to access assignments, progress (using the practice function which keeps track of how much time the student spent practicing both between lessons and cumulatively), send questions and/or recordings for me to review before the next scheduled lesson. The teacher can even post recordings for students to listen to and/or play along with, links to online videos of performances, PDF files, and send encouragement. Voice students will find accompaniment/practice tracks to use during their practice time between lessons. All assignments are posted weekly on PracticeSpaceApp.

Punctuality.

For concierge students, the teacher strives to be on time. From time to time, there may be travel delays due to traffic, road closures, etc. The teacher will send a text message with an ETA if a delay of more than 5 minutes is foreseen.

For online students and students who take lessons at my home in Denton, students should be ready to begin at their scheduled lesson time. Students should have all required books and materials at the start of their lesson. Parents should have students wait outside until their lesson time and pick students up as soon as the lesson is over

Music Competitions/Auditions.

Students may choose to participate in competitions and/or auditions. Please inform the teacher of the requirements and/or deadlines so that the student may have enough time to prepare. Any extra fees for participation will be paid by the student.

Piano students may choose to participate in TMTA state theory tests and graded playing festivals/competitions as a Student Affiliate member under my TMTA, DMTA, MCMTA, and MTNA membership for an extra yearly fee. These events take place twice per year.

Voice students who want to sing in the UIL Solo Contest will begin preparing at least 3 months in advance. Please let the teacher know when your choir director needs to know the title of the song you will sing, whether you are required to sing a song of a certain level or not, and the date of the contest. If auditioning for All-State Choir, preparation must begin in the summer months and the teacher must be informed as to both the dates of each round and the songs to be included on each round. If interested in auditioning for school or community musicals, talent shows, etc. the teacher needs to know the audition requirements as well as the audition date. If there is an audition packet, the teacher needs to be provided with an extra copy (in addition to the one the student uses).

Online Lessons.

The teacher will contact you at your scheduled lesson time. Please do not contact the teacher early as often there is no transition time between lessons.

Students need high speed internet (it helps to be positioned close to the wireless router or mesh range extender)

Students need a video calling app installed on their device – Please let the teacher know in advance whether the student prefers FaceTime, WhatsApp, or GoogleMeet.

Students should have something to hold the mobile device up during the lesson.

Piano students – For traditional pianos please prop a smaller device (i.e. a phone) up against the wood on the far right of the keyboard. For electronic keyboards, please use a table or tablet stand. Angle the camera towards the keyboard and the student’s hands.

Voice students – Place the device at a level where the teacher can clearly see the student’s shoulders and head. The student should stand approximately 1-2 feet away from the device and use ear buds or headphones. A second device should be available to play accompaniment tracks during the lesson.

Lesson materials – Have all books and music ready before the lesson starts. (Voice students, if sheet music is on a mobile device, please print them beforehand.)

Pencil –Please have a pencil ready to mark music during the lesson.

Parent Attendance at Lessons.

Parents may attend and quietly observe lessons. The studio does reserve the right to exclude a parent if the teacher determines that the student is unable to focus on the lesson in their presence. If you have something you want to discuss/ask, please do so at the beginning of the lesson so as to not delay the next student’s lesson time. Feel free to text/email/call the teacher to ask any questions or to discuss anything else. The teacher does enjoy hearing from you!

Photos and Videos.

The studio occasionally posts photos and videos of student performances/accomplishments on the studio website and/or social media. If you do not want your child’s photos or videos posted, please let the studio know in writing.

**Professional music education and individualized music instruction is my profession, my art, and my business. I strive to live up to the aforementioned policies with the time and financial security to fully devote my energy to sharing music with my students and their families. I acknowledge my students and parents in a 3-way relationship and will do my best to make private music study an enriching experience that extends beyond the music studio into all areas of their lives.**