Tuition |
Billing |
Missing a Lesson, Class or Recital |
Withdrawing From the Program
Performance |
Lessons |
Practice |
Summer Study |
Concert Attendance
Constructing the Bill: Tuition holds a slot in the schedule and is required in full, regardless of whether or not the student attends class. Your monthly bill is constructed by taking the rate for the total number of lessons per year plus the total number of group classes per year and dividing it into equal monthly payments. The tuition remains the same month to month regardless of the number of lessons received in a given month because the monthly tuition is constructed by taking the TOTAL number of lessons per year and dividing it into monthly payments. For example in the school year 2009-2010 there will be 30 private lessons and 20 group classes divided by 10 months.
Enrollment and Administration Fee: There is an Annual Enrollment and Administration Fee of $125 per year. This fee is due at the time of initial enrollment and annually in September. This fee covers administration costs, church rental fee for group classes and recitals, pianist fee for recitals, etc. If enrolling in the program in the summer months this fee is waived until the beginning of the next school year.
Rates:
Tuition is due the first week of the month. Make checks out to Heidi Daniels. Note on the check which month the payment is for and bring it to your lesson (if scheduled the 1st-5th of the month) or mail it, postmarked no later than the 3rd of the month (must be received by the 5th of the month to avoid a late charge.)
A late fee of $15 will be charged of any family that does not pay the expected amount by the first lesson of each month or postmarked by the 5th. If this occurs you will receive an invoice via email.
III. Missing a Lesson, Class, or Recital
THIS IS A VIOLIN-PRIORITY PROGRAM.
That means that if you enroll in this program you are choosing to make violin the priority over soccer, swimming, Scouts, dance, or other activities. When possible I attempt to work with your schedules and other activities, but when it comes down to an unavoidable conflict, violin is to be the priority.
There are no tuition adjustments for missed lessons or classes. A private lesson missed or canceled at any time by the student for any reason except the most extreme circumstances (family emergency, extreme contagious illness, broken arm, etc.) will not made up, nor will tuition be refunded. Please keep in mind that tuition pays for reserved time and not the actual lesson itself. Therefore, if you are not able to show up to your reserved slot, you forfeit that time. Students who must miss a lesson may trade lesson times with another student if that is convenient. Please inform me in advance if you must miss a lesson. If it is convenient for me, I may offer you a make-up lesson time. But please remember, there is no guarantee of an opportunity for a make-up lesson. If you miss your designated time, there frequently is no way to make-up that time. Group classes will neither be refunded nor made-up.
Group class attendance policy: The success of group classes depends very much on everyone being in attendance at every class and arriving on time. This is a violin-priority program. If you must frequently miss Saturday morning group classes due to soccer, Boy Scouts, or other commitments, you need to reevaluate whether this program is the right one for you. Students are allowed excused absences (notify me in advance) for the following reasons:
Classes missed for any other reason will be considered unexcused. If a student has 2 or more unexcused absences in a term, they will not be eligible to perform in the term recital. If this happens more than one term in a row, a parent-teacher conference will become necessary. If a student is repeatedly late, the same principle applies. High-level functioning of the group class is only possible with everyone in attendance and it is a huge morale issue when students repeatedly miss a class or show up late.
Recital attendance policy: This is a violin-priority program; recitals are mandatory. Only the most extreme circumstances are grounds for missing a recital (broken arm, mother having just given birth to a new sibling, etc.) Students who miss a recital due to another activity will be placed on probationary status and their participation in the program may be terminated dependent on other mitigating factors (attendance record and practice habits.) If, when the schedule is published at the beginning of the year, a proposed recital date poses a major problem for your schedule, inform me immediately. With ample time I can oftentimes accommodate your scheduling needs and will try my best to do so.
Snow Policy: In cases of extreme weather where the roads are completely impassable (teacher's discretion), lessons will be made up during a make-up lesson week sometime in the spring.
If I must cancel a lesson: Lessons missed or canceled at any time by the teacher for any reason will be made-up in a timely manner, or a financial credit will be given.
IV. Withdrawing from the Program
If your family decides to withdraw from the Artistic Expressions program for any reason, please inform me immediately. There will be no tuition adjustments for any given month if you withdraw in the middle of the month. Additionally, you must give me notice of at least 15 days before the next calendar month, or you will be billed for the following month as well.
Understandably, some families move away from the area with little notice, and some families realize in the middle of a term that the Artistic Expressions program is not for them. However, there are repercussions for withdrawing in the middle of the term, as it is a decision that affects everyone. It often takes an entire term to decide whether or not the program is working for you. Additionally, it affects the entire studio? preparation of a recital. If at all possible, it is best to forestall decisions on staying in the program or withdrawing from the program until the end of the term. Again, you must let me know if you plan to withdraw 15 calendar days before the next term begins.
Only polished, prepared pieces will be acceptable choices to be played as solos in recitals, decided in conference between the teacher, parent, and student. The two newest pieces are not eligible. All group pieces must be checked off in private lessons at a level deemed acceptable to present in performance?otes and bowings solid, clean tone, and demonstrable understanding of the principles worked on in class. If a piece is not checked off, the student sits out during the performing of that piece during the recital. This is not a punishment; it is a necessary part of training that emphasizes polished performance that is a happy and exciting time to share what has been learned, not a time to be nervous or worried about making mistakes.
Parents must accompany all children under 12 to private lessons and group classes, attentively take notes in a notebook or use a recording device to record the lesson, in preparation to practice with their child at home.
Arriving for your lesson: Plan to arrive a few minutes before your lesson. Please park on Manchester Woods and avoid the parking spaces in front of the houses.
Enter the studio directly through the garage, removing shoes and leaving them outside. Students who are late are not guaranteed a full lesson.
Cell phones: Please turn off all cell phones during lessons. If your phone rings and you leave to take a call, it disrupts the lesson flow and very often the student's concentration cannot be brought back to the matter at hand.
Please avoid wearing perfumes and fragrances: I have several chemical sensitivities and strong smells can make me ill.
During group classes, please refrain from talking to other parents in the rehearsal room. If you are having an important conversation, feel free to take it outside to the hallway. Again, children? concentration is a precious thing and is easily broken with conversations going on in the same room.
Parents must practice together with their child for all children under age 12. This means sitting down with them and working through the assignments given in their private lesson. It does not mean cooking in the kitchen and listening to your child practice in the next room over. It does not mean telling to go upstairs and practice. Excelling at musical study is not rocket science it simply takes regular, committed practice times.
Parents often ask me what is expected in terms of practice time. Here is a rough guideline of what I expect. These are the minimum amounts of time I believe it is necessary to practice in order to gain from being a part of the Artistic Expressions program. Ideally students should practice 6 days a week but I believe if students in early books strive to practice an average of 5 days a week they will be doing very well. Obviously more practice than these minimum guidelines will result in faster progress, however there are certain parameters. (I do not support a very young child practicing multiple hours a day. They must be free to be children.)
If it becomes obvious that these minimum standards are not being met, it will be grounds for an evaluation of whether a student truly belongs in this program. Continued inability to meet the minimum practice guidelines will result in a parent-teacher conference and the possibility of ending a student? participation in this program. The curriculum simply does not work without a baseline commitment and it becomes a waste of time and money.
Daily practice sessions can be broken into multiple segments and often work better that way.
Again, keep in mind that these amounts are what I consider to be the minimum necessary for success. Many students happily practice for much more time above the guidelines for their specified level and they advance much faster than students who practice less.
VIII. Summer Study (July through August)
Study during the summer is crucial for students to continue their progress. The summer term is flexible. Students will be able to indicate on a Summer Registration form the dates they will be available for lessons. In order to hold their fall lesson slot, students are required to take a minimum of 6 lessons over the summer. If you wish to discontinue lessons over the summer and resume in the fall, you will have the option of paying a fee equal to 6 lessons to hold your fall slot. Otherwise, students who discontinue lessons during the summer cannot be guaranteed a lesson time in the fall.
Families are required to attend three live classical music concerts (preferably featuring violin soloists or string quartets) per year. Students must bring ticket stubs and/or programs to the concerts they attended and give a brief report. A list of suggested concerts will be provided at the beginning of each school year. Exposure to live music is essential for a maturing understand of musicality.