Stevens Music Studio - Lesson Policies
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FINANCIAL AGREEMENT
- Tuition reserves your lesson time on a monthly basis, it is not a ‘per lesson’ rate. Regardless of the number of lessons in a month, tuition remains the same.
- Invoices are sent between the 25th and 28th and due by the 1st lesson of the month. You will receive an invoice via email that can be paid online, or we accept cash and checks.
- Checks can be made out to: Rich and Alison Stevens
- A late fee of $25 will be added for balances not paid by the 1st lesson of the month, and will show on the following months invoice.
- Returned checks will be charged an additional $25 and we will no longer be able to take checks as payment on your account should that happen.
- Tuition is not pro-rated for missed lessons, absences, weather cancellations or holidays.
- Books and materials are to be purchased by you, unless it is a special piece we have available to check out from our library. We will send a link through your student portal for purchasing any needed items.
- Any additional fees, deadlines and/or instructions for payment for outside events, performances, evaluations or testing will be communicated to the parent well in advance, and payment will be required to registrater for any of these events.
AUTO PAY
If you would like to take advantage of our autopay option, please use one of these two options:
- Download the form, fill it out and bring it to your child's lesson. We will set up your account for autopay beginning with the following months tuition. Click here to download the autopay form.
- When paying your next invoice via Square, choose the option to have your card automatically charged upon invoicing. Cards will be charged on the 25th for the upcoming months tuition. (Ex, charged on April 25 for the month of May)
ATTENDANCE
Attendance and Timeliness
- For your student to advance and gain confidence, lessons times are very important. Every attempt should be made to be at your scheduled lesson time, and to be on time.
- Lesson times cannot be extended due to tardiness.
- Your tuition holds your time slot in our schedule. Please honor that time.
Cancelling and Making Up Lessons
Consistency is key to your child's success. However, we understand that the occasional need to cancel may occur, and will do our best to work with families through these guidelines.
- Lessons may be cancelled through your student portal. It is the parents responsibility to log in and cancel any lesson.
- 24 hour notice is required to guarantee a make up lesson.
- Make up lessons are handled through your student portal. If no make up lesson options are available on the calendar, please contact us for options. Makeup lessons cannot be applied as a credit to future tuition or refunded.
- We offer the opportunity to make up one missed lesson per month.Tuition is not adjusted for missed lessons.
- Makeup lessons are not offered for holidays/holiday periods we are closed or inclement weather cancellations.
- Missed or cancelled make up lessons cannot be rescheduled. You forfeit the make up opportunity.
If your child is sick:
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- (ie fever, nausea, vomiting, etc) DO NOT bring them to their lesson.
- If your child has had a fever within the last 48 hours, DO NOT bring them to their lesson.
- If you know your child has been exposed to COVID, DO NOT bring them to their lesson.
(In the case of erring on the side of caution, lessons can be handled through ZOOM. It is the parents responsibility to contact us at stevensmusicstudio@gmail.com and notify us of this need PRIOR TO THE START OF THE LESSON.)
Teacher Cancellations
In the event lessons are cancelled by us, we will work with parents to find an agreeable make up time, and this will not count towards the one make up per month policy.
WITHDRAWAL POLICY
We require ONE MONTH notice for withdrawing a student. For example, if you let us know the last lesson of the month that your student will be withdrawing, the following months tuition is still due. This allows us the opportunity to wrap up the lesson experience well with your student, and to smoothly transition a new student into your lesson spot without gaps.
CURRICULUM
- Our emphasis overall is on technic, sight/note reading and a good understanding of the theory of music. Our goal is to build a solid musical foundation in our students along with a love for all kinds of music.
- Our students may be asked to participate in National Federation of Music Club (NFMC) events, Music and Arts Teachers Guild (MAG) performances and evaluation opportunities and other events throughout the year.
- For piano, we primarily use Faber Piano Adventures; however we are familiar with many other series, including Bastein, Alfred, and the ‘old school’ John Thompson, David Glover and others. If you have a preferred method, we are happy to accommodate.
- For voice, we tailor lessons around the age, goals and individual needs of each student. For most students, we use the Full Voice book series.
- Students coming from another teacher may use the books already started, but may be asked to purchase additional books to supplement. We will find an appropriate transition point into another book series if needed and will discuss this timing with the parents.
- Any needed materials purchase for regular lessons, outside events or performances will be discussed with the parent and either charged to the account or a link sent via email for purchase.
COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION
Our primary hub for all information is our Student Portal. When in doubt, log in to your student portal and look in the News section or on the Calendar for information.
- We utilize the Student Portal available to you through My Music Staff as our primary avenue of communicationfor cancellations, online lessons, extra lesson materials, news and more. Please be sure your portal page on your computer is bookmarked, and My Music Staff is set up on your phone for easiest access.
- Event specific information will be posted in your online student portal. Any event specific information handed out at lessons, posted on the bulletin board in the studio, or sent via email will also be posted in your student portal.
- Lessons should be cancelled through your student portal. It is the parents responsibility to log in and cancel any lesson.
- Register for a make up lesson through your student portal. It is the parents responsibility to log in and register for any owed makeup lessons from the available options.
- Special Event Registration will be handled through your student portal.
ADDITIONAL IMPORTANT INFORMATION
We generally have two in studio showcases per year; one in the Spring and one in late November or early December. We encourage all students to participate in these performance opportunities.
Other Opportunities
Our students have the opportunity to participate in several outside performances and evaluations each year, including but not limited to:
- NFMC Festival piano performances/evaluations and theory testing
- Music and Arts Teachers Guild (MAG) SSACC Evaluations. SSACC stands for Sight-reading, Scales, Arpeggios, Cadences and Chords.
- MAG Performances - Valentine Recital, Patriotic Recital, Halloween Parade Recital, Virtual Coffeehouses
- NAMTA Pianorama , held every two years.
Sessions
Although we can make accommodations for summer schedules, our lessons are designed to run year round.Holidays and Breaks
We generally follow the Williamson County Schools calendar for the major holidays - Winter (Christmas) Break, Thanksgiving, etc, and weather closures (but not always for weather.) Our calendar of breaks will be published in your student portal. No lessons are scheduled for those breaks and monthly tuition remains the same.
Commitment
While we don't require a contractual commitment, we do ask that you make an initial commitment to six months of lessons for your student. In our experience, many beginning
students struggle at around 3-4 months; we ask that you give it six months of lessons and let us help you get your child over that normal hurdle before withdrawing your student.
Teachers
Your student will have either Miss Alison or Mr. Rich as a primary teacher. However, we do have a team teaching approach; should the need arise we do fill in for each other when needed due to illness or rehearsal/travel schedules. We will notify students ahead of time when this is necessary.