STUDENT POLICIES
Welcome! Our mission is to provide quality music education with professionally trained instructors in a creative and fun environment. We strive to make music lessons both enriching and enjoyable, by customizing our lesson plans to each individual student’s needs, goals, and learning styles. We use a student-led approach to music education to optimize our students’ progression and growth, while allowing them to explore, experiment, and create.
info@westmainmusicacademy.com
203-806-1342
Scheduling
We offer 30-minute lessons, 45-minute lessons, and 60-minute lessons.
All lessons take place on a weekly basis.
Weekly lessons will take place on the day and time that is agreed upon by the student and staff.
We do not offer bi-weekly lessons. Longer lessons (90 minutes or longer) are available upon request.
New students may pay for one individual lesson before enrolling for recurring weekly lessons. Once you enroll in weekly lessons, we offer two billing options: Monthly, and Per Semester.
Semesters
Our semesters are broken down as follows…
Spring Semester: January through April
Summer Semester: May through August
Fall/Winter Semester: September through December
*Students who pay for the full semester up-front will receive discounted semester pricing - please contact us for pricing info at 203-806-1342.
Billing Options
All lessons must be pre-paid. Tuition Payments are made via auto-charge on a stored credit card. In order to book the first lesson, you will need to provide a credit card to hold the appointment. Your card will be stored securely in an encryption system and used toward tuition payments. (Stored credit cards cannot be used toward merchandise purchases).
Students are responsible for full payment of all weeks in the billing period, whether paying by the month or semester.
Invoices will not be pro-rated for planned absences.
Invoices are only pro-rated due to a planned closure on our part (all of our holiday closures are outlined below).
For Pay-By-The-Month: Invoices for the upcoming month will be sent around the 20th of the current month. The auto-charge is then processed to your stored credit card on the 1st of the month. For example, the invoice for February lessons will be sent on January 20th, and the auto-charge will be processed on February 1st.
For Pay-By-The-Semester: Invoices for the upcoming semester will be sent around the 20th of the last month of the current semester. For example, the invoice for the Fall/Winter Semester (Sept – December) will be sent on August 20th, and the auto-charge for the Fall/Winter Semester will be processed on September 1.
Absence & Cancellation Policy
24 hours notice is requested for all absences and lesson cancellations. An absence reported with 24 hours notice (or more) is an excused absence. An absence reported with less than 24 hours, or a “no show”, is an unexcused absence.
To report an absence, please CALL us at 203-806-1342 with as much notice as possible. If you call before/after business hours, please leave a detailed message informing us of your absence.
Students are allowed TWO excused absences per semester, for which make-up credits will be issued. All absences in excess of two per semester will NOT be eligible for make-up credits.
Monetary “rollover” credits will not be issued for missed lessons. Two absence credits per semester will be issued in the form of make-up credits only.
Please plan to be present for your lessons as there are no exceptions to this policy.
In order to receive a make-up credit, the absence must be reported with at least 24 hours notice. Late cancellations are not eligible for a make-up credit.
Make-up credits must be redeemed by the end of the current semester. Make-up credits do not roll from one semester to the next.
Make-up credits cannot be used toward your regularly scheduled lesson time. You must schedule an additional (make-up) lesson via the front desk. Make-up availability is based entirely on teachers’ schedules and we cannot guarantee specific make-up times. Our staff will work with you to find a mutually convenient date. You can also use a make-up credit to extend a 30-minute lesson to a 60-minute, provided the schedule will allow it.
Make-up credits do not need to be redeemed with your regular teacher - make-up lessons can be taken with another teacher.
Virtual Option:
If you cannot make it to your lesson but you are still able to take a virtual lesson, you can opt for a virtual lesson. This will enable you to stay consistent and on-track with your progress, and will not count as an absence. The virtual lesson option will only be offered if at least 24 hours notice is given.
We do not offer virtual lessons on an ongoing basis.
Teacher Absences:
If a teacher is absent, students will be notified with as much notice as possible. A substitute teacher will be provided if available. A make-up date will be set based on the teacher’s availability. The make-up date for a teacher absence must be scheduled by that teacher before the end of the current semester.
If a teacher is unable to make up the missed lesson before the end of the semester, a make-up credit will be issued to the student to be used toward the next semester.
Tardiness
Students are expected to arrive on-time for their scheduled lessons. If you are late to your lesson, please be advised that your lesson time will not be extended and your lesson will still end at the scheduled finish time. If you are more than 10 minutes late, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to hold your lesson that day.
No-Shows
Two consecutive “no-shows” will result in the loss of your weekly lesson slot.
Lesson Holds
Lesson holds are available to current students who pay by the month.
If you need to take a break from lessons but you do not want to lose your scheduled day/time, you can hold your spot for a maximum of 4 weeks.
A hold fee of $50 will be charged for the 4-week hold. This is a one-time fee that is non-refundable and not usable toward tuition or merchandise.
You will be responsible for payment in full of your returning month’s tuition, which will be due before the start of the hold period.
Students may not hold more than one 4-week period within the same year.
We apologize for any inconvenience but we cannot hold lesson times for more than 4 weeks. If you need to take a break for a longer period of time, please provide notice of your wish to discontinue lessons and then reach out to us when you are ready to begin again. Resuming lessons will be based on schedule availability.
Changing/Discontinuing Lessons
Students who wish to change their weekly schedule must provide a written request with at least 30 days notice. Written requests can be submitted via the front desk or e-mailed to gary@westmainmusicacademy.com
Students who wish to discontinue their ongoing lessons must provide 30 days notice. Any lessons that have already been paid will not be refunded.
Child Supervision
We invite families of current students to come and enjoy our waiting areas while their lesson is being held. We do have some guidelines in place for child supervision:
For the safety of our students and guests, all children under the age of 10 must be accompanied by an adult. Please do not drop off/pick up a child under the age of 10. Please do not leave siblings/other children unattended in any areas of the Music Academy. For students under 10, an adult must be present in the building for the duration of their lesson. We invite you to use one of our waiting areas during this time – or setup a lesson for yourself while your child is taking theirs!
For children 10 and up who are dropped off/picked up, we strongly recommend that a parent/guardian walk them into their lesson and walk them out. It is beneficial, in many ways, for a parent/guardian to be present at the start and end of each lesson. Our parking lot can be quite busy and we appreciate your cooperation in keeping everyone safe.
Our staff is unable to provide child supervision or walk children in/out of the building.
Practice & Consistency
Music lessons are a commitment – (a fun commitment, but a commitment nonetheless). We expect all students to be present each week for their lesson, on-time, and prepared.
The key to progress is to practice, practice, practice. It is imperative that students practice their instrument regularly. You will get the most out of your weekly lessons here if you are practicing as much as possible. We recommend setting aside time every day to practice your instrument(s). Your instructor will provide you with instructions on what to practice each week, and can also give you tips on how to stay consistent with your practice routine. If you are struggling to keep up with practicing, please reach out to your instructor for assistance. We are happy to help!
Inclement Weather Policy
In the event of inclement weather, we may close unexpectedly. Notifications of studio closings will be sent out via e-mail and also posted to our Facebook page: www.Facebook.com/westmainmusicacademy
Holidays
West Main Music Academy will be closed on the following holidays:
New Year’s Day
Memorial Day
Independence Day
Labor Day
Thanksgiving Day
Christmas Day
Invoices will be pro-rated for lessons that fall on these days and students will not be billed. We do not offer make-ups for any lessons that fall on one of these holidays.
Religious Holidays:
If you need to miss a lesson due to a religious holiday that we do not close for, please contact the front desk before the billing cycle in which the holiday falls, and you will not be charged for the absence.