VOICE LESSON POLICIES for Klein ISD School Day Students with Jill Jensen
1) ATTENDANCE
This is a contract and commitment that Students are expected to attend weekly lessons for the entire school year. A withdrawal earlier than May must be made in writing with a 2-week notice given. If Student chooses not to attend the additional 2 lessons, they will still be charged in order to give the teacher time to fill that spot unless the student finds someone to take their place immediately.
Missed Lessons:
Missed lessons must be made up or the lesson will be charged to your account. I, the teacher, must receive notice 24 hours in advance of lessons to be missed for any reason including, but not limited to, family or personal emergencies, choir rehearsals, school trips or events, and sports activities. It is the student’s & parents' responsibility to keep me informed of what’s going on at your school that would disrupt our lesson time. Pep rallies are a big issue in changing up the schedule causing missed lessons and the teacher's wasted drive time to/from the school. I am not required to make up lessons for which I have not received a 24-hour notice, although I reserve the right to do so.
Make-up Lessons:
Students are allowed two make-up lessons per semester. Any missed lessons after the initial two will be made up at the discretion of the teacher.
If you are unable to take your lesson at your regular time: 1) you may switch times with another student [this is your responsibility, my schedule is posted at school] or 2) you may make up the lesson during any other opening I have during or before or after school or at my home studio.
Absences due to illness will be made up according to the same policies listed above. The student/guardian may call /text my phone before school if they wake up with an illness. This will make it easier to switch the student’s lesson time with another. DO NOT COME TO LESSONS SICK. I DON’T WANT IT!
*Excused Lessons (missed lessons not charged to your account):
- School Holidays - Lessons will be excused on school holidays.
- Teacher Absence - In the case of the teacher’s sudden absence, the student may schedule a make-up lesson, if they wish, but it is not required. The make-up lesson would be for the normal lesson cost, otherwise, the student will receive credit towards the next month’s tuition payment. Lessons that are re-scheduled more than 24 hr in advance by me do not fall under this category.
Promptness: Students need to be on time for their lesson. It will end at its regularly scheduled time.
Temp lessons – If a student has a temporary need for lessons to prepare for something, it’s not likely that I can fit them in during the school day, but parents can discuss coming to my home studio in the evenings.
2) COMMUNICATION
While there are many ways that you may contact me, your private teacher, I ask that the primary form of contact between myself and the parents/guardians of the student be almost exclusively through email where a record of the conversation is easier kept. If there is something you need to talk to me urgently about, please feel free to call my phone number. Texting is best left for simple messages such as the student is running late or is sick. Please check your email regularly for important updates and information regarding voice lessons. Emails come from my website/company: Songbird's Studio.
3) PAYMENT
The only part of my job that I dislike is chasing down payments. For this reason, auto payments are required. The teacher will call to obtain a credit card or bank debit information to set up the Auto Pay through a secure platform. Parents may pay for an entire semester up front in order to decrease the frequency of payments. Just ask me and I’ll figure out how many lessons to add up for your child.
Payment will be made on the 1st of the month for the number of lessons expected in the month. For example, payment for November’s lessons is due by November 1st, subtracting the week of Thanksgiving in the lesson count. Please read the following paragraphs carefully:
If a payment isn't made before the 1st lesson of the month due to an expired credit card or insufficient funds in a bank account, the parent must send payment via Venmo or Zelle before the lesson. If no payment is provided by the first lesson of the new month, a $10 Late Fee will be added to your monthly fees and the lesson will not be taught until the account is paid.
Attempts to receive payment will be made by the teacher.
If a student attends a 2nd lesson without payment, the student will be dropped. The lesson time will be made available to someone else and the tuition is still due for any services provided plus the 2-week withdrawal requirement.
Parents may set up their Auto Pay in the student portal or the teacher will call to obtain the information and set it up. If a payment doesn't go through, it's possible to send an electronic payment via
-Venmo @Jill-Jensen-72 using the regular “friends and family” type methods so that extra fees are not incurred.
NOTE: If you use the business avenue of payment, and fees are subtracted from payments, then I will charge you, the parent/student, to reimburse those fees. NOTE: Electronic payment is a convenience. This contract serves as a promise between two parties that know each other and is unnecessary to use a fee-based business transaction.
OR
-Zelle (919-924-8464)
If financial hardships arise, talk to your choir teacher. There may be some scholarship assistance that can help.
4) PRACTICE & PARTICIPATION
Students are expected to practice frequently to make progress: 4 days per week for 20 minutes is adequate, more is a super effort and will result in great improvement over the year.
A note from your teacher: The STUDENT PORTAL is a crucial part of how our lessons will work and how students will receive music tracks and sheets to download and print. After you have registered, you'll receive an email from My Music Staff/Songbird's Studio to set up your portal password. Please do this before you forget. Share the password with your child OR include their email in the registration so they will receive the portal notification when I upload something for them. I can't stress this enough! A week goes by with no real practice because parents don't pay attention to portal notifications that are meant for the student to make their practice more beneficial. Your money will be better spent if you'll utilize the portal with your student.
5) RECITAL
All students will be expected to prepare for a recital at the end of the school year in the Spring. Each student will perform at least one piece in front of an audience. The student and I will choose appropriate repertoire for the recital together to ensure that the performance is both fun and vocally appropriate. This recital is mandatory, unless otherwise discussed.
6) CONTRACT & REGISTRATION FORM
Please fill out the online form found HERE to show that you’ve read these policies. This completes our contractual agreement and must be submitted before I can schedule a student into a spot. While you’re there, browse the site for more information about your teacher.
-Jill