Fees & Policies
Our music teachers are Degree’d professionals who earn their living and support their families by teaching music lessons. For our music school to run smoothly, and to attract the best possible music teachers, we must have policies in place that will respect their time, as well as yours. These policies are fair, reasonable, and widely used at most music schools around the country. To avoid a misunderstanding, please take time to read our policies below and let us know if you have any questions.
Office Hours
Our phone is answered throughout the day and evening. Feel free to call outside of our posted lesson hours. Music lessons are offered by appointment Monday-Thursday 3:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. and Friday 3:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. For music lesson cancellations, please email, call or text the school at (512) 989-2425. Messages may be left 24 hours. Please leave your cancellation message as soon as possible as we monitor cancellation messages even when the school is closed. There is no need to wait until the school opens to leave a cancellation message.
Tuition
Tuition for Private music lessons is as follows:
- $128 per month for 30-minute private lessons, taken once a week. (Most students take 30 minute lessons.)
- $192 per month for 45-minute private lessons, taken once a week.
- $256 per month for 60-minute private lessons, taken once a week.
- $256 per month for two family members, each taking weekly 30-minute private lessons.
If your first lesson falls in the middle of the month, we will prorate your tuition for the 1st month to reflect only the lessons you actually receive. After that, we charge a monthly flat rate and tuition remains the same each month. Occasionally, students will receive only 3 lessons in a month due to the presence of a major holiday. However, all students receive extra lessons throughout the year because some months have more than 4 weeks. Months with 5 lessons balance out the occasional months where a holiday causes a student to receive 3 lessons. When comparing tuition between schools, remember that some schools increase tuition or skip lessons for months that have an extra (5th) lesson. At our school, the 5th lesson is always included at no extra charge.
Transactions that are declined because of insufficient funds, past expiration dates or closed accounts, incur a $15 fee in addition to the month’s tuition charges. To avoid unnecessary fees, please remember to let us know if you close your account, change banks or want to use a different account/credit card, or need to update the information on an existing credit card.
Late Arrival
Please note that students arriving late will not have their lesson time extended. Our teachers typically have many students scheduled consecutively throughout the day and they will not impose upon another student’s lesson time. If you arrive late and your teacher is not in the waiting area, please go directly to your teacher’s room and let him or her know that you’re present so no additional time is lost. If you’re running more than 5-10 minutes late, it may be a good idea to call ahead and let us know that you’re on your way, but running late.
Cancellation Policy
Recognize that your lesson time is reserved specifically for you. This means that your lesson slot is unavailable to other students and the teacher has made a commitment to instruct you at that time. Please make every effort to come to your lesson and avoid scheduling other activities during your lesson time. Consistent attendance helps ensure good progress.
If you must cancel or reschedule a lesson, a minimum of 24 hours notice is needed if you would like to receive a make-up lesson. Make-up lessons must be scheduled through the front desk. Make up lessons are not unlimited. Please limit cancellations to no more than one per quarter.
The tuition fees for lessons that are cancelled with less than 24 hours notice are forfeited. Your teacher is not obligated to provide a make-up lesson for “no shows” or “late cancellations”. Students may not use “credit” from a missed lesson to reduce the tuition for a subsequent month. The tuition remains the same; there are NO REFUNDS for missed and cancelled lessons, unless caused by the teacher’s unavailability.
Never cancel a lesson because you have not had time to practice. It is better to come in and review the material so progress is not halted yet another week.
Withdrawal
To discontinue lessons and cancel future tuition drafts, email the school at lessons@pfluger-rock.com or call us at 512-989-2425 no later than the 15th of the final month you wish to be billed for lessons. This short two week notice gives us time to cancel your monthly tuition draft, notify your teacher and allows us a little time to fill gaps in the teacher’s schedule so that he or she can continue to earn a living. We hold your reserved time slot under the assumption that you are continuing lessons each month so please, do NOT wait until the last lesson of the month, or the beginning of the new month to tell us you want to withdraw from lessons. In order to avoid miscommunications, we do NOT accept withdrawal notice given to your teacher. Teachers to not handle billing, scheduling or withdrawals. Contact the school by email, phone or text.
Switching Teachers or Instruments
As a courtesy to the teacher, we do ask for two full-business weeks’ notice to switch teachers or instruments. Since our teachers are paid by the lesson this allows time to find a replacement student, and time for communications between instructors to ensure lesson continuity.
Substitute Teachers
Occasionally, a teacher may miss a lesson due to an illness or family emergency. Whenever this happens, the school will arrange for a guest teacher or will attempt to reschedule your lesson. We’ve found that many students actually enjoy an occasional lesson with another teacher.
Holidays
Our schools are closed on most major holidays. These include New Year’s Day, the week of Spring Break, Memorial Day, July 4th, Labor Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving Break, and New Year’s Eve. Occasionally, your lesson will fall on a holiday and you will not have a lesson. There are no tuition adjustments or make-up lessons given for lessons that fall on the above major holidays because all students receive additional lessons at no extra cost on months where an extra (5th) week occurs.
Please note that we do not follow public school system schedules for staff preparation/student holidays. If the public school system has for example, a teacher “in-service” day, do not assume we are closed. When in doubt, please call or text the school office so you do not forfeit your lesson.
Recitals
Recitals are held twice each year. Participation is optional. Signs announcing our recitals are posted in the school well in advance. Students interested in participating in a recital should sign up at the front desk during the registration period and begin working on a recital piece with their teacher 4-6 weeks before the recital. Space permitting, students who are not performing at a recital are welcome to attend. We occasionally take photos of students performing at recitals and sometimes post them on our school bulletin board, a digital picture frame in the waiting room, Facebook and our school web site. If you would prefer not to have you or your child’s photo displayed, please let the office manager know.
Leave of Absence
Sometimes a student will leave town for the summer or must discontinue lessons temporarily. As a courtesy to the instructor and just as importantly to stop the auto draft on a timely basis, we still require the same advance notice to discontinue lessons temporarily as we do if the student is withdrawing from lessons. Again, please let us know by the 15th of the month if you will miss lessons in the following month and do not wish to be charged. If you must miss lessons for an extended period of time (more than 3 weeks), please let us know with as much advance notice as possible. It is sometimes possible for a student to return to lessons in their old time slot, but we cannot “hold” or guarantee the student’s old time slot when the student will miss lessons for an extended period of time and does not wish to be charged during the time when lessons are being missed.
Care of Young Children
The school is not responsible for providing supervision before or after class. Parents with very young students are asked to remain in the school during lessons. Students are not to be left at the school for excessive time before or after class. Your child’s safety is important to us. Please make arrangements to pick up your child as soon as the lesson is over.
Additionally, siblings of students are welcome to wait quietly in our lobby during their siblings’ lesson time, with adult supervision. Since quality lessons require attention and concentration, we ask that children who are not in lessons remain in the waiting room, and do not play or run in the hallway. Magazines, books and crayons are available, but noisy activities are discouraged, as they could be distracting to students in lessons.
Summary
Tuition is collected electronically on the 3rd day of each month. Avoid declined transaction fees by letting us know if your banking or credit card information changes.
All communications regarding cancellations, scheduling, withdrawals and payment issues must be done by emailing us at lesson@pfluger-rock.com or calling 512-989-2425, not your teacher. Teachers do NOT handle withdrawals, leaves of absence or payment issues.
Students must provide 24 hours advance notice for missed lessons in order to receive a make-up lesson. Never cancel a lesson because you have not had time to practice. Only one make-up lesson per quarter will be provided.
Your tuition reserves a place for you with a particular teacher at a specific time. Students are charged for all lessons, including those missed through student absence/cancellation. There are no refunds or “credits” to subsequent months for missed or cancelled lessons unless caused by the teacher’s unavailability.
Teachers typically have lessons scheduled consecutively throughout the day. Late arrival will result in lost lesson time.
To withdraw from lessons and discontinue charges, students/parents must contact the school administrator by the 15th day of the final month in order to discontinue charges.
Please do not send your child into the studio if they are sick and may expose our staff and other students to illness.