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2008-09 Enrollment: At
public schools, there must be a minimum of 17 students enrolled in
private and small group lessons (piano, guitar, violin) during fall and spring
semesters in order for Music Lessons Express (hereafter: MLE) to provide
lessons. If this minimum is not met
you may register for our home lesson option or you will be provided a full
refund. At private locations there
must be at least four students enrolled or the lesson location must be near one
of our existing locations. Group
lessons are open to grade K and above. Private
lessons are open to age four and above. Lessons
are scheduled on a first-come first-served basis.
When lesson times are full, students may be placed on a waiting list.
You must submit the registration fee and first month’s tuition in order
to Withdrawal:
We
encourage all students to remain in music lessons on a long-term basis, as
learning an instrument takes time and commitment.
However, a student may be withdrawn from lessons by contacting the
Music Lessons Express office directly (850-219-3653 or info@musiclessonsexpress.com).
Upon request, lessons will be terminated, provided 30 days notice is
given. Payment will be required
for all lessons that would have been received during the 30 day period
following the date of withdrawal. If
a student stops coming to lessons with no notification, then a charge will
incur for the current month of lessons plus the following month in order to
fulfill the 30 days notification policy.
Except in emergency situations, this policy will be enforced.
Students will be enrolled from September – May unless withdrawal
notification is given. Lesson Scheduling and Format: Lessons
are taught during fall, spring and summer semesters but do not take place in
August. See Lesson
Location and Schedule
for a detailed listing of lesson locations, times and dates.
Group piano, guitar and violin lessons take place once a week for 40
minutes with 3 to 5 students per class.
If only two students are enrolled in a group class, the lessons will
be 30 minutes each. Percussion
and SuperStar Singing group classes take place once a week for 30 minutes.
Private lessons (at an after-school program) are 30 minutes each and
are scheduled on the same day that group lessons take place, after the group
lessons care complete. Private
lessons in the home take place once a week and may be scheduled in 30, 45 or
60 minute sessions. All lessons
are scheduled on a first-come first-served basis.
For group lessons, our goal is to schedule students by grade with
younger student’s together (K-2) then older students (3-5).
However, due to scheduling factors this is not always possible.
Summer music lessons are taught during the months of June and July in
private format only. Summer
students are required to register for a minimum of four lessons.
Tuition,
Payments and Late Fees: Tuition
is the same per month regardless of how many lessons take place during a
month (except for December and May, when only two lessons take place and
tuition is half the monthly amount). Each
student receives a total of 32 lessons from September through May (avg. of
four lessons per month plus 2 in both December and May).
At the time of enrollment, you must pay the registration fee and
either the full tuition (one semester or entire school year) or the
first month’s tuition (then follow the monthly payment schedule).
All
monthly payments are due by the first of the month.
A payment reminder will be sent by e-mail approximately 10 days
before the due date. A $5 late
fee (per student) will be added to payments not received by the 5th of the
month. Students will not be allowed to participate in lessons when payments are
late by more than 14 days.
Payments may be made online or mailed to Absences
and Make-up Lessons:
If your child will be absent during a lesson, please contact the
instructor and/or the Music Lessons Express office 24 hours before the
lesson. This is very important,
especially for students enrolled in lessons at a school.
Make-up lessons will NOT be provided if a student is absent or if a
parent or student cancels a lesson. This
is due to the difficulty in re-scheduling both instructors and students.
If the instructor must be absent, a substitute will be provided or
the lesson will be rescheduled. Weather
Related Closings: We abide by state/local authority decisions regarding
emergency school closings. If
Leon County Schools are closed we will not provide lessons for that day (at
all of our locations, not just public schools).
Since these incidents are rare and out of our control, we do not make
up these lessons Behavior, Discipline and Supervision:
During lessons, students are
expected to behave properly. If
a student misbehaves and is disrupting a lesson, the instructor may remove
the student from that day’s lesson and will inform the parent and, if
applicable, the after-school program director.
Multiple occurrences of poor behavior may require an
instructor/parent conference. If
the student cannot or will not behave properly, we reserve the right to
permanently remove the student from lessons.
Additionally, the staff of Music Lessons Express is not responsible
for supervision of a student before or after his/her lesson.
Students in the after school program should check in with the after
school program staff before coming to music lessons.
For
non-after-school program students
taking lessons at a school, the parent/guardian must walk with
his/her child to the lesson location, and then return to the lesson location
to sign out the child when the lesson is over.
If your child is attending the
lesson immediately after school, you may give permission on the MLE
registration form for your child to walk to the lesson location from their
classroom (please inform your child’s school teacher of this.)
When picking up your child after a lesson, please be prompt.
For children taking lessons in
the home the home, a parent/guardian must be present in the
home during each lesson. Curriculum
Fees:
The registration fee enrolls new students for lessons from September
through May and covers administration costs plus one lesson book and
theory or technique book. For
percussion students, the registration fee covers the cost of a drum pad with
sticks. For all students, fees
will incur for additional books that the student may need during the
course of the year and will be billed in Piano Curriculum:
Piano students will learn to play by written music using the Piano
Adventures series. All students
receive one lesson book and one theory book as part of the registration fee.
For beginners, foundational concepts such as finger numbers, rhythm
and note names must be learned before a student learns to play written
music. A performance songbook
may be purchased at an additional fee for students who show excellent
progress in lessons and are practicing on a regular basis.
Performance book categories include classics, pop, rock, jazz,
children’s songs, favorites, hymns and Christmas.
Contact the MLE office for more detail. Guitar
Curriculum: Guitar
students will learn to play melodic and rhythmic guitar by written music and
chord charts using the FJH Young
Beginner Guitar Method. All
students receive one lesson book and one theory book as part of the
registration fee. Repertoire
includes a selection of rock, pop, country, folk and children’s songs.
Classical guitar and bass guitar instruction is also available at
some locations. A performance
songbook or chord book may be purchased at an additional fee for students
who show excellent progress in lessons and are practicing on a regular
basis. Contact the MLE office
for more detail. Strings
Curriculum (Violin, Viola, Cello and Double Bass):
Students in group and private string lessons will learn to play their
instrument(s) by written music using Essential
Elements 2000 for Strings. All
students receive one lesson book as part of the registration fee.
For beginners, the fundamental elements such as posture and setup,
note-reading, and rhythm-reading must be learned before a student learns to
play written music. A
performance songbook may be purchased at an additional fee for students who
show excellent progress in lessons and are practicing on a regular basis.
Contact the MLE office for more detail. Percussion
Curriculum:
Students will learn to play many instruments in the percussion family
including snare drum, drum set, and accessory instruments such as hand
drums, tambourine, and congas. Students
will learn to read music and perform on percussion instruments using a
percussion curriculum and general music appreciation curriculum.
Students will receive a drum pad and sticks which is covered by the
registration fee which may also be used for practice in the home. SuperStar
Singing Curriculum:
TBA Instrument
Requirements:
All students are required to have an instrument for home practice within one
month of beginning their lessons. (Percussion
students may use their drum pad and sticks for practice in the home).
Piano, Guitar and Percussion students are provided with an instrument
during lessons at after-school program locations.
All strings and flute students must provide their own instrument
during lessons. For lessons in
the home, an instrument must be provided by the student.
For lessons in a private school, church or workplace, an instrument
may be provided by MLE depending on the number of students enrolled.
For more information on purchasing or renting an instrument, see Instrument
Requirements, or contact the MLE office. Practice Requirements: Students receive a weekly
lesson assignment sheet that lists the pages to practice or complete for
that week. Each assignment sheet
also includes a weekly practice log where students are encouraged to record
the number of minutes they practice each day.
For a student to be successful, he/she must practice on a regular
basis. We recommend a minimum of
four practice days per week. Practice
periods may be 15 minutes for beginners and 30 minutes to one hour or more
for intermediate and advanced students.
Additionally, children are more successful when the parent takes an
active role in motivating the child to practice.
For example, parents may establish a practice schedule or reward your
child for a productive practice session.
Please talk to your instructor or call the Music Lessons Express
office for additional tips on how to motivate your child to practice.
“Reach for the Stars” Awards Program: In
order to motivate our students, MLE implements an awards program at each
lesson location during September through May.
Students may earn one star (point) at each weekly lesson in the
categories of attendance, practice time, and behavior.
Each instructor keeps a log where the star points are recorded.
At the end of spring semester the star points for the entire school
year are tallied and awards are given at each lesson location at the spring
recital for individuals and group classes according to the rules provided on
our website (www.musiclessonsexpress.com).
Home based students will compete (as individuals) with the students
at the school nearest their home. If
your child prefers to not participate in the awards program, please inform
your instructor. Recitals:
Recitals take place twice a year with a Holiday Show in December and
Spring Recital in May. An email
announcement with the recital date, time and location is forwarded 2 – 4
weeks prior to the recital date. All
students are encouraged to participate but are not required to do so. Instructor
Qualifications:
Each instructor is required to pass a background check as facilitated
by the Leon County School Board Office.
All instructors are talented musicians and teachers who are
dependable and work well with students of all ages, and many have received
or are pursuing advanced degrees in music. Correspondence:
Announcements with pertinent information will be sent by e-mail.
Those without e-mail will receive information by Requirements
for Private Locations ~ Private School, Home, Church or Workplace:
In order for lessons to
be provided at a private location, it must be near one of our existing
locations and scheduled on the same day as that location, or
there must be at least four students taking lessons.
For lessons in a home, an instrument must be provided by the student.
For lessons in a private school, church or workplace, an instrument may
be provided by MLE depending on the number of students enrolled.
Contact the MLE office if you would like to discuss a new location. Don't hesitate to contact us
if you
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