Music School Policies
The Down Home Music School strives to encourage and develop our students’ skills in the most enjoyable way possible! To do this, all students are required to read and agree to our School Policy Agreement when they enroll. You can find further explanation of our policies on our FAQ page. Please Contact us with any other questions or to enroll!
Payments
Customers may choose in-person or virtual instruction with any of our qualified teachers. An ongoing weekly recurring lesson commitment to the same day/time/teacher is paid for in 5-week increments and must commence within 2 weeks of registering. Single, non-recurring lessons must be paid for in advance and can be scheduled anytime.
Payment is due upon registration and by phone or in person via cash, check, or card. Discounts are given for households enrolled in 3 or more private recurring lesson slots. All tuition payments go into a family account; the cost of each lesson taken is then deducted every week.
You will receive a weekly statement with your family account balance. Once your account hits zero, you will receive a text requesting confirmation of whether you want to continue lessons and hold your lesson time. Automated billing is available upon request. If you do not pay before the date of the next lesson, you may be charged a $5 late fee per overdue lesson or required to pay for what’s owed plus a new 5-week session.
Lesson commitments are considered continuous; we assume students will be taking more than 5 lessons, so if you decide to stop lessons at any time, please notify a store clerk or school administrator at least 24 hours in advance so we can make the time slot available to other students. There are NO refunds for any lesson payments; if money remains in your account, you may freeze the account until they’re ready to resume or apply the money to another student.
Attendance
Regular attendance at your designated time is expected. Students who are late cannot be guaranteed a full lesson. If a student is 15 minutes late without contacting us, it will be treated as a no-show, unexcused absence.
Please wash/sanitize your hands before touching music school equipment. Parents may wait in our waiting area, sit in on the lesson, or drop off/pick up their student. Virtual students must be logged on and ready to receive a call from their instructor at their scheduled time.
We require students of any age be able to engage with an instructor for 30 minutes by following basic verbal instructions and answering basic questions. Parents may be asked to sit in on part or all of a lesson to monitor their student. Disrespectful behavior such as foul language or damage to lesson room equipment will not be tolerated.
Absences & Cancellations
24-hour notice is required for all absences. Please notify a store clerk or school administrator (not the instructor) of all absences by phone, text, or email. Students who do not give 24-hour notice to the store or admin will be charged for the missed lesson and not allowed to reschedule. This applies to both in-person and virtual instruction and both recurring or single appointments.
Students who enroll in recurring weekly lessons with the same time and teacher are paying for an instructor to reserve a spot in their schedule for them every week. A lesson will be deducted from your account every week; but with 24-hour notice, you may arrange a make-up lesson at no charge for another day or time within 30 days of the absence. Make-up options are strictly based on the instructor’s availability; the more advance notice given, the more options there are to reschedule. Depending on the instructor’s schedule, students may have to settle for a virtual make-up. Missed or canceled make-ups will not be rescheduled. If you do not want to schedule make-ups, you can opt to unenroll from your lesson time and re-enroll when ready to resume.
We do not guarantee make-ups for cancellations because of sickness or emergency; however, students can receive virtual instruction instead.
If a student misses a class and their account is at zero, they will automatically be dropped from the schedule and not be re-enrolled without payment for more lessons.
No refunds or make-ups will be given for missed group classes.
If an instructor is absent, advance notice will be given by email and/or text. Other lesson time options or a substitute instructor will be offered. You may choose not to take another time or a sub, in which case the lesson will be excused and your account will not be charged. If lessons are canceled because of weather, you will be contacted by phone and email as soon as possible.
The music school does not hold lessons on New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, or Christmas Day. We give lessons Monday through Saturday on all other holidays unless otherwise notified.