Thank you so much for taking lessons with Valencia School of Music! We are committed to making sure that your experience with the school not only fosters a supportive learning community, but also offers fun, informative lessons and group experiences!
In order to offer the highest quality of education, we must make sure that our instructors are given appropriate time to give each student the attention they need while also maintaining order in their own schedule. Each teacher instructs between 15 and 65 students each week.
We strive to give every student a fair and reasonable use of their time, the below policies have been set forth. These policies also allow us to keep the systems in place so that each student has the same opportunities as all other students,and that both students and teachers time are respected.
Private lessons are one on one and are committed to and paid for on a monthly basis. Each instructor’s schedule has different availability. All students/parents of the school are responsible to become familiar with these guidelines once they begin lessons. The policies will be posted on the website should anyone ever need to reference at a later time. Policies may change at any time. Submission of payment information indicates that you accept and agree to abide by said policies.
Tuition: Lesson Tuition is paid for on a monthly basis, and is deducted on the first of the month:
Weekly half-hour lessons are $40 each and billed monthly for the number of lessons scheduled in that month. Weekly hour lessons are $80 each and billed monthly for the number of lessons scheduled in that month.
Months with 5 Lessons: Months with 5 lessons will incur an additional lesson charge of $40 for 30 min lessons, $60 for 45-minute lessons, and $80 for 60 min lessons. Months with less than four lessons scheduled will be prorated to adjust to the number of lessons scheduled by the school.
Tuition is increased by 5% each year on April 1st at the school’s discretion to keep tuition up to date with inflation for the sake of teacher pay stability, as well as keeping the school capable of maintaining a high expectation of service to all of our families.
Lessons are billed monthly, and tuition will be deducted on the first of every month. All lessons (except introductory lessons) are recurring indefinitely, including through the summer. Please be sure to check your Opus1 account if there is any question about scheduling or billing. Every student scheduled in lessons must let us know if they wish to discontinue by the 20th of the month in order to guarantee the billing is canceled in time. Notice must be given in writing to valenciamusicnj@gmail.com. If notice is not received by the 20th of the preceding month, and the student is charged, tuition will not be refunded. Students may receive a gift certificate for the remaining lessons, or they can receive credits to their account for up to 6 months after stopping lessons in place of a refund.
If a student wishes to discontinue and they have already been charged, they are welcome to take their remaining lesson balance in the form of a gift certificate or finish out the lessons they have paid for. Lessons are forfeited after six months if not used.
Lesson Policies: Private lessons are scheduled Mondays through Saturdays year round with some closures during the year. Lessons can be 30, 45 or 60 minutes in duration. All lessons are scheduled upon availability. Students/Parents must contact the administrative staff directly via phone or email with any permanent schedule requests or changes.
If a student does not show up to three lessons in a row without notice of missing the lesson, and does not return our communications, they may be removed from the schedule and have their billing canceled starting the following month. Any remaining lesson credit after the third missed lesson will be held for them upon their return within six months, or issued in a gift certificate. Lesson credits not claimed within six months are forfeited.
Tuition is due on the first of each month for that month. This is in order to hold the place for that month’s lesson dates. There will be a $20.00 late fee charged for payments that are not updated by the first lesson of the month. Should a card be declined, the school will reach out via email automatically. Please be sure to update payment information or contact the school immediately after receiving that notice. Students who do not update their payment information or contact the school before their first scheduled lesson of that month will be removed from the schedule after that lesson, and will still owe for tuition for any lessons that are unpaid for that month. Students will not be allowed to continue their lessons until they have been paid for.
Students who receive a discount on their first month of lessons, or any of their first lessons, will not be offered any refund or credit should they wish to discontinue before their last lesson. Students who have lessons with a discount or promotional rate may not reschedule any lessons within that promotional period, unless agreed to prior to the start of the lessons.
Cancellations: Students who cancel a weekly lesson must do so at least 12 hours before their lesson time to bank their lesson. Any lessons with less than 12 hours notice will be forfeited. Cancellations will transfer to a makeup credit for students and can be rescheduled for up to 45 days after the banked lesson date. Tuition credits will not be applied to tuition balances for missed lessons when a student cancels. Students are eligible for two makeup credits in any sixty day period.
Lessons can be cancelled or rescheduled by parents or students on Opus1 with at least 12 hours notice. Lessons may be rescheduled a week in advance. Make-up lessons may not be rescheduled.
Substitute Teacher – Should a teacher have a substitute in for them student cancellations will fall under the same guidelines as normal cancellations. Parents are welcome to reach out, however, having a substitute will not allow for a change in policies regarding rescheduled or canceled lessons. Please note that if you opt out of lesson reminder emails, you will not recieve these messages and might not be notified in some situations.
Extended or Summer Breaks: Students who skip a month or more will forfeit their lesson day and time. Students who call out for more than 3 lessons in a row or more may forfeit their lesson time.
Should a student wish to take off for the summer but want to keep their lesson time must pay for ½ of each month that they will not be in lessons to maintain their time slot. Those who hold their spot will maintain their current tuition plan. Annual increases will occur on the current plan.
In studio students and those paying to keep their time during the summer will be able to schedule fall lesson times the last week of July.
Returning students who elect not to pay to maintain their time over their summer break will be able to reschedule the first week of August. They will also return to lessons at the current tuition rate and lose any grandfathered plans. All new students and referrals will be able to schedule lessons for fall the second week of August and going forward.
Holidays: The school is officially closed the week prior to Labor Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving) Small Business Saturday(The Saturday after Thanksgiving) December 24th through January 1st for winter break, Memorial Day, the week June 26th through July 4th, and August 26th through September 4th. We are open for all other holidays, religious and secular, during the school year. If a lesson is listed in Opus1 as scheduled, that means that there is a lesson scheduled and the student is responsible to attend, or cancel with adequate notice.
Should a student be unavailable for a religious holiday when the school is open, they still must notify us via email at 12 hours in advance and will be able to reschedule their lessons depending on availability for up to 45 days.
Students will not be charged for lesson days that the school is closed, and months will be prorated for closures. Students who wish to schedule a makeup for holidays in which the school is closed should forward an email or reschedule that lesson at Opus1.
Inclement Weather: Should the school close due to inclement weather, all students should utilize their virtual lesson links for that day. Students who opt not to utilize the virtual lesson and did not give at least twelve hours notice will not be offered an alternative lesson.
Group Classes: Group classes are billed as a flat monthly rate on the first of the month for all scheduled classes. Please note that students will be charged for all classes, regardless of attendance. Alternative classes are generally not available due to the structure of group classes. These classes include, but are not limited to, Rock-U Band, Rock-U Jr, Jazz Band and KidzRock.
Six missed classes are built into student calendars, as well as two cancellations from the school for situations including and not limited to; inclimate weather, teacher illness, etc. There are not tuition discounts or make-up classes for missed classes or performances.
Promptness: All students should arrive to lessons at least 3-5 minutes prior to lesson time. Please call us at 908.967.0458 if you have any issues logging in. Lessons are scheduled back to back for the entire day. When a student logs in late, the student will be afforded the remaining time for their lesson. If you fail to notify the school and log in more than 15 minutes late or forget to log in, the lesson will be forfeited.
Refunds: There are no refunds for private lessons. All students are expected to finish the month committed to or forfeit any payments should they not wish to continue. Group classes and camps will be charged a cancellation fee of between $75-$250 depending on the program. Refunds may require documentation depending on circumstances. There are no refunds after the start of a group class schedule, or after the lesson date.
Video and Photo Agreement: Students who participate in lessons, rehearsals and/or performances with the school may be included in photography and videos. Please be aware that by signing these policies you agree to you or your child’s image being used in our media, both online, in studio and in publications. This includes, but is not limited to, social media, marketing/advertisements in print as well as digitally and youtube channels.
Returned Check Fee: $50