Thank you for allowing me the privilege of teaching music to you / your student(s)! In order to make our time the most rewarding productive, I have established the following policies for 2023-2024:

In-Person Lessons & Covid Precautions: In-person lessons are offered in my home in Minneapolis.

• Bring all books, materials, instruments (if needed), and assignment book to your lesson. For piano students, fingernails must be kept short at all times to enable the student to play with healthy technique.
• Come through the front door 5 minutes before your lesson time. Move quickly through the door and close it tightly to make sure my cats don’t escape!
• Parents/guardians are required to be available during lessons for minors (either at the lesson or by cell phone). In the event of an emergency, if a parent cannot be reached, you agree that I will be permitted to exercise my discretion in providing care and treatment for your child. Parents/guardians agree to hold me harmless for any such care and treatment decisions.
• I maintain the right to require all adults & students to wear masks as I deem appropriate. I will update all students / families via email with any mask requirement updates. If I or a student tests positive for Covid or needs to quarantine, lessons will be held online until they are well, test negative, or the quarantine period is over.

Online Lessons: Please have the following materials ready 5-10 minutes before the lesson begins:

• A charged or plugged-in device to the side of the piano so I can see the upper half of the body, arms/hands, and instrument.
• Assignment notebook OR sticky notes, pencil, and all lesson books / printed music / other materials
• For families with multiple students studying with me, subsequent students should be waiting and ready at the end of the previous student’s lesson.

Tuition: 

• Each lesson slot is secured by making a $50 registration/materials fee per student.
• The $50 registration can be submitted via MyMusicStaff or Venmo @Jenny-Focht-Music / paypal.me/JennyFochtMusic / Cash App $JennyFochtMusic / Check
• Tuition for 30-minute private lessons is $1224 for 30-minute lessons ($136 per month for 9 months).
• Tuition for 45-minute private lessons is $1728 for 45-minute lessons ($192 per month for 9 months).  
• Payment is due in advance by the 1st of every month via automatic bill pay. Families should expect a yearly increase in tuition appropriate to cost of living increases and services offered.
• All students are required to sign up for automatic monthly bill pay via credit card or bank account through My Music Staff, powered by Stripe, athttps://jennyfochtmusic.mymusicstaff.com/Student-Portal-Login. I will send all students / families a link to create an account through My Music Staff, which is my scheduling and invoicing software.

Schedule:

• For the price of tuition, each student is guaranteed that I will provide 33 out of 34 weeks of instruction (one of them being a recital) from September-May/June (see separate schedule). You will be notified of any additional costs for materials such as books.
• I have built in one flexible week of time off if I need to cancel for any reason. Students / families do not pay for my day off. I will let you know as soon as possible if I need to cancel a lesson, and it will not need to be made up as the absence is built into the tuition.
• Two flex weeks will be added to the end of the school year if I need to take additional time off.
• Mini conferences may take place during lessons at the beginning, middle, and end of the school year to communicate with families / students about student progress and problem-solve any challenges that may arise.

Missed lessons:

• Regular and prompt attendance is required to make appropriate progress. If you are unable to make a lesson, please email, call, or text me as soon as possible. 
• I am not able to provide make up lessons. Tuition covers far more than the time with you / your child, so you do not need to worry that missing a lesson means wasting money. I frequently use missed lessons to plan for your / your student’s progress, locate materials, or create an asynchronous lesson. There are no refunds or discounts given unless I am unable to teach the promised number of lessons.

Missed lesson options: 

• Online lessons during the student’s regular lesson time are an option. In the case of inclement weather—please check your email for lesson status. 
• Asynchronous lessons: upon request, I will record and/or send new materials, assignments, and/or activities for the student to review independently. Requests for this option must be communicated to me before the student’s lesson time.
• Lesson swaps: Families of private students may trade their lesson time with another student in advance (“Lesson Swap”) to help avoid absences.  Here are the rules of a the lesson swap: 

1. I must be informed prior to and after arranging a swap.   
2. No make-up lessons will be given if any confusion from this arises.  
3. Should 2 people arrive at once, I will teach the one whose lesson is normally at that time.

Practice Requirement: My goal is for my students to learn functional and enjoyable music skills that contribute to their quality of life now and for the rest of their lives. I want playing music to be life-giving as students grow in confidence and build momentum throughout the year! Regular, quality practice is an essential part of this process. Students who practice regularly are the most satisfied with their progress and abilities and simply have fun playing. This perpetuates an upward cycle of growth. Beginning students should expect to practice 15-20 minutes/day, 4-5 days a week, and advancing students 30 minutes 4-5 days a week. I will provide specific suggestions about how to practice well at home, and these notes will be included in the assignment book or through notes I email to you. I also will provide practice incentives, fun challenges, and work with students to select preferred music. Struggles with practicing will be addressed throughout the year with brainstorming, tools, and support. I understand there are ups and downs in everyone’s life and throughout the school year. I am not asking for perfection; nor do I want students to feel anxiety. I truly value the wellness of my students. Because of this, chronic non-practice is not sustainable long-term for me or the student. If practicing and progress do not take place throughout the year despite my attempts to create and support this habit, or if significant student stress is experienced because of lessons, termination of lessons will be discussed at the end of the academic year.

Illness: Students who are ill should not come to in-person lessons. I reserve the right to send a student home if they arrive sick. If students are only mildly ill, please email me and we can do an online lesson via Zoom or FaceTime.

Communication: You are welcome to contact me via email or text about any updates, questions, concerns about your student’s progress, practice habits, etc. I am able to respond during the work week but not on weekends or late evenings.

Books and Materials: I will let you know what books and materials are necessary for the student's progress, but obtaining them will usually be your responsibility. Books can be purchased at Groth Music in Bloomington, Schmitt Music in Bloomington, Amazon.com, or another website I will send to you. If I purchase materials for you, I will charge the card on file.

Recitals & Group Classes: Students are strongly encouraged to participate in the spring recital given in May. If a student must be absent, a video recording should be made for the recital and will be shown during the live performance. Online group classes are included in tuition and are strongly encouraged to practice sharing music with others and supporting each other.

Termination: School age students are expected to commit to lessons for the entire school year. Adult students are expected to commit for at least 1 semester (15 weeks). Learning an instrument takes time, persistence, and perseverance. Ups and downs in the learning process are normal! Please stay in touch with me if you or a student is struggling with any aspect of lessons and I will be happy to make adjustments and give suggestions. If you need to end lessons, I require a 30 day notice to end lessons. Monthly tuition will be prorated for the final month based on the number of weeks of instruction given or offered. However, refunds cannot be given.