FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE STUDIO FOR NEW STUDENTS Enrollment information  Q. Am I enrolled for the whole school year? A. Yes. No matter which payment plan you chose, your enrollment agreement is for the whole school year. However there is only a two month minimum requirement and there is an “out” should you decide not to continue: 1. If you are on the 4 or 8 payment plan, just ask the Office staff for a WITHDRAWAL FORM and submit it two weeks prior to the due date of the next payment. If this is done in a timely fashion, you will not be obligated to make further payments. The Registration Fee is non-refundable. 2. If you paid in full for the whole school year, ask the office staff for a withdrawal form. Upon receipt of that completed form, we will pro-rate tuition based on the 8 payment plan prices, charging you only for the number of months classes ran prior to and including the month we received of your withdrawal form. We subtract that amount from the tuition amount you paid and refund the balance within 30 days. The Registration Fee is non-refundable.  Q. What do I do if the class in which I am enrolled is not right for me? A. Talk to your teacher and get his/her recommendation for a class that is more suited to your needs. Then contact our office to transfer to that new class.  Q. What happens when I’m absent? Do I get credit for the missed class? A. Sorry - no. This is just like a private school. The tuition price is the same whether you are present or absent. In order to assure that we can pay all of our bills and keep our program running, this policy is necessary. However, we offer you the opportunity to “make up” the class you missed by attending an alternate class. Check the schedule of classes (posted on the bulletin board in the hallway) or ask your teacher for his/her recommendation. Q. When are tuition payments due? Will I receive a bill? A. If you are on the 8 or 4 payment plan, you should have received an “Terms of Enrollment and Withdrawal & Refund Policy” paper. At the bottom, the payment due dates are listed and our office staff should have filled in the dollar amount due. IF YOU DID NOT RECEIVE THIS PAPER, PLEASE STOP BY THE OFFICE AND REQUEST ONE. If you chose the “Auto Charge” option, we will post charges to your card between the 1st and the 5th of the month. You will not receive a bill, but each month we publish a newsletter which will give you a reminder. We also post information about tuition due dates and other upcoming events on our bulletin board and/or dry erase board in the entry way and also on our website. Be sure to keep yourself informed by checking there from time to time. If your payment has not been received within one week of the due date, a $10.00 Late Fee is charged to your account.    Q. What do my tuition payments cover? Also, what other expenses might we expect as part of this program? WHAT TUITION FEES COVER For dance classes, our tuition prices cover 36 weeks of lessons plus rehearsal day, photo day and Recital day. Further, each registered student receives one complimentary recital ticket  and each dance student, a Recital music CD.  (Must be registered prior to October 20, 2012 and perform in the recital) If you are on the 8 payment plan, your payments are really not considered “monthly” as they may be in other studios. We do not charge you tuition in December, even though you do get classes. There is no payment in June either, even though you may have some classes, rehearsals and a recital. DANCE RECITAL EXPENSES There is no separate “performance” or “recital” fee. There are costume fees, of course, for students who choose to perform in the recital but we do our very best to select costumes that cost $60 or less for little ones, $75 or less for elementary students, and $90 or less for teens and adults. Additional recital tickets (beyond the complimentary one that you get as part of your full year registration) cost between $18 and $20 each. It is necessary for us to charge admission to the performances as the costs involved in renting the facilities, purchasing insurance, and paying for personnel, etc. are enormous. Ticket sales provide our only means of paying these expenses. CLASS SIZE LIMITS To ensure that each student gets the attention that he or she needs, we limit class sizes as follows: 10 - Playtime Dance and Preschool Dance 12 - Kinderdance and Basic Dance 16 - all other classes When there are 8 or more students in young children’s classes, we bring in a classroom assistant to help. QUALIFIED INSTRUCTORS Our dance teachers are carefully chosen for their teaching experience, talent, technical expertise, and warm and encouraging attitude. All instructors are university trained or have teacher training and/or professional performing experience. Our teachers agree with the Studio’s philosophy that proper educational building blocks are of utmost importance in developing a strong foundation of correct technique. SAFETY and ORGANIZATION OF REHEARSALS Our returning parents will tell you that we run very well organized photo sessions and rehearsals. Further, we take care to make sure that all young children are well supervised and safe back stage, and we don’t allow anyone back stage other than the performers, the faculty and technical staff, and the designated class supervisors. Observation Q. Are parents allowed to come in to the dance studio with their children to watch class? A. Yes, occasionally. Having parents in the room during class time can be distracting to students. To give you the opportunity to keep an eye on your student’s progress: 1. The “peek” windows allow you to observe class without the students being able to see you. It works best when the light in the hallway is OFF. 2. Two or three times a year we have a special “Peek Week” during which parents are invited to come in to the classroom to “officially” observe. Q. What about observing private music lessons? A. Parents are encouraged to sit in from time to time so that they may see what the teacher is working on with their student. This will help the parent to better understand what needs to be worked on at home between lessons to enhance the child’s progress. How often you sit in should be determined between parent, teacher, and student.  School Year Calendar Q. Does the studio follow the same calendar as the Sarasota or Manatee County Public Schools? A. Yes - most of the time! There are several “Professional” and “In-service” or “Records” days and a few holidays when public schools are closed but the Studio is open. We keep you informed of these via the “Calendar” section of our website, newsletters, the dry erase board in the hallway, and the message on our answering machine.    Q. Will I get credit for school vacation days or holidays when classes are not held? A. No, you haven’t been charged for those days in the first place. Your tuition fee is based only on the weeks that we do provide instruction.   More Questions? If there are any other questions you have that have not been addressed, please let us know! We will be happy to answer them. Stop by the office, or email us directly at DanceSarastoa@aol.com.