Lesson Policies
Please review the policies and related information below prior to registering.
May 18, 2023 Update: Policies on this page are from the 2022-2023 school year. This page is being reworked for Fall 2023 as part of a recent website update. Please click here for the most up-to-date school policies: Policies for 2023-2024. Thank you for your patience.
Email Communication
Please designate " @pakmusic.org " as a safe sender with your email system.
- The School’s primary method of communication with regard to news and events, scheduling, registration and requests for payment is by email.
- Registered families will receive email notices during the course of the year as various participation or registration forms come due.
Covid-19 Waiver of Liability and Safety Guidelines
We are requiring that all private lessons students complete a waiver of liability for 2021 (Spring, Summer, Fall). Whether or not you plan to visit us in-person, we request this form be on file so that we are ready in the event you choose to schedule a visit.
To accompany that waiver, please review the COVID-19 Handbook for Pakachoag Enrollees and Visitors .
We sincerely appreciate the flexibility that adult students and families are providing as we move through the uncertainties and disruptions of COVID-19.
Visiting & Use of the Premises
Understanding that the school’s various locations are accessible to the general public, your enrollment with Pakachoag requires and assumes as follows:
Children may not run, yell, or handle instruments or equipment without approval and supervision.
Pakachoag Music School is not responsible for the loss or destruction of any student’s property left on the premises.
For enrolled students*, you are, or your designated caregiver is, responsible to wait with your child/ren until your child(ren)’s assigned teacher is ready for them to enter their scheduled class or music lesson.
You acknowledge that you or your designated caregiver must be available promptly at the conclusion of the lesson or class to pick up your child/ren and that it is you, as parent, or the designated caregiver, not school staff or teachers, who is responsible for your child/ren’s safety and actions at all times prior to and immediately following a scheduled lesson or class for the enrolled student.
For siblings or accompanying guests, you are, or your designated caregiver is responsible for supervising siblings or your accompanying guests on the premises during your visit at all times (including during the enrolled student’s lesson or class time) and you, as parent, or the designated caregiver, not school staff or teachers, are responsible for the safety of children and any accompanying guests at all times.
Please note that supervision of siblings and younger enrolled students includes accompanying children when using the bathroom; and monitoring that bathrooms are left in a sanitary condition, as found.**
*Students who drive themself to or from a lesson are assumed to be the designated adult.
**Please kindly report any unsanitary bathrooms to school staff as soon as possible.
Registration & School Year
The academic year for Private Instruction begins the week of/Tuesday after Labor Day.
A completed and signed registration form, registration fee, and specified deposit or full tuition must be received prior to the student attending any lessons or classes. No student will be registered unless the photo-video release option is checked and the registration form is signed by the parent/guardian or adult student.
Tuition for group classes is due in full upon registration; however, Private Lesson tuition may be paid in full or in installments, as designated on the PI Payment Schedules available in the office and on our website. Tuition is based upon a 34 week academic year (or 32 weeks for Monday lessons).
Mid-Year Registration
New students may register at any time mid-year, scheduling permitting. Tuition will be adjusted accordingly. Tuition for students registering mid-year is determined by counting weeks from the onset of lessons through the end of the school year.
Late Payments
Annual Payment Plan: Please visit the Tuition & Fees page to download the annual payment plan schedule.
Late payments are assessed a $15 late fee. If payment is not made in a timely manner, lessons will be discontinued. The School will consider individualized payment plans upon request. Please contact the office for more information. We are unable to accept payments on a per lesson basis.
Financial Aid
Pakachoag Music School encourages families with limited financial means to contact us regarding financial aid. Funds are available on a first-come/first-served basis. Qualification is based solely on family income, adjusted for the number of dependents and unusual circumstances. Please call the office to request the application form. Pakachoag Music School will work with families to develop alternative payment plans if necessary.
Missed Lessons / Classes & Make-Ups
Regular attendance is expected of all students, understanding that illness, family emergency, or religious observances may require lesson or class cancellation. Please provide 24 hours notice when possible if you cannot attend a lesson or class.
Student Absences
For Private Lessons, the school provides one make-up in December/early-January for any student absences from September to December and a second make-up in June for any absences from January through late-May. The school provides students enrolled in every-other-week lessons (by arrangement only) one make-up for any student absence from September through late-May. Missed make-ups and additional student absences cannot be made up or credited.
Teacher Absences
Teacher absences will be made up. Families are expected to be available for student and teacher make-ups during the designated flex weeks through the end of the public school calendar year. In cases of inclement weather, cancellations will be announced on the Weather Page.
Weather
When lesson are cancelled due to weather, most lessons flip to remote (same day/same time). We ask that families check in with their teacher directly to confirm if a remote lesson will be provided in the event of bad weather.
In the event that circumstances do not permit a remote lesson, we will honor one weather make up lesson for the school year. Any additional school weather closings that might occur on the day of a scheduled lesson and which cannot be scheduled during the same time slot for remote will not be made up.
In cases of inclement weather, in-person cancellations will be announced on the Weather Page.
Vacation Weeks & Holidays; Make Ups
School Vacation Weeks
Public School vacation weeks are not part of the school year schedule of lessons. However, teachers may sometimes request a make-up be scheduled during a vacation week.
Families are not required to agree to schedule a make-up during a school vacation week. However, please note: if you agree to schedule a make-up during a vacation week and then cancel less than one week prior to the scheduled make-up date, the make-up lesson is forfeited.
This is out of fairness to teachers who plan ahead to structure their schedules assuming that a minimum number of students will be present for their visit.
School Calendar "Flex Weeks"
Families are expected to be available for make-ups during the designated flex-weeks in late-December/early-January and/or late-May/early-June (through the dismissal date for the Worcester public schools).
How flex weeks are used by teachers varies according to their own schedule status. A flex week may be a “regularly scheduled lesson week” for some teachers, may function as a make-up week for some teachers, or might be a week where no lessons are due and scheduled.
Missed make-ups cannot be made up.
Summer Lessons
There are no make-ups, refunds or credits for summer lessons missed by the student.
We provide up front flexibility when choosing summer lesson dates. Please check your calendar in advance before registering.
School Open Holidays
The School is open on Columbus Day, Veteran’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Good Friday. Please check with your teacher if you have questions. If you choose not to attend a lesson on any of these days, you may use it as your one half-year student make-up.
If a teacher is not in attendance, the lesson will be made up.
If a Holiday falls during a public school vacation week, no regular lessons are scheduled.
Please see additional information on flex weeks and make-ups above.
School Closed Holidays
The School and office are closed for: Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Friday after Thanksgiving; Christmas Eve, Christmas Day; New Year’s Day; Memorial Day; and the Fourth of July.
How to Know When Make-Ups are Scheduled
If you miss a lesson, your teacher must cancel, or bad weather results in a cancellation, please check with your teacher at your next lesson if you wish to know when to anticipate a make-up lesson.
Most make-ups are scheduled at semester-end during the designated ‘flex’ weeks or during a public school vacation week and usually on the same day that your regular lesson is scheduled.
The office is unable to confirm when make-ups might be scheduled by your teacher. Because teacher schedules vary widely, teachers oversee their own make-up schedules.
Performance Program Policies
"Miss" Fees
For students participating in the performance program, please note that if a student withdraws from or misses a performance class, accompanist rehearsal, and/or recital with less than one week’s notice (prior to class date) for any reason other than documented sickness or family emergency, a $15 no-show fee will apply for each sign-up activity (e.g., class, accompanist rehearsal, faculty warm-up schedule) missed.
Please click Current Families: Student Performance Program for complete performance program information.
Refunds & Withdrawal
If a student withdraws anytime during the school year (September to March 15), any student make-ups or weather cancellations outstanding are forfeited. Families will not be charged for teacher absences. A refund is provided for any weeks paid beyond the adjusted lesson count.
Every-week Private Lesson Students: Four-lesson notice required for withdrawal. The student may choose whether or not to attend the final four lessons. Billing is adjusted based on the number of lessons transpired plus four.
Every-other-week Private Lesson Students (by arrangement only): Two-lesson notice required for withdrawal. The student may choose whether or not to attend the final two lessons. Billing is adjusted based on the number of lessons transpired plus two.
Suzuki Program: Students choosing to enroll in the Suzuki Violin Program incur an additional annual fee. This is in addition to the private lesson tuition. There is no refund when withdrawing from the Suzuki Program, unless at least 5 months are outstanding at the time of withdrawal, in which case you will be charged the mid-year enrollment fee.
- No refunds are provided after March 15th.
- Pre-registration deposits are non-refundable unless specific arrangements have been made (due to special circumstances) in advance.
- The $40 annual registration fee is non-refundable.
- Group Classes (e.g., Suzuki Program) missed by a student cannot be made up.
Non-Discrimination Policy
Pakachoag Music School does not and shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status, in any of its activities, programs, or operations. These activities include, but are not limited to, hiring and firing of staff, selection of volunteers and vendors, and provision of services. We are committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for all members of our staff, faculty, students, volunteers, and vendors.