Summer Schedule- Weekly Lessons
Found in: Studio Management
Rebecca G. Colorado
I’m a newly licensed Simply Music teacher in CO and am working through how best to launch my studio. I’ve been reading the forum conversation entitled “Summer Dropouts” and am now feeling perplexed as to how to start teaching when it seems that there’s so much irregularity in student attendance and availability starting around this time of year. Since I am a brand new teacher with no previous experience and I have only been playing piano for a little over a year myself, I don’t have the ability to pull back from the regular curriculum and concentrate on arrangements and accompaniments, etc., until people are back on a more regular schedule during the school year starting in September. I need to start with The Basics and Foundation 1, and I want to get students off to a successful start, which will require weekly time commitments for lessons and daily commitments to practice – two things which people are saying can be difficult to enforce during the summer. I’m feeling uncertain about what exactly I would be offering when people come to an FIS – do I just present the material and then tell them that these are weekly lessons and if they can’t commit to summer then wait until fall/September, which means I probably postpone a lot of my business? Any insights and suggestions are welcomed. Thanks so much for your support; I’m very excited to be a part of this wonderful community.
Karina S. California
Hey, welcome to the family! Good for you! I am also a newer piano player and although I had played guitar and could pluck out tunes by ear on piano I do not have a traditional background – there are many (I think) that launched playing piano right here with simply music…so you are in good company!
My suggestion to you is to offer Piano Camps or Piano Workshops and tailor make it to your studio. I just extended a special for my current students for referrals. I can send you what I use in a word doc if you want – just e-mail me offline.
When I first started I was terrified – really and still question myself, but then little by little you just learn things and use what you already know like your love for music. Feel free to contact me if you have questions. Also, if you can, visit other studios – I try to when I can make time. You always learn from others.
Patti P. Hawaii
I have never taken summers off in my teaching career (many years, only a little over a year SM). My students pay a fixed fee all year round; they know I will be available to teach a certain number of promised lessons between August and the end of July the next year. (Or the appropriate amount if they start mid-year). I set that number to allow for me to have a few sick days and a couple of weeks vacation, Symposium and workshops, and still get the promise fulfilled. If they come faithfully every week, they could end up with more than the promised number of lessons.
I have taken a large break during part of the summer, and that has been more problematic for me. Students came back having forgotten too much, and some looked at it as a time to terminate lessons. I really hated having to spend so much time getting everyone back in shape when lessons resumed, and I decided not to make that mistake again!
I’ve only had one family (this month) stop “for a few months”. I think they are assuming there will be space for them in a few months, but that’s not very likely.
I think that if families know from the start that lessons go through the summer, and I just mention that if they have to miss due to a trip or whatever, they just jump back into class when they get back and catch up with the class over the next few weeks. If I just casually discuss it like it’s not a big deal, I’ve found that it’s taken well.
Darla H. Kansas
I am another teacher who doesn’t take the summer off and it works for me. I let my students know up front that I teach year round, I charge a set fee for every month, regardless of the number of lessons in that month, as it all averages out over the year. I let them know that SM has fantastic student home materials that allow them to catch up on missed lessons if they are sick, out of town or whatever. This is my 4th summer teaching SM and I haven’t had anyone quit or try to take the entire summer off since my first summer, when I wasn’t as good at communicating expectations. In fact, both last summer and this summer I am starting a new group in June–not for a workshop or camp, but a regular group prepared for a long-term journey.
I encourage you to think about what you want for yourself, how you want your studio to function and then go for it. Set goals for what you want to achieve and work toward reaching them. It may not happen overnight, but with perseverance you’ll get there! Communication with prospective students is key.
Terri D. North Carolina
This will be my third summer of teaching and I need the income, so when one of my students is taking a vacation, I will double up on lessons one week or divide the time and extend them 10 minutes or so for the remaining three lessons. My parents are happy with this arrangement and I still have my steady income every month. I haven’t lost a student during the summer yet, thank God!
Kevin M. California
Hi Rebecca,
I was a total beginner with no musical background, and started teaching after maybe six months of lessons or so. I have never taken summers off or seen a large slow down. By the way on the intranet in the “FAQ’S library I scrolled down to “Studio Management” and there is a conversation by Neil titled “Attendance Time Off” where Neil discusses a little of how he dealt with summers.
Having said that I have found it is best to prepare for the worst so I would get to all the schools in your area and businesses you are interested in advertising with, and pass out flyers cards and have as many conversations as you can. (Doing this now is great as many parents are planning activities for summer) being pro active is the best way I know of to build your business. I was able to have a small local paper write up a free editorial when I first started teaching, it was a bit cheesy “Ex bodybuilder turns piano teacher” however I believe I got almost 30 students from that!
I know you will receive a lot of great answers on the forum and ultimately will find what works for you. I thought it might be nice for you to hear from someone who was a beginner like you and made it through 15 plus summers with great student numbers.