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Hello my fellow teachers!

Have any of you decreased you studio size by a few to several students at once?

If so, how did go and how did you go about it?

I am strongly considering reducing my studio size. I would much rather work the same amount of time but with less students.

I have many students that want/need longer lesson times and I have a handful of students that are here just for fun and not making much headway. I figured with those families I could have a meeting and discuss that either

A: I don't have enough room in my studio to accommodate everyone this fall. Offer other teachers.

B: Progress has been not been satisfactory I only have room for higher commitment students and recommend other teachers

C: ?

I definitely want to go about this the right way so the Parents, Student, and myself have positive closure and there are no hard feelings.

Maybe this is an absurd idea, but I appreciate everyone's feedback and suggestions.

You don't have room, and push them off on a different teacher after a big event like a recital.

I was worried about that, at the start of Sept 2013, because I knew at the start of Sept 2014 I'd never be able to accommodate the longer lessons that would be needed.

Then between January and now, several students have switched activities, switched instruments, convinced their parents to stop making them practice, and/or told me they were moving out of state.
If you can wait for the inevitable life situations that will cause your studio to reduce itself, you might just stop accepting new students and let it happen on its own.

If you cannot wait then maybe it is time to refer to other teachers. I have heard of teachers doing this in situations like yours. It is always emotionally hard on the students and families though, if they like you. That part you probably can't avoid (unless you do it by letting it happen on its own and not taking new students).

Be advised that students who need longer lessons might not be able to afford longer lessons, or their parents won't be willing to pay more. I teach a few families that have 3 or more kids, and it's not possible for them to pay for 3 hours of piano lessons a week.

I would not tell them anything that could be interpreted as "you're not up to snuff." I had done this a while back, and it was with an adult student who really wasn't practicing AT ALL, and I needed to make some room in my life for myself. So I told students that I wasn't going to be their teacher anymore, but in hindsight, I really should have done it better.

I think the best way is what I did when I increased my lesson times: I first told all my students that effective in the Fall (I announced it at the end of the school year), I would be increasing lesson times to 45 minutes, and listed the benefits for doing so. I also told them what the increase in cost would be. Those students that didn't really care much for lesson, let me know they would not be returning. What it told me was who was serious enough to stay. It really worked itself out; the ones that I wanted to dismiss left anyways. I think I had one or two unexpected ones that said they'd stay, but then over time they either improved or left on their own.

Just think of these lessons as "expensive babysitting." I also have several of these students, but I can't let them go at this point. Not just yet.

If you're getting paid, and the students aren't giving you trouble, why drop them and dump the easy cash?

Wow...humm...really?!? "Expensive babysitting" for the "easy cash?" Is that what private piano teachers are like these days? Are those really the first priorities? If so, that is very sad indeed. :-((

No, the reality is that very few kids want to learn piano if their parents didn't force them to, and if any piano teacher wants to make a decent living, compromises must be made.

Sad? Maybe. But the world is sad to begin with.

Yikes...but, there are other compromises, besides expensive babysitting. Right?

You could do small group supplemental theory classes or music 'thinking' classes, so that the kids could have a better chance understanding what they are doing with their pieces in their private lessons. If they understand what they are doing mentally, physically, musically, then there is a much greater likelihood that kids would actually do something on their own when they are forced to practice.

Oh, BTW, a system like that is clearly better for the kids, and also makes you more money for you. Sounds like a win-win to me. ;-)

You can only do your best to inspire them, but you can't make a kid want to play. Teaching in this kind of situation is bad, because we want them to enjoy themselves, but they clearly do not, and usually there is a struggle between the parent and child about lessons, so the teacher is caught in the middle.

I've jumped through hoops trying to get kids to like piano, and some just never do. But to drop them as students can be hurtful even if they don't want to be there, so often we just have to wait until they quit and make the best of it while they're there.

So yes, expensive babysitting.

I think it is a reasonable direction for a growing young teacher, so you can focus on fewer, better students, that both you and your students can have higher level of satisfaction.

It is definitely a good direction if you afford it.

Having said that, now put yourself into the parent/student's position, did the message you intended to deliver hurt? Did you feel you were just dumped like garbage?

It is still a good direction to go, but I would say do it slowly and naturally. The slow/none progressing students, who don't get satisfactions from the lessons and practices will not stay very long, I suppose.

If you absolutely need to let them go right a way, try to be very nice, don't say that they are not good enough for you, this may or may not be true :-)

Maybe just say that you have tried, and you feel you are not the best teacher/unable to help the particular student to build the passion on music, you care about the student's well being, and you feel the struggle is hurting the student, and you. So, you want to suggest another teacher or another instrument or another activity? It still hurts for sure, but you should at least try to make it easier to swallow.

Music studio is a people business. How you make people feel, how people say about you is vital for your continued success, perhaps more than your actual teaching skills. Now you seem to be at a peak of your business, but still, don't burn bridges.

I would say go with the nature flow of your studio size.

First, ask those who you think can benefit for longer lesson (and those you like) to opt of longer lesson start from September 2014.

Second, make your time slot based on these student.

Third, ask those you want to get rid of to change their schedule according to those you want to keep

Fourth, if they cannot compromise, then tell them you do not have room and give them another teacher's contact.

I never done this before, but if I have to do it, above would be the steps that I am taking.

I think your are drawing some conclusions ("is that what private piano teachers are like") without any basis to arrive at that conclusion. Piano teachers I know have music as a very high priority and really care about their students doing well. However when students continually refuse to work, a pragmatic approach doesn't change your overall priorities.

I personally look at the situation a little differently however. I do continue to teach the children we are talking about with the hope they will catch a love for the music. Sometimes they do. Sometimes they don't. I provide the best music education I can for them either way.

Exactly. Like any business owner, teachers decide what kind of studio they wish to run, and if the teacher has miles of patience, then they may be fine with students who hate being in lessons. Or, as the case may be, beggars can't be choosers and we have students that don't want to be there but we can't afford to dismiss them, so we wait until they dismiss themselves.

Here's another perspective you may wish to consider: Let the students self-eliminate. One very effective way to do that is to simply raise your rates. Say your current tuition is $99/mo for 30 min lessons Raise it to $120 or $125. Although not guaranteed, many or most of your non-serious families will reevaluate their lessons and will decide to pursue other interests. The down side, of course, is that you will lose some of your better students as well.

Another approach would be to simply drop shorter lessons from your offerings and couple this with a more modest price rise.