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This is the first year I have had a full load of students and been responsible for registering students for fall/making up the schedule. I would love to know how other teachers handle registration and making up their timetable for fall.
I am thinking of doing registration in June and giving first priority to students who want to keep their current spots, and then look at moving students who need a different lesson day/time for next year. I am hoping everything will fall into place fairly easily, but could see problems arising if there is heavy demand for the same day/time, etc.
Any ideas on how to work registration and keep things fair?
Registered Private Piano and Flute Teacher
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Good thread! I wish I had a good answer... but hopefully some of the more experienced teachers will share some wisdom. Last year, I was changing my schedule (because of a baby) to more days and shorter hours, and I thought the fairest way would be to have a schedule sign-up for Fall at the Spring recital... It worked okay... but not great. (The idea was that parents would be able to discuss with each other too - unfortunately, my controlling parent misunderstood/didn't READ the letter,didn't sign up, and then was frustrated she didn't get the ONE spot HER daughter could make work...) I'm really brainstorming about how to handle registration for next year too - I have a full studio as well, and not a lot of leeway to shake things up!
Please, master teachers, share your wisdom!
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Stephanie, I've always offer returning students priority over new students. But I've also made it clear that lesson times cannot be reserved until the enrollment fee is paid. The tie breaker is: First Come, First Served.
That said, a certain amount of flexibility is required, because students will not know their class and extra-curricular schedules until school begins. For HS students, especially, this is important
"Those who dare to teach must never cease to learn." -- Richard Henry Dann Full-time Private Piano Teacher offering Piano Lessons in Olympia, WA. www.mypianoteacher.com Certified by the American College of Musicians; member NGPT, MTNA, WSMTA, OMTA
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John, I agree. Returning students should definitely have priority over new students, but when do you expect your returning students to sign up by before accepting new students or putting another student in their spot. Do you have a deadline for returning students to get priority?
Most music schools and teachers around here start fall registration before summer begins and offer a period where only returning students can sign up so that they get priority. I think that sounds fair, but I can't decide how long to give returning students before going to my wait-list.
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Hi Stephanie
The problem I always seem to have when I try to line up the lesson times for the fall, is the parents tell me they are not sure what the sports schedule will be when school starts. September seems a million years away to them in June!!
I think first offering your continuing students the same time the following year with the warning that if they dont register before summer or whenever it is you are setting up your schedule, the space could be taken by someone else. To me, that is only fair.
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I think part of the problem that I have noticed when school starts may be that piano lessons can be viewed as something that can "always" be squeezed into the schedule where it fits when everything else has been scheduled first. I think it's easy for piano lessons to be viewed as something that can be more flexible in scheduling. It can take a 'back seat' in the priority of scheduling.
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You are right Sarabande. It seems like the sports and other activities are more of a priority. Why do you think this is? Is it because we are perhaps too accommodating whereas sports teams and schools are not?
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I think it is pretty well impossible to be accommodating when dealing with a group activity. Could you imagine trying to cater to 15-20 parents schedules and find a time that is totally convienent for everyone?
I get the feeling it must be worse dealing with sports in the U.S. My only problems are soccer, which only runs April to June and I try to accommodate for, and hockey/ringette where the practices change from week to week depending on ice time. With the latter it is impossible to pick a time that would never conflict.
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I always have my parents re-register for the Fall by the end of May. The registration fee is a yearly fee that is non-refundable and basically pays for all music and supplies that will be used in the coming year. Students will know their Fall lesson time before we break for the summer. I would rather they work the 'other' activities (dance, karate, gymnastics) around piano, and not the other way around. Sometimes in September I'll have a parent who ends up having a problem with the lesson time and I do my best to see what other options there are. However, usually 90% of the students have no problem with their Fall lesson schedule.
I like getting Fall registration done early so that I know MY schedule and know if I need to advertise for more students and fill in some gaps.
Music School Owner Early Childhood Music Teacher/Group Piano Teacher/Private Piano Teacher Member of MTAC and Guild
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I can't help here as I teach year-round, so students automatically keep their slots as long as they want. A couple of students do take the summer off; if they don't pay to hold their slot, they are looking for an available slot when they return (they can take up to four unpaid weeks vacation each year, and still hold their slot, however). Re: sports, while I agree that a team sport cannot cater to each individual participant's schedule, it is a continual frustration that students expect to be able to move around their lessons so easily. My students do go on waiting lists for long-term slot change requests, and for short-term sports conflicts, I do what I can to fit them in where I can. Sometimes, they do end up missing some lessons they are paying for.
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Dumdumdiddle, I completly agree. I think the way a piano teacher handles fall registration can mean the difference between students/parents thinking of piano as a priority and thinking of it as something that is thought of last. It is a bit of a risk, I guess as some busy students might not be willing to commit early, however the payoff can be that you end up with students who take piano more seriously. On the flip side, leaving registration until the last minute to allow parents to fit it in after every other activity can leave a teacher with a roster of students who don't take lessons seriously. As the old saying goes, you teach people how to treat you. Of course if a student ended up with an important conflict closer to September I would figure something out. I was actually surprised when I advertised early to fill my schedule last year how many parents had spots booked by the end of June. When I started getting phone calls in late August, I only had a few spaces left.
As much as we want to accommodate students, we have to be fair to us as teachers, and the fact that this is our job and income. Waiting until August with no guarantee of who is returning is ridiculous. However unlikely, it could lead to a teacher having a half empty schedule and no advertising done. Here I need to have my advertising ready to go out a month before I want to advertise. I think the key is to find that happy medium that is fair to both teacher and student.
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