2022/23: PAYMENT PLANS, REFUND POLICIES & COVID-19 SAFETY GUIDELINES
Payment Plan Options for the Academic Year:
Pay In Full: One time payment made with a credit card or through electronic check- There are no fees associated with this plan. *See Refund Policy for more information.
Payment Plan with Electronic Checks: Upon registration you will be charged $100 at check out to hold your place in the program. This payment will be applied TOWARD your final balance and is non-refundable. Once we have reviewed your selected program, you will be sent an invoice with a breakdown of your selected payment plan and charged for the first 20% for your selected program & your registration fee (both of which are non refundable). *The initial $100 will be credited toward this first payment. The remaining balance due will be divided into 5 equal payments, starting September 15, 2022-January 15, 2023. There will be NO fee for this plan. In the event that your payment is declined, you will be charged for any associated bank fees and you have 1 week to contact us to update your account. After one week, an additional $25 late fee will be applied to your payment. If we do not hear from you to update your account after 2 weeks, then the student will not be able to attend classes until the payment is made. Any classes missed during this period will not be able to be refunded or made up. *See Refund Policy for more information.
Payment Plan with a Credit Card: Upon registration you will be charged $100 at check out to hold your place in the program. This payment will be applied TOWARD your final balance and is non-refundable. Once we have reviewed your selected program, you will be sent an invoice with a breakdown of your selected payment plan and charged for the first 20% for your selected program & your registration fee (both of which are non refundable). *The initial $100 will be credited toward this first payment. The remaining balance due will be divided into 5 equal payments, starting September 15, 2022-January 15, 2023. There will be a 5% processing fee for this plan, based on the total amount of your selected program. In the event that your payment is declined, you WILL be charged for any associated bank fees and you have 1 week to contact us to update your account. After one week, an additional $25 late fee will be applied to your payment. If we do not hear from you to update your account after 2 weeks, then the student will not be able to attend classes until the payment is made. Any classes missed during this period will not be able to be refunded or made up. *See Refund Policy for more information.
Refund Policies for ALL Classes:
Our policies are always built with the goal of protecting both our teaching artists and students, to ensure that all are compensated for their commitments towards each other. In the event that there are extenuating circumstances, EzraGuitar is always willing to work with you to come up with a mutually agreeable solution, taking into account fair treatment to all parties involved. Since EzraGuitar is continuing to offer an online option for Private lessons this year, re-location is not considered an extenuating circumstance. In addition, due to the continuing circumstances surrounding the global pandemic and covid-19, EzraGuitar will do everything in its power to always provide ways to fulfill our programming promises to our students. If a circumstance/force majeure arises where EzraGuitar cannot provide ways in which to fulfill its obligations, then EzraGuitar will do everything in its power to reimburse our clients for any services not provided. However, as long as EzraGuitar has created sufficient ways to provide quality programming to fulfill its promises to our students, the following conditions will remain in place.
Registration fee is NON refundable
Any fees associated with your payment plan are NON refundable
20% of tuition is to be paid upon registration and is NON refundable
IF a student pays in FULL, 80% of tuition may be refunded IF the student decides to drop classes BEFORE September 5, 2021.
Any DROPS between September 5, 2022 & January 15, 2023- the student will be responsible to pay for 75% of the remaining tuition (after the non refundable 20%) & any/all fees associated with their payment plan/late fees etc.
IF you are on a payment plan & you decide to drop from your classes between September 5, 2022 & January 15, 2023, then you AGREE that your final payment will pay whatever balance is owed to complete the 75% tuition obligation and any associated fees.
AFTER January 15, 2023, there are no refunds for tuition.
For any MID YEAR Registrations (16 lessons or less): Lines #1,2 & 3 shall be applied. In ADDITION, If you decide to drop 1 WEEK PRIOR to your classes beginning, you will be refunded 80% of your tuition. However, once classes have begun, there are no refunds for these plans. IF you would like a payment plan for a Mid year enrollment, that will need to be discussed with EzraGutiar Administration to determine the best plan for you. However, you AGREE that once classes have begun, you will be responsible for the full amount of tuition.
Policies Regarding Private Lessons:
Cancellation Policy: Cancellations must be made at least 24 hours in advance in order to reschedule the lesson. If a lesson is canceled less than 24 hours in advance, then the lesson will be forfeited. The teacher is in no way obligated to make up or refund lessons that are canceled less than 24 hours in advance. Students are entitled to TWO make up lessons if enrolled in an Academic Year lesson plan or ONE make up lesson if enrolled in a 16 week semester lesson plan (as long as the lesson was canceled according to the EzraGuitar policy). There are NO make up lessons for Summer Sessions or any package of LESS than 10 lessons.
How to Cancel a lesson: Please call your teacher directly for all cancellations or make ups or any alterations you need to make in your lesson scheduling. If you leave a message, send a text or an email to your teacher; you must receive a response back from them to confirm that the lesson is officially canceled. The best way is always to call them; not everyone has the ability to check emails on their personal devices; so discuss with your teacher what their preferred method of communication is.
Tardiness: For online & In person lessons: If the student arrives late to a lesson, the teacher will only be responsible to teach the student until the end of their scheduled time. The teacher will only be responsible to wait for a student until the halfway point of their scheduled lesson; after which they may leave and the lesson will be forfeited. IF the Teacher is late to a lesson, the teacher will either extend the lesson to make up for the time the same day, if possible, OR will schedule a makeup to give back the time at another date. If you know that you will be running late, please use common courtesy and call your teacher to let them know of your situation, so that IF it is possible they can adjust the schedule to accommodate you, and/or other students.
Important for In Home Lessons: If the student is not home at the scheduled lesson time, the teacher will only be responsible to wait 15 minutes into the lesson time; after which they may leave and the lesson will be forfeited. In the rare instance that the teacher arrives at a student’s home to teach a lesson and is asked not to teach the lesson that day, the lesson will be forfeited; exceptions will be made for extenuating circumstances to be discussed and evaluated on an individual basis. IF the Teacher is late to a lesson, the teacher will either extend the lesson to make up for the time the same day, if possible, OR will schedule a make up to give back the time at another date. If you know that you will be running late, please use common courtesy and call the teacher immediately to let them know of your situation, so that if it is possible, they can adjust schedules to accommodate you, the teacher and/or other students. Please know that “in-home lessons” are a specialty service as they require the teacher to travel from home to home and thus deal with all of the uncertainties of the public transportation system and spend a great deal of additional time in transit rather than teaching; thus the policies are a bit firmer for these lessons.
Important for ONLINE Lessons: Please note that most of the time teachers are teaching students back to back, so there may be a small delay in your start time as the teacher ends the lesson with the prior student. This “rhythm” will be established during the first few weeks of the semester. THUS: if a teacher is a couple of minutes delayed in starting your lesson, please do not assume that they are not coming, either wait a couple of minutes and/or give them a call or text. The same is vice versa: IF you are delayed in starting your lesson, the teacher will either text or call you to check in with you. We understand that sometimes there are technical issues with this lesson format, so please, just make sure to communicate with your teacher and/or our administration if you have any questions or need help troubleshooting. You will NOT be penalized for dealing with technical difficulties as long as you communicate them in a timely manner to your teacher
Policies Regarding All Group Classes:
There are NO make-up lessons for group classes unless the class has been canceled by EzraGuitar. If classes are canceled due to force majeure* EzraGuitar will make every effort to find a convenient date for the majority of the group to make up the lesson, but a make up cannot be guaranteed and thus will not be refunded in this circumstance. Classes cannot be made up or refunded if an individual misses a lesson. *In the case of “force majeure,” (such as a snow day) EzraGuitar will try to use the ZOOM platform to hold the lesson at the same time as scheduled so as not to miss valuable lessons.
FOR ADVANCED GUITAR ENSEMBLE CLASSES/Workshops & Master Classes: These classes are considered an upper level course and thus require a high level of commitment and dedication. These classes are only open to students who have displayed a high level of excellence and have been recommended by their teachers and the Artistic Director. In order to achieve the goals of the curriculum, attendance is of utmost importance. It is important to understand that playing in an ensemble is just like a team sport and all teammates must train together in order to create music together. In the event of an absence, the student is recommended to schedule a 30 min make-up lesson with the instructor at the regular lesson rate within the week prior to the next rehearsal. The lesson may be done in person or online. In the event of too many absences, it may be decided that the student can no longer participate in the program due to lack of dedication and understanding of what it means to be a part of an ensemble. Since this is a specialty class; lots of work and planning is done in advance of the course starting; world class musicians are booked, music is written and arranged especially for the specific participants and is committed to by our faculty for the full year, no refunds can be issued.
ATTENDANCE:
Attendance is a very important part of studying a musical instrument. By skipping lessons the integrity of the course of study is interrupted and makes it very difficult for the student to truly progress at a good rate. If a student misses more than 2 lessons in a semester it will be at the discretion of the teacher if he/she believes that the student is prepared well enough to perform in the end of semester concert. In addition, those enrolled in upper level ensemble courses and Master Class/Workshop series, attendance is mandatory. The concerts and master classes are a very important part of our curriculum and they should be a positive experience for the students. If the student is unprepared because of poor attendance, the performance will not be a good experience for them, and we want to minimize bad experiences as much as possible; our goal is that music should be associated with fun and joy. Please understand that it is not a punishment if a student who misses class frequently is asked not to join the performance piece of the class, if the teacher feels that they are unprepared. It is our goal that performance should be a positive experience for ALL who are involved, including the audience. Thus we must take into consideration all of the students in the performance and honor their commitment and hard work. We also do not want to put a student who is under prepared into an uncomfortable public performance situation. The goal is to teach students to approach performance with all of their heart, to feel confident and proud of what they are presenting and most importantly, to enjoy the experience!
FAMILY DISCOUNTS:
ONLINE, IN STUDIO PRIVATE LESSONS: Families will receive 5% off additional family member’s tuition and only 1 registration fee per family ONLY on lesson packages of 32 lessons or more. The discount will be applied to the lesser of the two amounts.
IN HOME PRIVATE LESSONS: Due to the travel time associated with In Home lessons: No discounts are available for this service
Additional Group Classes: At this time there are no discounts for additional Group classes
NOTES:
-Family discounts are ONLY available to those registering DIRECTLY through EzraGuitar. If you are registering through your school or other institution, then any family discounts should be discussed directly with the administration of that specific program.
-Family Discounts can ONLY be applied to members of the same household. They canNOT be applied between friends.
SHEET MUSIC & REPLACEMENT LESSON BOOKS:
All NEW Elementary age Group Guitar students (PreK-5th) are provided with a lesson book which is included in your tuition. If the book is lost, you must contact the studio for a replacement book. The cost for a replacement book is $15 and it can either be picked up from our Brooklyn Studio or mailed depending on your location. Shipping cost will be added for mailed books.
For continuing online students, we will be sending some sheet music to you via email throughout the year; if you prefer to have your music book printed and mailed to you there will be a $15 flat rate fee (up to 40 pages), which includes shipping cost.
For Students who will need specific scores (teachers will let you know what they are) if EzraGuitar has them available in stock, then you can either purchase them online to pick up in the Brooklyn Studio or we can mail them to you for an additional shipping fee (based on size & weight).
To contact the office:
Please call us at 718-434-2103 between the hours of 10am-6pm Mon- Friday. Any messages left over the weekend will be answered the following business day.
If we do not answer PLEASE leave a message or send an email to:
[email protected]
Please do not rely solely on email to communicate with us; the volume of emails is very high and we cannot guarantee the speed in which you will receive a response. If you need to get in touch with us quickly please call.
COVID SAFETY GUIDELINES FOR IN-STUDIO AND IN-HOME PROGRAMMING
The below covid policies are what we have abided by in past years. We will follow CDC guidelines and best practices for keeping our community safe and healthy.
To keep students and families safe throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we have outlined additional policies and safety plans that students and families must sign on to in order to participate in on-site or in-home programming with EzraGuitar until further notice.
The health and safety of our students and their families, our faculty of teachers and administrators is our number one priority. Here are the guidelines we are abiding by so that we can ensure everyone’s safety and good health.
All faculty and staff members of EzraGuitar who are teaching in-person classes are fully vaccinated.
Policies and guidelines are subject to change at short notice following CDC guidelines. We will do our absolute best to keep our student body updated.
At our studio (these are according to the current situation and will be updated as the situation changes. We lovingly ask that you cooperate fully with the wishes of the studio so that we can do our best to keep our community healthy and safe)
All those eligible to be vaccinated for Covid-19 must show proof of vaccination in order to attend in-person classes in our studio.
Masks will be required at all times inside the EzraGuitar Studio, regardless of vaccination status.
We will also do temperature checks upon arrival
Our youth division students should be dropped off and picked up at the EzraGuitar entrance. Parents and caregivers will not enter the studio and will remain physically distant (6 ft apart).
Screening Procedures
Students will be asked screening questions before arrival at our studio and answers will be recorded. We request that you respond electronically if possible, prior to arrival. Anyone that does not submit answers electronically will be asked these screening questions upon arrival.
Symptoms
Students or staff members who are experiencing flu-like symptoms must stay home. Students and staff members who are running a fever will not be permitted into the studio. If you or anyone in your household has been in contact with anyone experiencing such symptoms within 3 weeks of attendance, your household must be tested and have tested negative in order to attend.
Face Masks and Physical Distancing
To comply with physical distancing requirements EzraGuitar and all of its patrons will agree to do the following, until further notice:
The maximum number of students in the indoor program will not exceed 24 students + 4 faculty/Administrators.
All faculty, staff and students must wear face coverings at all times.
EzraGuitar will provide all faculty with an acceptable face covering at no cost and will have an adequate supply for coverings in case of replacement.
Hygiene and Cleaning
To provide a safe and sanitary learning environment EzraGuitar will do the following:
EzraGuitar will have an alcohol-based hand sanitizer for areas where hand washing is not feasible.
Windows will be left open in the back room for indoor ventilation.
Students and teachers will sanitize when they arrive and before teaching, and between lessons and classes.
Children will be instructed to sanitize their hands upon arrival, between classes and after using the restroom. They will wear masks/face coverings in any restrooms.
All surfaces will be sanitized before and after each lesson or class.
In-home lessons
All those in the home eligible to be vaccinated should upload proof of vaccination in the registration form and will wear masks for the duration of the lesson.
Symptoms
If a student is experiencing flu-like symptoms or is in quarantine because of exposure, you will contact your studio teacher to arrange to have the lesson in an online format.
If you or anyone in your household has been in contact with anyone experiencing such symptoms within 3 weeks of attendance, your household must be tested and have tested negative in order to attend.
If your studio teacher is experiencing flu-like symptoms, we will contact you to cancel the lesson and/or provide an online option/make-up as necessary.
Communication
In the case that any EzraGuitar student or employee receives a positive covid test result. We ask that they immediately contact management at EzraGuitar so that we may notify State and Health Departments and cooperate with contact tracing efforts to keep our EzraGuitar community safe and healthy.
*In the event of needing to quarantine, all those affected will have their courses moved immediately to an online format so as to not miss any instruction.
We thank you in advance for your support and cooperation. We will get through this together! We look forward to seeing you at EzraGuitar!
