OUR POLICIES

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To ensure that your family enjoys the best possible classroom experience, we have developed the following policies. By enrolling in a class, you commit to following these policies. Please contact our office at office@soundstartnashville.com or 615-777-9314 for more information.

HOMEWORK
To receive the maximum benefit of our classes, please enjoy the music and activities AT HOME.  Children learn through repetition and will be much more likely to participate in class if the music and activities are familiar.  Practicing throughout the week at home is also a great way to include the entire family! We recommend incorporating our songs and activities into your daily life. Sing about your food, animals, toys, activities, and more! (Be sure to download your class music. For more details visit this page.)

PARENT/CAREGIVER PARTICIPATION Sing, dance and have a great time in class!  This is ESSENTIAL to your child's musical development.  You may not love your voice, but your child does.  Enthusiasm is infectious and your child's learning will be enhanced by YOUR participation. This is true when we meet in person and is especially important in our online classes. Your enthusiastic participation is essential to your child's learning.

CLASSROOM EXPLORATION
It is developmentally normal for students to wander and be distracted in class. You can help your child connect to class activities by enthusiastically modeling the song activities in class and practicing the songs and their activities at home. Families who practice songs at home 5-6 days per week tend to experience greater success in classes.

 

Children in our online classes will explore and their parents/caregivers may be concerned that they are not focusing on the screen. THIS IS OKAY AND DEVELOPMENTALLY EXPECTED. Continue to model the desired activities on your side of the screen. Sing, dance, and play along with the class so your child can engage with you musically as they explore their environment. Children who are not interested in the screen can still receive all of the developmental benefits of class by engaging with you during the activities. 

CLASSROOM SAFETY
Please help us maintain a SAFE learning environment by intervening if your child is doing something that could endanger them or another child in the class.  Also, please avoid bringing drinks or snacks (other than water in a spill-proof container) to class. This helps prevent slippery spills, choking, and exposure to allergens during class.

CLASSROOM DISTRACTIONS
While it is expected that students will wander in class, there may be times that your child will need you to intervene.  If your child is disrupting another child or if your child's actions are disruptive to the class overall, please redirect them. If necessary, leave the class area until your child is ready to rejoin the classroom activities.  Our classes can be very stimulating and sometimes leaving the stimulating environment is necessary to calm an overstimulated child.  This too is part of their early development, so please don't feel awkward if you need to step out for a moment or two. If you're attending online and need a moment to regroup, just close the camera and rejoin when you are able. This happens in our in person classes and it will happen at home. When your child is ready to engage again, turn on the camera and rejoin the fun.

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SANITIZING INSTRUMENTS
Because children often explore the world with their mouths and because we are experiencing a surge in a variety of illnesses, ALL CLASS INSTRUMENTS will be sanitized between classes. We use a minimum of 70% alcohol to sanitize our instruments. Please help your teacher collect instruments after use and place them in the used instrument bin. Outdoor classes do not use community instruments. Families provide each participant an instrument to shake, sticks or wooden spoons to click, and any other small percussion instruments. Families in outdoor classes also provide a blanket or mat for their family to sit on.

 

HEALTH POLICY

Please note that singing involves forced-air breathing. Forced-air breathing emits significantly more airborne particles than regular breathing. Do not attend an in person class if you are feeling ill (even just a little). This is not a new health policy. Our health policy has remained the same since we opened in 2004. When students are healthy, they attend regularly and repetition is essential for early childhood learning. We have a generous make-up/absence policy because we want to keep our students and their families healthy. We allow unlimited make-ups for medical reasons. Please don't come to an in person class sick and put our teachers in the position of asking you to leave. 

CLASSROOM QUALITY

If at any time you are concerned about the quality of our classes, feel free to speak directly to your teacher or contact our director, Rachel Hoffman at rachel@soundstartnashville.com.  We strive to provide the very best in early childhood music education.  Your feedback is vital to our success.

VISITORS & DROP-IN GUESTS
Because we know that repetition is essential in early childhood learning, we do not allow families to attend classes as "drop-ins".  All families register for the entire session unless they are registering late.  However, families with out-of-town guests, an occasional "extra" child (sibling/babysitting, etc.) are welcome to bring a "drop-in guest".  These online visits are a flat fee of $10 per visiting child (no charge for adults) and can be scheduled on your TMC Dashboard. 

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SCHEDULING ABSENCES/MAKE-UP CLASSES
As a courtesy, we allow families to self-schedule up to three make-up classes per session via their TMC Dashboard. Missed classes must be made-up during the current session.  All make-ups must be scheduled in advance to prevent classroom overcrowding. We offer a wide variety of classes. Please check the class location and class guidelines before scheduling your make-ups to be sure you are comfortable with that class' description. Families may self-schedule make-ups on their dashboard,  call or text the office at 615-777-9314, or email office@soundstartnashville.com for assistance. We encourage families to schedule make-ups as early in the session as possible, as make-up spots tend to fill up toward the end of the session. We cannot guarantee make-ups. We also ask families to schedule absences when they know they will miss a class. Your scheduled absence provides a make-up spot in your class.  If you need further assistance, please contact us at office@soundstartnashville.com.  Please note: absences of a registered child CANNOT be transferred to unregistered siblings or visitors.

CLASS CANCELLATIONS
Outdoor Classes: Classes will not meet if temperatures are below 32° F or above 90° F, it is raining, there is a tornado watch, or if roads are hazardous. We will reschedule one "rain" date for each outdoor class. Once we've utilized that "rain" date, any additional outdoor classes will meet online during inclement weather. Inclement weather cancellations are communicated via email (and online class links will also be shared via email). In inclement weather, please check email before heading to your outdoor class. If we need to cancel an indoor class (i.e. teacher is ill and no subs are available, or our classroom is flooded, or roads are unsafe), you will be notified via email and text prior to class. If we do not have your cell number listed, please update your profile online or call the office. A perk of online classes is that we never need to cancel due to inclement weather! See typical Nashville temperatures here.

TUITION REFUNDS

Full refunds are available with no questions asked as long as we receive your request five business days or more before the first day of the session.  (Note that we don’t determine the date based on your first scheduled class, but instead from the first day of classes that session.)
 

• LATE REFUND REQUESTS:
  Refund requests received four business days or less before the session starts, and before the first time your class meets:  We will refund your tuition minus a $25 administration fee. Refund requests received after your first class meeting and before week five: We will refund your tuition minus a $25 administration fee, a $30 materials fee, and deduct for each class that has occurred. Refund requests will no longer be honored after the fourth week of the session.
   

• MATERIALS REFUNDS:
  $30 of in-person class tuition pays for materials (The Music Class songbook and access to audio music via the TMC app).  If you received materials and return them to us with  the book in new condition, we will refund you the $30 materials fee. If you did not receive materials, be certain to let us know. After confirmation with your teacher we will refund the $30 materials fee.
  
  Note: We are not providing books for our online classes. Families are not being charged for digital materials (and TMC app access) while online. Sound Start is covering the cost of these subscriptions for you. In person students will receive a songbook and access to audio music via the TMC app. We are contractually required to provide materials to all families who enroll in an in person class. Please do not ask us to make an exception.
   

• SIBLING REFUNDS:
  Families with more than one child enrolled will be charged only one administration fee.  The sibling refund rate is $12.50 per class.
  Note: We are not charging for sibling participation for our online classes. It would be incredibly difficult for us and you to monitor.
   

• MAJOR MEDICAL:
  If you miss class due to a major medical condition, such as hospitalization or prescribed bed rest, contact us no later than 2 weeks after your first missed class.  We will refund you for the classes not taken.  Please supply a doctor's note.
   

• CREDITS:
  We do not issue credits towards future sessions.

 

LATE REGISTRATION FEE

Sound Start asks families to enroll in a class at least one week prior to the session start date. This allows us to order all the supplies we need in time for our first week of classes. Families are welcome to enroll after this deadline but will be charged a $10 late fee to cover the cost of shipping additional supply orders.

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CUSTOMER PRIVACY POLICY
Sound Start respects and is committed to protecting your privacy.  We will not share any of your personal information without your consent. 
 

CUSTOMER TERMINATION
Sound Start Early Childhood Music strives to provide the very best environment for early learning. If a child is unable to participate in a non-disruptive manner, caregivers are encouraged to step out of the classroom to help calm the situation and then return when the child is ready to resume classroom activities. Should a child not be able to participate in a non-disruptive manner in repeated classes and if the caregiver is unable to diffuse the disruptive behavior,  as determined in Sound Start Early Childhood Music's sole discretion, then Sound Start Early Childhood Music reserves the right to withdraw the student from the class and to refund tuition on a pro rata basis. In the event that an adult/caregiver behaves in a disruptive or disrespectful manner, as determined in Sound Start Early Childhood Music's sole discretion, then Sound Start Early Childhood Music reserves the right to withdraw the student from the class and to refund tuition on a pro rata basis. Sound Start Early Childhood Music will not tolerate behavior that makes other customers feel unwelcome or unsafe.