CALENDAR: SAM’s yearly calendar runs from August 16th, 2021-August 15th, 2023. Registration is open all year long. SAM’s calendar includes five break weeks: one week for Thanksgiving, two weeks for winter holidays, one week for Spring Break, and one week during the July 4th week. These break weeks are not included into the annual tuition calculation. Please refer to SAM’s calendar for more information on important dates. Students may withdraw at any point during the year as long as a 30-day notice is provided (see Withdrawal Section).
REGISTRATION: A non-refundable yearly registration fee of $50 will be required for all new and returning students. If you are presently enrolled at Superior Academy of Music, this fee will appear on your August payment. Students may register at any time during the year and their first month’s tuition will be pro-rated based on their starting date.
TUITION: Tuition is paid month-to-month based on an annual program consisting of 47 weeks of instruction from August-August. Some months have 5 teaching weeks, others will have 4 or 3 teaching weeks, as indicated in the school year calendar. The monthly tuition amount is constant and remains the same, regardless of the number of teaching weeks in a given month. Tuition is prepaid one month in advance and can be paid monthly. All payments will be charged on the 1st of the month, beginning on August 1st, 2018. Tuition covers the time spent planning and teaching customized private lessons and group classes, planning and presenting recitals, scheduling, research, general management, and Academy expenses.
DROP OFF/PICK UP: Punctuality is important in order to keep classes running on schedule, so please be prompt in dropping off/picking up your children. Please arrive a few minutes early in case the teacher wishes to give you a lesson report. If there is an emergency, please make other arrangements for your child to be picked up and call the Academy’s main number. Lesson time lost due to late arrivals will not be made up. Parents are welcome to wait in the waiting area. Superior Academy of Music staff cannot be expected to supervise children prior to or following the group class or private lessons. For their safety, students are also not allowed to wait for parents outside. Superior Academy of Music assumes no responsibility for children who leave unaccompanied.
PRACTICE EXPECTATIONS: Students are expected to establish a daily practice routine that will allow them to successfully complete the weekly assignments between lessons. All students will be taught a practice methodology in their lessons to effectively work on their own and to obtain successful results. Students should be able to practice by themselves, based on what they have learned in their lessons. Parents are not expected to be involved in students’ practice session at home. However, we do ask parents to support the students by ensuring they have sufficient time to practice and are able to come prepared to their weekly lessons. This will allow students to feel successful in the lessons and will motivate them to continue working hard and achieving positive results.
RECITALS AND NATIONAL ASSESSMENT OPPORTUNITIES: At SAM, students will have the opportunity to participate in semester recitals, which are usually held at the St. Bede Episcopal Chapel at the University of Miami during the months of November/December (Winter Recital), and May (Spring Recital). Friends and family members are welcome to attend the recitals free of charge. The recitals are a wonderful opportunity for students to share their musical achievements with the community and also to learn through the experience of a live performance. Aside from performing, students have the opportunity to listen to fellow classmates and enjoy listening to the musical variety of different instruments and styles. SAM students will also receive preparation for national assessments from the Royal Conservatory of Music Certificate Program, the only national music program that provides periodic evaluation in instrumental and vocal performance as well as music theory subjects. SAM teachers will select students when they are ready to register for an assessment and parents will be notified via email with instructions on how and when to register for an assessment. Evaluation fees for this accreditation program are paid directly to The Royal Conservatory of Music upon registration for an assessment. In the case of singers and non-piano instrumentalists, these students will be required to perform with a piano accompanist for both The Royal Conservatory Assessments as well as SAM’s recitals. The cost of rehearsing and performing with a pianist will be responsibility of the student and will be paid directly to the pianist. As a courtesy, SAM will provide assistance locating a local professional pianist and will also assist in scheduling the rehearsal and performance times.
SIBLING DISCOUNT: Additional siblings receive free registration.
AUTOMATIC TUITION PAYMENTS: All students are required to enroll in our auto-bill program upon enrollment. We accept all major credit cards, including Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Debit Cards. All payments are automatically debited on the 1st of each month. If your automatic tuition payment is declined, you will receive an email notification for each day the transaction is declined until the 7th of that month. After the 7th of the month, your payment did not go through, your lessons will be cancelled. A $20 reactivation fee will be applied to tuition payments received after the lessons have been cancelled.
MISSED LESSONS AND MAKE UPS: SAM does not provide refunds or credits for student absences. We reserve the lesson time slot for each student on a weekly basis. Once the lesson times are assigned for the Academic year, the schedule is set and we can no longer offer that time slot to anyone else. The teacher’s time and the room are reserved exclusively for the student. For this reason, when a student misses a lesson, it is always charged regularly. Even though we do not guarantee that this will be possible due to our teachers’ busy schedules, we do our best to accommodate rescheduling requests with a 48-hour notice. Makeup lessons must be recovered during the term in which the lesson was missed (Fall/Spring/Summer). Make ups or rescheduled lessons are non-transferrable in between terms. Students who miss the scheduled make up will not be able to receive a second make up. Only one make up opportunity per missed lesson will be granted. Please contact your teacher directly for any issues concerning rescheduling your lessons. For permanent schedule changes, any billing issues or any other concern, please contact our Program Director, Dr. Villaverde at info@superioracademyofmusic.
WITHDRAWAL: We require a 30-day notice for withdrawals. Withdrawals must be submitted by the 15th of the month by either phone, text, or email to our Program Director, Dr. Villaverde. You may also submit a withdrawal form online through our website.
OCCASIONAL TEACHER ABSENCES: At Superior Academy of Music, the faculty is comprised by experienced and dedicated teachers who are also active musicians performing locally, nationally, and internationally. Therefore, SAM students have the unique opportunity to work with renowned musicians who are constantly working on their own craft and in this way also becoming better teachers. Due to our faculty’s active performing careers, and in order to ensure uninterrupted class schedule, a visiting artist may occasionally work with students in lieu of their regular teacher. This opportunity will provide students with a different perspective by incorporating new ideas into their musical learning experience.
2022 SUMMER TERM (JUNE 1st 2022 – AUGUST 15th 2022): Private and group lessons will run through the entire summer term with the exception of the July 4th week. Unless students notify us in advance of changing summer plans, we will continue with the same schedule and billing system all year long. The summer term allows for more scheduling flexibility. Unlike the Fall/Spring terms, summer lessons may take place during different days and times, depending on students’ schedule and teachers’ availability. SAM will continue with the regular private lessons program and will also offer a special musicianship class designed to reinforce student’s musical education and ensure students stay musically involved during the summer term. We recommend all students continue lessons during the summer months, especially if they wish to continue with their teacher and same lesson slot in the next year. If students will be gone all summer, we will require them to submit a withdrawal form at least two weeks before they leave. Students who leave for the entire summer term will risk loosing their lesson spot with their teacher when they return. Students who reschedule their summer lessons instead of canceling their lessons will still be able to keep their preferred lesson spot and teacher when they return. Priority is always given to students who continue during the summer term. If a student needs to change their lesson schedule during the summer term, SAM must be notified by May 15th, 2022.
BOOKS PURCHASE: All students are expected to purchase their books and sheets for performance, practice logs, extended study, theory materials, etc. and bring them to lessons/classes. These items can be purchased online. Students/parents will receive the online purchasing information from SAM whenever new books are needed.
PROMOTIONAL USE OF PICTURES AND VIDEOS: Superior Academy of Music may photograph/videotape students, classes or events for publications for publicity purposes and to illustrate SAM’s programs. These images will not be distributed, sold, or used beyond Superior Academy of Music’s promotional activities. By agreeing to this policy you allow Superior Academy of Music to use photographs/videos of you or your son(s)/daughter(s) performances. If you would prefer to opt-out of our use of these materials please contact us in writing.
INCLEMENT WEATHER: Should the need arise to close the Academy due to inclement weather (major hurricane or similar), SAM will notify the students via email and phone. Lessons cancelled due to inclement weather will not be refunded. However, SAM will make every effort to reschedule the missed private lessons, depending on schedule availability. Group classes that are cancelled due to inclement weather will not be made up.