Policies - Music Conservatory of CdA

Music Conservatory of Coeur d’Alene Policy

By registering for lessons, classes, ensembles, camps, or programs at Coeur d’Alene Music Conservatory, you agree to the following policies starting September 1^st, 2026.

Commitment to Quality Music Education

Our policies are designed to support consistent instruction, respect the time and preparation of our teachers, and provide a stable learning environment for every student.

Together, the undersigned senior faculty bring 175 years of collective experience in performance, music instruction, and program development to our conservatory.

We are grateful for the partnership of our families and their commitment to musical growth and excellence.

Consistency in Music Study

Consistent weekly lessons are essential for meaningful musical progress. Treating lessons as a standing commitment helps students develop discipline, build musical skills, and experience steady growth.

Teachers prepare for each scheduled lesson and often travel significant distances to teach. Reserving lesson time ensures their commitment and professionalism are respected while maintaining a consistent learning environment for students.

Practice Commitment

The importance of regular daily practice is crucial to amazing progress. Practice should be distributed over six days. 20 minutes daily for ages 5 to 8, 30 minutes daily for ages 9 to 12 and 45 minutes daily for ages 13 to 18. This is a minimum.

Parents should take an active role. Please help your child establish and maintain a workable schedule for practicing.

Students should practice instruments that are in good tune and working order.

Recitals

We have recitals here at the conservatory to celebrate our students’ accomplishments. They are wonderful events! Here is our schedule of recitals for the year 2026-2027.

Christmas Recitals – Dec 4^th, 11^th & 18^th, Recital – April 16^th, Recital – June 18^th

More info to come on these GREAT events!

Enrollment & Registration Fee

Enrollment is confirmed once registration is submitted via our online registration form and valid payment information is provided through the Teachworks portal. TW (Teachworks) is the billing and scheduling software that we use here at the MCCDA (Music Conservatory of CDA)

A registration fee is charged upon enrollment:
• $75 per family – 2 or more children
• $50 per individual student
Registration fees are non-refundable

Tuition & Monthly Billing

Tuition is billed monthly on the 1^st through the Teachworks parent portal and is due on the 5^th of each month. A late fee of $15 will be added to your invoice if tuition is not paid by the 5^th. Accounts with outstanding balances may result in suspension of lessons or classes.

Tuition secures your student’s weekly lesson or class time. This lesson day and time will be ongoing in our calendar. Please contact our Operations Director – admin@cdaconservatory.org if you need to make permanent changes to this schedule.

Private Lessons (4 lessons/month) – for those months with an additional week, that lesson will also be charged

30-Minute Lesson – $180/month, $45 a lesson
45-Minute Lesson – $220/month, $55 a lesson
60-Minute Lesson – $280/month, $70 a lesson

Group Classes (4 classes/month) – for those months with an additional week, that lesson will also be charged

Mini Music Makers 1, 2 & 3 (45 min) – $80/month, $20 a lesson
Intro to Singing (45 min) – $80/month, $20 a lesson
Youth Choir (60 min) – $100/month, $25 a lesson
Intro to Guitar, Piano, Ukulele, Composition, Group Percussion (60 min) – $120/month, $30 a lesson

Credit Card Authorization

By providing payment information on our online TW portal, you authorize the Conservatory to charge tuition, registration fees, late fees, and any outstanding balances to the card on file.
If a payment is declined:

The family will be notified.
A late or processing fee will be applied.

Enrollment Commitment & Withdrawal

Enrollment at Coeur d’Alene Music Conservatory represents a commitment to your students’ musical education and to the reserved lesson or class space. When a student enrolls, the Conservatory reserves that space and schedules an instructor based on the student’s enrollment. Because lesson and class spaces are limited and teacher schedules are established in advance, enrollment creates a financial commitment to the Conservatory.

The initial enrollment commitment periods are:

Private Lessons & Group Classes: 60 days
Mini Music Makers: 30 days
Youth Choir: 90 days

Families are financially responsible for the full initial commitment period, regardless of attendance. This commitment ensures that students can establish consistency and make meaningful progress in their musical education while allowing the Conservatory to maintain stable class sizes and instructor schedules.

Once the initial commitment period has been fulfilled, families may choose to discontinue enrollment at any time. To withdraw, a parent or guardian must notify the Operations Director at admin@cdaconservatory.org in writing.

If a student chooses to discontinue lessons or classes after the initial commitment period, tuition for the remainder of the current month will still be due, regardless of whether the student continues to attend during that month. This applies because the student’s lesson or class space remains reserved through the end of the month.

Please note: Families may not simply discontinue attendance or stop payment without formally notifying the Conservatory. An email notification to the Operations Director is required to officially end enrollment and ensure that billing can be properly closed.

We appreciate families honoring their enrollment commitments and providing timely communication when circumstances change. Your commitment helps us provide a consistent, high-quality musical education for our students while supporting the dedicated instructors who serve our Conservatory community.

Lesson Attendance

Enrollment at Coeur d’Alene Music Conservatory reserves a dedicated weekly lesson time with a teacher. This scheduled time is held exclusively for each student and reflects a commitment between the family, the instructor, and the conservatory.

Lessons will begin operating under a reserved monthly tuition model. Tuition is billed on the 1st of each month and secures the student’s standing lesson time for that month. Tuition reserves the teacher’s time and the student’s place in the schedule rather than individual attendance at each lesson. For this reason, tuition remains consistent regardless of attendance. This structure allows the conservatory to maintain stable scheduling, support our faculty, and provide the highest quality music education for our students.

Student Absences

Because class and lesson times are reserved exclusively for each student, tuition is not prorated for missed lessons. This is the same for classes (including MMM) and private one on one lessons.

Make-up lessons are not provided for student absences. Families are asked to notify their teacher as soon as possible if a student is absent, so teachers are not waiting unnecessarily or arriving to the conservatory unnecessarily.

We realize that absences, sickness and travel happen and to honor this we do offer one missed lesson per semester at no charge to the family or student. Once this one missed lesson has been used, every missed lesson after that will be charged on your monthly invoice. We want to respect our amazing teachers and their time. Please honor your reserved time and day with your teacher.

Here is the 2026-2027 semester schedule to help plan for your one missed absence. You will receive one every semester.

Fall Semester – Sept 1 through Dec 18^th

^{The conservatory will be closed from Dec 18th to Jan 4th No lessons will be on the calendar at this time. The conservatory will be open for teacher cancelled makeup lessons only. No one will be charged for lessons at this time.}

Winter Semester – Jan 4^th through April 16^th

Spring Semester – Apr 19^th through June 18^th

Summer Semester – June 21^st through Aug 31^st

We would like to offer 4 missed lessons during the summer semester time.

Important Notes:

We will always be closed on Memorial Day, 4^th of July, Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Christmas Eve, Christmas, New Years Eve and New Years. No lessons or charge will be accrued. All other holidays we will be open and holding lessons unless otherwise notified.

Teacher Absences

If a teacher must cancel a lesson due to illness, emergency, vacation or scheduling conflict, the conservatory will provide:

A make-up lesson – This will be scheduled by your teacher.

Teacher cancellations will never result in lost lesson value for families.

Donations (Nonprofit Status)

The Conservatory is a nonprofit organization.
Tuition, fees, and registration payments are not tax deductible.
Voluntary donations are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.
Donations are non-refundable.

Media Release

The Conservatory may photograph or record students for promotional purposes. Families wishing to opt out must provide an email notice to the Operations Director – admin@cdaconservatory.org

Liability & Conduct

Families and students agree to:

Treat staff respectfully
Remember to enter quietly as music lessons are most always in session and we have a teacher who teaches in the main room.
Please stay seated in the waiting area found in the main front room. We ask that you do not wander into other classrooms without permission.
Supervise minors – we do not allow running in the conservatory please wait quietly in main room as lessons are always in process.
Ensure appropriate behavior in Conservatory spaces, inside and outside.
Assume responsibility for personal property. We do have a lost and found. Please contact our Operations Director to take a peek.
Refrain from drug or alcohol use on the property or inside the conservatory, including vaping and smoking.
Refrain from bringing outside food or drink inside the conservatory. We welcome anyone to sit on the lawn and enjoy a snack. Please remove any garbage.
Kitchen is for staff only.
Be prepared and on time for lessons. Please have instrument and a notebook. Please also have assigned music that came from your teacher.

Participation involves inherent risks. The Conservatory is not liable for injuries except in cases of gross negligence.

Agreement

By completing registration and receiving this email, you acknowledge that you have read, understand, and agree to these policies.