Nondiscrimination Policy Steel River Playhouse does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, disability, age, veteran status, marital status, ancestry, or national or ethnic origin.
Modification or Cancellation of Classes, Lessons, and Changes in Instructors
Steel River Playhouse reserves the right to add, delete, or modify classes, workshops, and lessons, times, fees, and instructors at its discretion. In the event of a class cancellation, students will be notified and given the opportunity to enroll in another class or will receive a credit or refund.
Class Registration Tuition must be paid in full before the first day of class. Steel River Playhouse does not pro-rate group classes due to late registration or missed classes. Submission of your completed registration form, and payment of tuition and the $20 annual registration fee (for summer camp and private lessons) constitutes your lesson confirmation unless otherwise notified of a change or cancellation by Steel River Playhouse. Those enrolling in group classes or master class workshops do not need to pay the registration fee if enrolling online.
Tuition Assistance Steel River Playhouse has a limited number of partial tuition waivers available each year for Group Classes and Summer Camp.
Absences and Cancellations As a courtesy to your teacher, please notify them as soon as possible if you will be missing your class for any reason (we ask that you aim for 48 hours in advance for all but unavoidable emergencies). If the instructor is unable to attend a class, Steel River Playhouse will make every attempt to provide a substitute teacher or schedule a makeup class on another day. No refunds or deductions will be made for student or teacher absences or for weather-related class cancellations, although every attempt will be made to schedule a makeup within the semester that the class is missed. The 12th week of study for each semester is Recital week, though normal lesson time that week may be used for makeup lessons.
School Cancellations and Closing Information An email will be sent to all students if classes must be cancelled due to weather. Please check your email approximately an hour before class to assure that your class is running. We will also try to post a notice on our website, and if possible, on our outgoing phone message (if staff can make it in). Steel River Playhouse will make every attempt to make up classes and private lessons missed due to a Steel River Playhouse closing. No refunds will be provided for missed classes due to weather related cancellation.
Parent/Caregiver Responsibilities Steel River Playhouse, and our staff and instructors, are NOT responsible for children before or after class and lesson times. Please be prompt in both delivering and picking up your children. Please refer to the Steel River Playhouse School Calendar for dates on which the Steel River Playhouse is closed. For your children’s safety, students are not permitted to exit the building unless accompanied by a parent or caregiver unless you have notified the instructor with alternate instructions in writing. Should parents/guardians choose not to abide by these policies, Steel River Playhouse accepts no responsibility or liability for students left unattended or leaving the building. Parents and caregivers should regularly check the signs posted in the school and email for Steel River Playhouse announcements about classes and lessons.
Parents/guardians who pick up their children more than 10 minutes after class ends will be charged $10 for each additional 10 minutes. PLEASE plan accordingly.
Registration Process Please fill out a separate registration form for each student. You may register by any of the following methods:
By Mail: Please mail your completed registration form to:
Steel River Playhouse P.O. Box 1325 Pottstown, PA 19464
In Person: You may bring your registration form to the Steel River Playhouse at 245 High Street, Pottstown, PA 19464. Please contact us ahead of time at 610.970.1199 to make sure a staff member is available to help.
By Email: You may email your completed registration form to education@steelriver.org. Please note: registration is not complete until payment is also received.
Annual Registration Fee A $20 registration fee applies each year, for students enrolled in private lessons or summer camp programs. This fee is for manual handling of scheduling and/or record keeping processes. The registration fee is due once per year, per student, July 1st through June 30th. Students enrolled in both private lessons pay only one annual registration fee. Registration fees are not refundable for any reason.
Method of Payment The Steel River Playhouse accepts cash, checks, money orders and credit cards. Please make checks payable to “Steel River Playhouse”.
Credit Card Payment Plan Tuition for classes, private lessons and summer camp may be broken into payments automatically drafted from a credit card every 2 weeks spanning the duration of registered class/private lesson session(s). There is an additional $10 fee each time a credit card payment plan is set up.
Overdue Accounts and Returned Checks As a nonprofit arts organization, Steel River Playhouse depends on timely payment of tuition and fees in order to meet its financial obligations including payment of teacher compensation. We ask all students to pay their tuition in advance of the start date. A fee of $25 will apply for returned checks or for requests for payment that require reminders. Steel River Playhouse reserves the right to suspend instruction for students who do not meet their financial obligations.
Class Withdrawal Policies and Fees
Withdrawals made at least two weeks prior to the first day of class will be refunded less the $20 annual registration fee. No refunds or credits will be provided after that point.
If registered for more than 1 semester at a discount, a partial refund may be issued with notice at least 2 weeks prior to the first day of a new semester.
There are no refunds or credits for days missed due to illness or otherwise, though every attempt will be made to reschedule lessons within the semester that classes are missed (up to two reschedules please).
There are no refunds or credits for Master Classes and Workshops.
PRIVATE LESSON POLICY
If you are a NEW student, please email our Education Director at education@steelriver.org to plan your class BEFORE sending in your enrollment sheet and payment!
SESSIONS Private lessons are now offered on a rotating 12 week semester cycle year round. A week is taken off at Thanksgiving, and two weeks taken off around the winter holidays. Students may choose to use “off” weeks to make up missed lessons with instructor approval.
Students sign up for the year, with one registration form to facilitate a full year of study.
Students may withdraw from formal study for extended vacation or other reason, with two weeks notice, but may find their lesson slot filled should they wish to return to study later in the year. Students may reschedule three absences throughout the year, after that, instructors may refuse to reschedule due to excessive absence.
Payment for the full year in advance will receive a discount, or students may sign up to pay monthly with the first month’s lessons paid in full (or signed up for a credit card payment plan) with registration and in advance of the first lesson for the full year rate. Discounts are also available when paying for the full semester or paying for a six week try-it. Should a student take the one year plan and withdraw early, the remainder may be charged at withdrawal to cover the actual price of study vs. the discounted price.
Try-it lessons are available with all solo instructors, with full payment for one lesson. Students who plan to register to continue with an instructor should bring a filled out registration form to the try-it lesson to facilitate speediest scheduling of following lesson.
Session registration and payment must be received 1 week prior to the planned lesson to ensure availability of instructor.
Refer a friend for solo study and if they enroll, you will receive a $10 gift certificate good for classes or workshops at Steel River Playhouse!
NEW STUDENTS
New students include any student who does not already have a private lesson instructor with Steel River or who has not been enrolled in a class at Steel River within the past three years. New students should complete and return the New Student Registration Form (with payment) including the availability section. The Solo Lesson Coordinator will use this information to arrange for the assignment of a private lesson instructor. If an assignment cannot be made, Steel River will provide the student with a full refund.
RETURNING STUDENTS
Returning students include any student who already has worked with (and wishes to continue with) a Steel River private lesson instructor. Students returning from the previous year should complete the Returning Student Form the first time they are registering for private lessons within the current year. Students are not permitted to attend lessons without official registration and payment RECEIVED 1 week prior to the initial session start date (unless extended in writing by Steel River Playhouse).
MISSED LESSONS & MAKE-UPS
By registering for a specific private lesson date/time, students reserve that specific appointment and are expected to attend weekly. This is a professional appointment. Students may be given a makeup session at the instructor’s discretion for missed lessons due to illness, or lessons rescheduled with sufficient notice to facilitate reschedule. 48 hours notice is required to ensure makeup.
With advance notice of an absence, a student can make arrangements with their teacher directly to hold the lesson at a different time within the week of the missed lesson (for example, if a student knows they will be away on their lesson day Tuesday, they can schedule to meet with their teacher on that Thursday instead.) If a mutually agreed upon reschedule date cannot be found within the week, the lesson must be made up during the semester in which the lesson was missed, or it will be forfeited without refund.
If a teacher needs to miss a lesson, a reschedule date within the week of the missed lesson will be found or a substitute teacher will be provided. All instructors are required to provide a makeup for missed lessons within the semester in which the missed lesson occurs.
Steel River rarely closes, but if a scheduled lesson falls on a holiday or a day of inclement weather, a reschedule date anytime within the session may be found should the instructor and student so desire.
For the purposes of reschedules, lesson weeks are considered Monday – Sunday.
TUITION PAYMENT
Payment should be provided in full 1 week prior to the start of a session to assure availability of an instructor. Students who are not paid in full (or set up on a credit card payment plan) may be denied instruction until the balance is paid. Best rates are applied to those who pay for a full semester or full year’s lessons in advance or set up automatic two week payment to cover a year’s enrollment.
Enrollment is accepted on a rolling basis, and prorated payments may be possible for students beginning in mid-semester.
Cash, check and credit cards will be accepted for payment.
Credit card payment plans can be set up to automatically withdraw every 2 weeks. An additional $10 fee will apply for automatic payment plans to cover credit card processing fees.
An Annual Registration fee of $20 per student is applied once per year for private instruction and summer camp. This one-time fee applies to each student regardless of the number of private lessons or camp sessions. Those taking Group Classes and Master Classes do not need to pay this registration fee as registration for group classes is worked into the pricing structure of a class.
To facilitate recital pianist, vocal students planning to perform in the end of semester recital are asked to pay a $10 recital pianist fee PER Recital ($30 total for the year). This fee is applied to paying for an accompanist to rehearse your music and play at the performance. There are three recitals per year.
REFUNDS
Full refunds (less the annual registration fee) will only be granted if written notice of cancellation is received at least 2 weeks prior to the start of the session. No refunds will be given once the session has started as instructors have worked their schedule around YOU. Please be aware that by signing up for classes, you have signed a contract.
RECITALS
Recital dates are announced within the first week of classes.
Teachers will determine which students are prepared to participate in the recital and will choose appropriate material for their level. Not all students are expected to participate each recital, but Steel River encourages all students to plan to participate as frequently as possible. Vocal students are the only students required to pay a recital fee, as a piano player is required for their participation.
