Thank you for choosing me as an online educator to meet the on-going individual needs of your student. I’ve found clear expectations for both learners and caregivers provides an excellent foundation for a good working relationship. Please look over this document for information that could impact our scheduled lessons.
Student Absences
Please contact me to take off weekly dates from our regular schedule far in advance. If you can, please notify me before the invoice goes out at the end of the month. Then you won’t be charged. Given plenty of notice, I am willing to cancel class (with no charge) due to planned vacations, holidays, etc. Also, for on-going students attending for years at a time (even those with two or more slots booked each week), I will cancel up to 8 lessons per year with notification at no charge. After that, a charge will stay in place for each additional cancellation in order to hold the slot.
Please give at least 48 hours notice if possible for all absences (2 days). If you cancel class after that, there will be a charge. This is for the opportunity cost of holding the slot. It also keeps my education business healthy and straightforward. Please keep in mind, rescheduling at the last minute is very difficult due to my full schedule, but it doesn’t hurt to ask. PLEASE NOTE – I will use paid missed class time due to student illness (and/or last minute changes) as an extra prep for your student’s specific needs.
When A Student Is Late
I will send a reminder via email around ten minutes in and keep the Zoom going. There will be a charge for these lessons.
Teacher Absences
If I need to be absent for any reason, I will notify you as far in the future as possible. Chances are, if I am absent, it is due to an emergency situation that has developed within 24 hours (sick child, snowstorm, loss of power/internet). Not being able to contact you would be incredibly frustrating! In this case, I would try to notify and reschedule with you as soon as possible. If we are not able to schedule a make-up lesson within a few weeks due to my full schedule, I will refund you in full on the next invoice for the date I missed our scheduled lesson.
Payment
Monthly invoices will be sent around the last week of the month before the month being paid for (for example, on Jan. 25th I would send out the invoice for Feb.). I group the weeks (4 or 5 weeks total per month) by weeks of five days, sometimes with a few days leading into the next month. This is why the price occasionally varies month to month.
Please pay the monthly invoice in full before the first Zoom session listed on the invoice.
Please note, if a week goes by without paying the invoice, I will send a reminder via PayPal. If a caregiver goes two weeks without paying, at the beginning of the third week of the month, I will not let the student into the Zoom session. (I have never had to do this before, and hope not to in order to save the student any confusion and preserve our relationship.) If you would like to pay for the semester in full, please contact me. We can make this happen to save you from having to remember to pay and also save PayPal fees on my end.
Vacation Dates For Your Calendar
Below is a list of dates I take off each year (at no cost to you). The below dates often correspond with popular U.S. holidays.
- M-F fall break that starts Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples’ Day
- Thanksgiving (Thursday) and that Friday
- The last week of December and the first week of January
- M-F spring break that corresponds with the first week of daylight savings
- Good Friday and the following Monday
- Memorial Day and the following week (break to get ready for summer sessions)
- Three weeks in summer when I am synchronous full-time for my doctorate (typically the end of June)
- The week of the Fourth of July
- The week before Labor Day and Labor Day (fall sessions officially begin the Tuesday after)
- I meet with students M-F except in the summer months when I move to Tue./Wed./Thur.
- I meet with students 8:30amCST – 2:50pmCST
Behavior
Luckily, most of the students I encounter are absolutely excellent to work with! I love doing what I do! That being said, if small issues arise (such as going to the bathroom during class, not coming prepared, acting overly defensive, etc.), I will typically note this in the classroom notes. If it becomes a chronic issue, I will message you directly. If the situation does not improve, I may suggest discontinuing lessons or finding a better fit.
Homework
I respond to parent requests regarding homework. Please notify me if you would like more or less homework than what is being given. I typically offer a light homework load (activities that take less than 30 minutes) because many students take this class as an additional aspect of their educational journey. However, some students rely heavily on me for their instruction. In this case, lengthy homework is to be expected. Please monitor the classroom to help your student follow through on assignments. If you would like them to not have homework, that is perfectly fine as well. Simply let me know!
A lot of the feedback I give for homework takes place verbally out loud in class (with a summary written in the Google Doc afterwards). PLEASE LOOK AT THE SHARED GOOGLE DOC REGULARLY FOR A SUMMARY OF OUR LESSONS. If you are curious about this feedback as a parent, you can always feel free to contact me via email for more details.
Also, this class can function as a tutoring lesson. If a student has specific homework they would like to work on with me from another class, they can certainly bring it in. Otherwise, I always have a planned activity.
Communication
I pride myself on being an excellent communicator who gets back to people in a timely manner. I check my email messages M-Th, less so on weekends. In general, you can count on me getting back to you in 24 hours or less during the week. I will keep lesson notes for each session in a Google Doc shared with you after your student’s first lesson. Concerning writing/homework, students are expected to simply share their homework on the Google Doc. Students are welcome to email me with any questions throughout the week.
Letters of Recommendation
Because the 1:1 setting allows me to get to know students really well, many families over the years have requested a letter of recommendation. I bill for this service at my 1/2 hour 1:1 rate ($60 as of 9/1/2024 – subject to change). I’m honored to write these letters. Please reach out to me via email with specific requirements and contacts listed on the application. Thank you!
Disclaimer
While my master’s thesis covered research on the topic of bibliotherapy, I am not a certified bibliotherapist. Please see a certified mental health professional for all mental health needs.
Interested in enrolling? Please use the contact me using the form below.
I hope this information provided some clarity about my lessons. Please never hesitate to ask if you have more questions!
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