Welcome:

welcome to the salt flat student handbook and code of conduct: this guide outlines our policies and expectations, fostering a safe, respectful, and supportive environment for all dancers. At sfdc, we uphold the highest standards of professionalism, discipline and integrity while fostering each student’s passion for dance.

financial policies:

tuition covers the full school year from september-may. it is not pro-rated for absences, illnesses, or scheduled breaks. the registration fee is $25.00 for the first student, $15.00 for the second, and $10 for the third with a family cap of $50.00.

Payment Policies:

Credit card requirement: all student’s must have a valid credit card on file for automatic payments.

Failed payments: a $5.00 fee will be applied weekly due to declined transactions.

Tuition Policy:

TUITION is based on the full school year beginning with classes in September and culminating with spring Recital. Tuition is not prorated for student absences, sickness or scheduled holiday breaks. There is an annual registration fee of $25 per student/$15 for the second student in a family/$10 for the third. (Summer rates vary.)

PAYMENT OPTIONS:

TUITION OPTION 1: MONTHLY INSTALLMENT PAYMENTS Annual tuition can be divided into 9 monthly installment payments

to make budgeting easier. This makes the monthly payment the same amount every month regardless of missed classes or holidays/school vacations. Equal installment payments will be posted at the end of the previous month and are due on the 1st of each month beginning with September and ending with May for a total of 9 installments. Payments received after the 10th of the month will be assessed a $15 late fee.

TUITION OPTION 2: TWO 5% DISCOUNTED SEMESTER PAYMENTS If you choose to make two semester payments, you will receive a 5% discount when the Fall semester payment is paid in full upon registration (no later than September 1), and again when the full Spring Semester is paid in full prior to January 1. Students enrolling after the month of September are not eligible for the semester discount. We are unable to apply discounts for payments received after January 1. Only cash and check payments are eligible for the discount.

TUITION OPTION 3: ONE 10% DISCOUNTED ANNUAL PAYMENT if Tuition is paid in full for the year by September 1st. Only Cash and Check are accepted for this option. The registration fee is waived and a 10% tuition discount is applied. Students enrolling after August 31, are not eligible for the annual discount. If payment is not received by September 1st the discount will be removed, the registration fee will be reapplied and the student will be reverted to monthly tuition.

RETURNED CHECK FEES are $25.00.

**Tuition payments for regular weekly classes must be current prior to applying any payments toward costumes, purchases or private lesson fees. Any payments received are applied to past due amounts first.

**AUTO PAY: to ensure that tuition is paid in a timely manner, auto pay enrollment is now required by all students/families.

You will still have the option to pay your tuition/balance prior to autopay being run by stopping by the front desk or making a Payment online in your parent portal. Autopay will be run on the last business day of the previous month or the first of the current tuition month. Costume payments will be run on their due date if not paid before and any charges made in the SFDC store will be charged at time of purchase. If items become past due, we will charge them to card on file.

**DECLINED CARD FEE is $25.00

**For accounts over 30 days past due the student will not be allowed to attend classes until the account is current.

REGISTRATION begins in September and continues through January 31st. Registration is on a first-come, first served basis. Many popular classes fill before September, so we recommend registering early to secure placement in class. For full classes, we will have a waiting list and students will be notified if a spot becomes available.

HOW TO REGISTER FOR CLASSES: Visit our website at www.thesaltfaltdanceco.com and click on the Register link

(preferred registration method). You may also register in person at the studio.

WITHDRAWAL POLICY/REFUNDS If a student wishes to drop a class, please email thesaltflatdanceco@gmail.com or stop by the front desk. Notifying the teacher of the wish to drop is not sufficient to drop a class. Tuition charges will cease at the end of the current month. Discounted Semester or Annual tuition payments are non-refundable as we have reserved the students place in class for the term. Absence from class is non-refundable. If a student is absent from class due to sickness or inclement weather, they may attend a makeup class of the same format. Tuition, registration fees, costume payments, camps, workshops and recital tickets, are non-refundable and non-transferable. **ADD/DROP period ends February 1st. No class changes will be allowed after this date. You will be responsible for the tuition for the remainder of the year.

Drop-in/Private Lessons/Workshops refund policy: all drop-in and private lesson fees are non-refundable for students who cancel within less than 24 hours of class.

Camp/Intensive & Workshop tuition refund policy: please note that our camps are designed to offer an intimate and personalized dance experience, with a specific student to teacher ratio. due to this, we can only accommodate a limited number of dancers. In the event that you need to cancel your camp registration, please notify us via email 2 weeks before the camp date to be eligible for a refund. Unfortunately, we are unable to provide refunds for cancellations made less then 2 weeks before the camp begins.

Attendance:

ATTENDANCE is a very important aspect of a successful year. When students miss class it affects the entire class. We do understand that people get genuinely sick, have family emergencies, take family vacations etc, and can't attend, and that is not a problem. However, habitual absences, and just because absences are not acceptable. Our staff reserves the right to require a student to participate in scheduled private lessons with assistants or the teacher at the rate of $60.00 per hour to catch up. SFDC reserves the right to remove a student from a routine should absences from class become extreme. Students should arrive to class 10-15 minutes before the scheduled start time. We try to keep classes running in a timely manner and tardiness inhibits that.

If you know that you or your child is going to be late or absent, please call us to inform us or enter the absence in your parent portal so that we don't hold class.

**Please make sure that dancers use the bathroom before class (especially with the little ones, once one goes, they all have to go). We want to limit the number of interruptions during class.

Enrollment:

LOW-ENROLLMENT: A minimum of 5 students is needed to keep a class open. If a class has low enrollment it may be combined with another class or rescheduled on a different day/time and we would notify you immediately.

attire:

ATTIRE: Proper dance attire must be worn at all classes for the purpose of seeing bodylines and proper placement. Every dance discipline is assigned required dance shoes. Students are expected to arrive in the appropriate dance attire for the class that they are taking.

*Ballet/Pointe: students must wear a leotard and pink, footed or convertible tights. Shorts or dance skirts are optional. Tights must be clean with no extreme holes or snags. Hair should be in a clean bun. Canvas, pink ballet slippers are required to take class.

*Hip Hop: loose clothing or dancewear. Hip Hop dance sneakers. Dance sneakers cannot be shoes that are worn outside.

*Jazz: Leotards or a tight fitted top is recommended with any form of leggings, dance pants, shorts etc. Tan, slip-on, split sole jazz shoes are recommended. Hair must be in a ponytail or bun.

*Lyrical & Contemporary: We recommend dancers wear something to cover knees for floor work. Leotards are acceptable, however many dancers enjoy wearing loose fitting clothing. Hair should be pulled back.

*Tap: any comfortable top or leotard; tights, dance pants, leggings, capris or dance shorts, black tap shoes. To avoid class interruption, younger students must have tap shoes that are buckle, slip on or have an elastic lace. No satin or ribbon ties. Hair pulled back from the face in a tight ponytail or bun. Street clothes are not dance clothes. Only dance clothes will be allowed in class.

*Acro: leotard or tight fitting top and non-baggy shorts. Bare feet. Hair is to be pulled away from the face ina tight pony-tail or bun.

RECITAL:

Performing is an important part of a student’s dance education and our annual recital gives students an exciting opportunity to perform in a professional setting. Parents are asked to only leave/return to their seats in between dance numbers.

***A zero account balance is required prior to purchasing recital tickets and participating in performances.

COSTUMES Recital costumes are ordered in mid-December. A non-refundable costume fee will be posted to your account in the fall with a December 1st due date. Students require a costume for each class that they are enrolled in. Costume fees for our annual May recital are $85.00 per dancer, per class. All accessories such as headpieces or gloves are included in the cost. If a costume needs tights, a new pair will be required for each costume for each new dance season at an additional cost. The studio orders all tights to ensure they are the same shade. (Students enrolled in a combo class have only one costume). You may submit payments towards your Costume Fee at any time. We are unable to order costumes without payment as the manufacturer requires payment in full.

*Costumes not paid for by December 1st will receive a $15 late/separate ship fee per costume. Costumes are non-exchangeable and payment is non-refundable. Costume companies offer sizes in small, medium, large and XL. Although rare, if alterations are needed, they will be the responsibility of the student's parent. If you do not have a seamstress we can make a recommendation for you.

STUDENT SAFETY:

SFDC is responsible for our students during the time of their class with us. We are not staffed to provide before and after childcare. We are concerned about the safety of every individual and we want everyone to be aware of how to be safe when coming to and from classes. Please park your vehicle and walk with your child to our door. We also suggest that you come to the door to pick up your child after class. Please make every effort to pick students up from the studio on time. We cannot assume responsibility for young students after class is dismissed. Students should remain inside the building while waiting for their parents to pick them up. If our staff have to remain after closing hours the charge will be $1 per minute.

CODE OF CONDUCT

FOR STUDENT AND PARENT Proper respect of the director, faculty, office staff, curriculum, fellow studentsand parents is expected of all students, parents and siblings. Every student should behave in a disciplined, responsible manner both at the studio and at offsite performances. The studio reserves the right to suspend or dismiss any student or family whose attitude, attendance or conduct is found to be unsatisfactory.

SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY FOR STUDENT AND PARENT We have a ZERO TOLERANCE for cyber bullying or slander against The Salt Flat Dance Collaborative and its associates on public forums. Inappropriate/slanderous remarks towards dancers or faculty can result in dismissal from the studio. Dance should be an uplifting, positive, and fun part of your student’s life. We appreciate your help in maintaining that.

CLASSROOM ETIQUETTE AND POLICIES

*Students may bring water in a closed container into class.

*Observers are not permitted in the classrooms unless invited by an instructor.

*Cell Phones are not permitted in the dance rooms.

*Gum chewing is not allowed in class.

*All students must be in proper dance attire & footwear.

*Hair must be secured back off the face unless instructor has given permission to do otherwise.

*Students should not touch mirrors or hang on barres.

*Absolutely no running in the classroom.

*Students are not allowed in classrooms without instructor.

*Street shoes are not allowed on the dance floors.

*Disruptive behavior will not be tolerated.

Teachers reserve the right to remove any student(s) from class if the policies are not followed or abided by.

WAITING AREA is for your convenience. Please keep the waiting room lobby areas as quiet and clean as possible. Free Wi-Fi connection allows our older students to work on homework between classes and keeps parents connected while they are in our studio. Please keep cell phones on vibrate when you are inside. THE WAITING AREA SHOULD BE AN ENJOYABLE AREA FOR EVERYONE, THOUGH NOT A PLAYGROUND FOR YOUNG CHILDREN. PLEASE KEEP THE WAITING AREA AT A NORMAL NOISE LEVEL AS TO BE RESPECTFUL TO THOSE AROUND YOU AND THE STAFF THAT IS WORKING AROUND YOU.