Mill Pond  Music Academy ... the eARTh without ART is just "eh"
First off,
we truly appreciate that you have chosen to take your musical journey with Mill Pond Music Academy.  We have the best Music Family in town!  We now have 200 students of all ages and stages on our schedule and we need to make sure that everyone (including parents, students and instructors), is on the same page with all the details regarding attendance, payments, makeup lessons, practicing, late arrivals, recitals, etc...

WHAT DOES MILL POND MUSIC ACADEMY OFFER?
We offer 5 types of weekly Lessons:
  • Private Face2Face lessons here in our Allentown Studio at 42 South Main Street ~$35 per half hour
  • Private Virtual lessons~$35 per half hour
  • Right At Home (RAH) lessons.  We send a teacher to your home. ~$35 per half hour plus $5 per visit to cover gas/travel time
  • Asynchronous piano lessons:  Can't sync up with our schedule?  Unlimited Video Lessons and Practice Sessions with a 15-minute consultation with Mr. Pete each week ~$30 per half hour
  • Group Piano with Piano Marvel~$35 per 45-minute lesson

PERFORMANCE OPPORTUNITIES
MPMA offers several performance opportunities for students and instructors alike throughout the year in coffee houses, churches, recitals, virtual performances, etc. 

FREE INSTRUMENTS
Yes, you read that correctly.  MPMA often receives offers of free pianos, guitars, and band instruments.  We share those instruments fee of charge directly with our enrolled  students.  Often, instruments that come into MPMA need refurbishing and we do ask that parents pay for that.
  
STARTER KIT GIFT CERTIFICATE INFORMATION
 
When a new student starts music lessons at Mill Pond Music Academy, the non-holiday costs are as follows:
  • ANNUAL ADMN FEE $35
  • First month’s lessons $140 which is paid in advance
  • Music Books $25-$60 depending on instrument and student needs
  • TOTAL COST:  $230 +/- to get started
 
 
 
Mill Pond Music Academy holds this STARTER KIT SALE once per year for NEW STUDENTS only.
 
If you purchase a gift certificate for our STARTER KIT, you will receive 
  • 4 lessons for $100 (a savings of $40)
  • NO ADMN FEE      SAVE $35
  • MUSIC BOOKS     50% OFF MARKED PRICE
  • FREE Personalization of Gift Certificate
  • Applicable to ANY INSTRUMENT we teach
  • This price is only for lessons taken 
    • VIRTUALLY,
    • or at MILL POND MUSIC ACADEMY                                                                                      42 South Main Street in the Shops by the Old Mill, in Allentown, NJ  08501
 
For the Gift Certificate:
  • First, sign-up for free at https://www.millpondarts.com/new-student-sign-up.html you will have to enter your credit card information but you will never have to pay via the site unless you choose to.
  • Email us (office@millpondarts.com)  the name as you would like it to appear on the STARTER KIT GIFT Certificate
  • We will email you an invoice for $100                                                                                         (You will buy music books at 50% off the day the lessons start)
  • We will print it out and prepare it for you to pick up
  • You can schedule your lesson before the holiday break with Bri at 609-903-6560 or after the break when you are ready to start.
  • Lessons are to start the very first week of January
 
 
 
PRIVATE LESSON POLICY

REGISTRATION
We use a system called MY MUSIC STAFF for registration, attendance, cancelations, scheduling, communication, invoicing and billing.
  • ​New Students... students that have never attended MPMA before, go to www.millpondmusicacademy.com and click on the INTERESTED STUDENT menu to show your interest.  You will hear from MPMA within 1 business day and you will be able to ask questions and get on the schedule.  Once on the schedule, you will receive LOGIN information for your STUDENT PORTAL.
  • Existing Students... if you have your login information, you can go to our website and click on the green button on the front page that reads:  STUDENT PORTAL.
  • Through your private STUDENT PORTAL, you will be able to
    • make online payments 
    • select auto-payments for each month
    • Cancel a lesson for any reason (which will send a notification to your teacher automatically)
    • receive student lesson plans each week


TUITION PAYMENTS 
  • School Year Tuition (September – June Recital) covers 38 lessons at Mill Pond Music Academy  and 2 Recitals is (given at a rate of $35 per half hour private lesson) $1400 per school year billed $140/monthly in advance
  • RIGHT AT HOME lessons are offered for parents who would like a teacher to come to them. ~$35 per half hour plus $5 per visit travel fee
 
SUMMER PACKAGE July and August  8 Lessons for the price of 7 $245
  • About 65% of our students take summer lessons (and that number is growing as our parents see the need for lesson structure over the summer)  These may be scheduled to fit your crazy summer schedule as long as your instructor is available.  They can be combined into 4 1-hour lessons.  You may have to work this out directly with them and get your dates on the MPMA calendar.
  • Research clearly shows that those students who come to lessons YEAR-ROUND and practice regularly see the best results.  Our teachers are here to help make that happen for our students.
 

When you cancel a lesson... 
First off, due to the number of students we have, we are no longer able to provide make-up lessons. 
  • You are required to cancel your lesson via your student portal. No texts or emails will be accepted.  You can leave a note for your instructor via your student portal as well.
  • Your instructor has set aside specific time for each student and will use the canceled time to create a personalized video for you with specific instructions for progress, a challenge, video encouragement and some fun stuff as well.

Think ahead. Here are some benchmarks you want to reach:
  • Thanksgiving:  11-12 lessons
  • By Winter Break:  14-15 lessons  
  • you get the idea
 ​  



We prefer (require) that payments are made online via the student portal on the 1st of every month via PAY PAL using the auto-pay feature.

If absolutely necessary, MPMA still accepts
  • Zelle (look for petermeerwarth@me.com or 609-903-6560)  Please label with student’s name!
  • Cash   (place in envelope and please label with student’s name)
  • Checks (made out to Mill Pond Arts, please and mailed to  Peter Meerwarth, Mill Pond Arts, 42 South Main Street, Allentown, NJ  08501)                      Please label with student’s name!



  • We can no longer accept VENMO.





ATTENDANCE POLICY
  • The most successful students get their lessons in REGULARLY.  Private lessons are a big commitment.  Please make every effort to get into the studio!  We serve many school districts with varying school calendars, snow day policies, and of course everyone gets sick now and again.  
  • If you are sick and able to do a virtual lesson, please consider doing that.  
  • Otherwise, when MPMA receives notice via the Student Portal that you have canceled, you will automatically receive a personalized recorded video for your child UNLESS you request a virtual lesson to be taken at the regularly scheduled time.
  • If there is a snow day from school, please do not assume that your lesson is canceled.  Often, the roads are cleared by the regularly schedule lesson time.  Again, please do not assume that because your school is closed that MPMA is closed.  You are still responsible to get your 38 lessons in. Many instructors work the Mondays of long weekends etc.
  • There are so many different religious holidays that MPMA cannot maintain the consistency for every student if we were to cancel all lessons.  So please, MPMA will be open for almost every weekday holiday.  Remember, in order for you to get your money’s worth, you need to complete 38 lessons between September 1 and the Father’s Day Recital in June.
  • REMEMBER:  The entire schedule COMPLETELY resets EVERY September and EVERY July/August so there can be no assumptions that a specific time slot is "yours" rolling from the school year into Summer. Please do not assume that if you take the summer off that you hold last year's time slot. Preference is always given to our current students when it comes time to schedule for summer and fall.​
 

INVOICING AND BILLING
MPMA will send out monthly INVOICES for tuition, music books, annual ADMN fee, Gift Shop purchases on the 1st of each month with a REMINDER INVOICE going out on the 10th.  Lessons are paid in advance on a monthly basis unless you've made an official request for a different plan.

The AUTO PAY feature in your student portal is the preferred method of payment.  If you go through our website to the student portal, you will see all kinds of information regarding how you can safely enter your payment information and select the AUTO PAY feature so that your payment goes out on the 1st of each month as soon as you receive the invoice.  The great thing about AUTO PAY is that you instantly receive and invoice and your account is instantly reconciled.