http://samusicacademy.com/info
Our company core values guide many of our decisions as an organization. We feel that they have guided us this far, and we continue to seek improvement in becoming the best music school possible for both our students and for our staff.
Examples:
No 1. Learning: Be the epitome of excellence and quality in education.
Example: A student with zero experience begins lessons, learning a new song through repetition and dedication.
No 2. Persistence: Strive for consistent growth in order to reach new heights and goals.
Example: A student faces challenges while learning a complex musical piece. Despite initial difficulties, the student practices regularly, seeks guidance, and persists until they successfully master the piece, showcasing consistent growth.
No 3. Simplicity: Emphasize simplicity to keep focus on the most important.
Example: When organizing events or creating policies, SAMA prioritizes simplifying streamlining procedures to ensure everything goes smoothly.
No 4. Relationships: Give priority to building relationships through meaningful interactions.
Example: Instructors take the time to understand each student’s musical goals, preferences, and challenges. Checking in to discuss progress, address concerns, and build a trusting relationship that enhances the overall learning experience.
No 5. Community: Focus on giving back to the community by being generous with our talents, skills, and time.
Example: SAMA organizes various community outreach events, collaborating with organizations such as the San Antonio Food Bank, Meals on Wheels, and Child Advocates of San Antonio, to contribute to the community we are a part of.
Payday Schedule & Pay Stub Access
About one week before your first paycheck, you will receive an email with login info to access your paystubs. When you receive the email, you have 24 hours to login and setup your password. If the link expires, please email Roland and he can have the link resent to you.
The email you’ll receive will be from Payroll Relief. Here is a link to their website where you can login to view your pay stubs. If you are asked for a firm code, the code is SEAND7097.
Below is the annual calendar which shows all the biweekly paydays.
Click to Enlarge
Absence/ Makeup Pay Schedule
Instructors are paid even when a student is marked absent, we do this to try to keep your schedule as consistent as possible.
Per the student policies, if a student gives notice within 24 hours that they will be absent, they are eligible for a make up lesson. Instructors do not receive additional payment for makeup lessons, as they were originally compensated for the initial absence. Students are limited to 6 make up lessons per calendar year.
How to Update Your Direct Deposit
If you ever need to update the bank account associated with your direct deposit, please fill out this online form. Please note that payroll is typically processed the Monday before payday. After you complete the form. you will receive an email confirmation within 24 hours notifying you that your direct deposit has been updated.
We track student retention every month and will share your retention rates with you. You’ll also be able to see the retention rates of other instructors.
From years of experience, we learned there are 2 factors that key in having a high retention
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Student Engagement (being a passionate teacher)
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Giving feedback to parents – every week is ideal / twice a month at minimum
We have parents that withdraw their kids because they think their kid isn’t progressing. In several cases, it turns out after talking with the instructor that they were doing really well. The parents just didn’t understand when they heard their kid playing the same song each week, that the instructor was working on different aspects of the piece.
At the start of each quarter, instructors will have scheduled check-in meetings with the Office Manager. Discussion points for these meetings will include, but are not limited to:
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Reviewing student retention.
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Discussing feedback calls, where the Office Manager contacts new students to gather feedback on their lesson experiences.
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Sharing important announcements.
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Providing a general check-in to address any specific students or situations you may wish to discuss.
Student of the Month recognizes outstanding students who distinguish themselves through dedicated practice, positive attitude, consistent attendance, and more. Once you nominate a student, they become part of an ongoing list of nominations from all instructors. Each month, one student is randomly selected. The chosen students are featured in the SAMA Monthly newsletter, SAMA lobby video, and receive a trophy as a symbol of their achievement. Students feel super special when they receive the award and parents typically take several print-outs of the newsletter to show family and friends. Thank you for taking the time to nominate one of your students.
SAMA releases a monthly newsletter covering various topics, including highlights such as Student of the Month, Employee of the Month, upcoming staff birthdays or important events, and our feature section, ‘Instructor Corner.’
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The ‘Instructor Corner’ showcases a short article written by one of our instructors on a music-related topic. It’s a creative way to spotlight our talented instructors! A member of the admin team will reach out to invite you to contribute to an upcoming newsletter. Your article will be featured in an email to all our students, the printed version of the newsletter, our Facebook page, and on our SAMA blog: https://samusicacademy.com/category/instructor-corner/
For your reference, here are some examples of past topics:
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Making the Most of Your Weekly Lesson Time
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Importance of Maintaining Year Round Lessons
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Beyond the Basics: Music Happens… in a Context!
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Practicing
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How to Practice
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Progression
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The Importance of Parent-Instructor Communication
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The Importance of Listening
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Performing
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Dedication to music
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Practicing effectively
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Listening to Music
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Preparing for a recital/performance
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Info for Parents with Children in Music Lessons
If you’d like to look at some past pieces, they are archived here: https://samusicacademy.com/sama-monthly
SAMA provides a range of instructional books for instructors to use and recommend to students for purchase. We suggest introducing a book during the first lesson to provide guidance throughout their musical journey. When a student confirms that they will get the book you are offering, please inform a member of the front desk. They will add the book to the student’s account, and the corresponding charge will be included in the next tuition billing cycle.
Note: Before adding a book to the student’s account, please make sure you have received confirmation from the parents, if applicable. If the parent is not available, feel free to ask an admin to reach out and confirm with the parent before allowing the student to leave with the book.
This is mainly for vocal instructors; however, some other instruments may occasionally need access to sheet music that is not found in other places.
SAMA provides a Music Library through Google Drive, accessible during your onboarding process. If you require sheet music for a specific song not already in the library, you can request it through our subscription to Music Notes. While SAMA covers the cost of the sheet music, the student is responsible for the purchase, resulting in the sheet music charge being added to their account. Typically, the total cost ranges from $5 to $10, with SAMA benefiting from a 10% discount on the sheet music price. An admin team member will include the music cost in the student’s account, and this will be billed during the next tuition cycle. If you are requesting a copy of music for purchase, it is your responsibility to mention the charge to the student beforehand.
SAMA instructors have the opportunity to request to shadow their fellow instructors on staff, gaining valuable insights into teaching methods and student interactions.
Once you submit this form, we will monitor your schedule for any correlating breaks, allowing you to shadow the requested instructor.
As an independent contractor, you have the flexibility to set your own schedule. That’s why we ask about your availability and desired teaching hours during the onboarding process.
In addition, you may notify us of any planned absences by providing advance notice – 2 weeks is preferred. While you are fully entitled to take time off, please note that we track absences to ensure consistent scheduling for our students. Frequent or repeated absences, defined as more than once every three months, may result in us reevaluating our working relationship. That said, this is rarely an issue, especially since the academy is closed for five weeks each year. Most instructors take advantage of that time for travel or vacation.
We maintain a record of instructor absences for scheduling purposes. After you submit an absence notification, you’ll receive a confirmation email letting you know your notification was received. That email will also include a link to the Instructor Absences Google Sheet, where you can view your recorded absences for the year.
While this is not an ideal scenario and does not happen frequently, unforeseen circumstances, such as extreme illness or family emergencies, may unfortunately arise at the last minute. The procedure in such situations is as follows in the following order:
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Call Roland (210-365-7623). If he doesn’t answer, leave a voicemail.
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Immediately after calling Roland, please call the front desk (210-681-7262). If no one answers, please leave a voicemail, then proceed to send a text to the SAMA texting number (833-880-1026).
Last-minute schedule changes can be extremely challenging administratively. This process helps ensure emergencies are addressed as quickly as possible.
We understand that many jobs typically expect a two-week notice, and often, individuals may become less invested when departing. However, for the benefit of our students, if you are contemplating leaving, whether it’s for another job or relocating to a different city, providing more notice is appreciated. In most cases, instructors typically provide us with about 2-3 months’ notice.