about us

Enrollment

Registration

• Register in person, online, or over the phone
• Registering early helps guarantee the lesson time and instructor you want
• Following each trimester, students are automatically enrolled in the next session
• Each trimester is 12 weeks in length

Changing Lesson Days/Times

A student may switch his/her lesson time between trimesters or mid-trimester if an alternate time is available.

Faculty

• Students will be assigned to the faculty member who best fits their age and skill level
• Requests for a specific instructor will be accommodated if at all possible

Recitals

We schedule two recitals per year and students are encouraged to perform in at least one. These two recitals are scheduled for December and May. Recitals are free and open to the public.

Safety First

We are committed to providing a safe and secure environment. If you are not feeling well, please call the office to set up either a Zoom lesson or a make-up lesson. No person is permitted to carry in alcohol, illegal drugs, weapons, and/or dangerous chemicals. Smoking is not permitted in our building.

Parents/guardians may drop off students or stay during lessons. We recommend that you accompany your child to his/her lesson or communicate with the office manager regarding specific arrangements. To be prepared for various emergency situations, we may occasionally conduct drills during lesson times to teach students where to go in case of fire, tornado, or other emergencies.

Communication

Upon initial registration, you will receive a welcome email with important information. Please look for this email and save the address to your contacts to avoid missing future emails. We will use email to send out important information including lesson reminders, student newsletters, upcoming events, school closures, and invoices. Please watch for these emails so you don’t miss out on important announcements throughout the year.

Customer Portal

Our school uses web-based software for scheduling, organizing lessons, and communication. Once a customer, you will have access to an online portal where you can view current lesson registration, register for more classes (no online registration for summer lessons), update your contact information, and pay for lessons. Access the Customer Portal through nisom.com or the link in your welcome email.

Social Media

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram @nisomdbq.

Attendance

Reserving Lesson Times

Tuition reserves all lesson times for a trimester (12 weeks) and the entire school year if payment deadlines are met. During the summer session, students register and pay for only the lessons they plan to attend.

Absences

Our instructors’ time is very valuable. If a late arrival or absence is anticipated, please call our office, so we can inform the instructor.

Excused

Provided we receive notification in advance of the lesson, absences due to student illness, family emergency, or school music event are considered excused and may be rescheduled during a make-up day or as the instructor’s schedule permits.

Unexcused

All other absences are unexcused and are not eligible for make-up. If a student does not attend a lesson (no-show), and we have not been notified beforehand, the lesson is unexcused. Faculty are under no obligation to offer make-up lessons for unexcused absences.

Cancelations

In the event of a teacher’s absence, we reserve the right to provide a substitute teacher. For inclement weather, note that we do not automatically close when Dubuque schools do. When we close, announcements are made via radio, email, social media, and at nisom.com. If in doubt, please call our office.

Make-up Lesson Days

We have set aside days throughout the school year as designated make-up days for excused absences. Eligible make-ups carry over each trimester within that school year, but school year make-ups do not apply to summer and vice versa. Note that make-ups are not automatically scheduled; please call the office to reserve a make-up lesson time. Make-up days are for make-up lessons only; regular lessons do not meet on make-up days.