Fall 2025 Faculty Teaching Confirmation

Hello Academy Faculty! Please complete the form below.

This teaching confirmation contains the following items:

1. PMI Faculty Letter of Agreement
2. Fall 2025 Semester Details
3. Semester Teaching Availability Submission
4. Returning Student Schedule Submission

Submission Deadline: Friday, August 1, 2025

Please feel free to reach out to us at academy@gmu.edu or 703-993-9889 with any questions or concerns.

 

**Fall Lesson Schedule: Don't forget to reach out directly to each of your returning students now to confirm lesson days/times for the upcoming semester.

Dear {yourName},

Welcome to another semester at Mason Community Arts Academy! Please complete this Letter of Agreement to reaffirm your commitment to teach for the upcoming Fall 2025 semester. 

By submitting this form, you agree to fulfill the following duties and responsibilities as well as all those listed in the PMI Faculty Handbook.

Teaching Responsibilities

• Provide well-rounded quality musical instruction to all students.
• Engage yourself and your students with the MCAA community and actively support its mission.
• Maintain open and frequent communication with parents and students in order to support their educational progress, maintain studio enrollment, and ensure each student has an exceptional experience at MCAA.
• Do not teach any student who has not registered with the MCAA office for lessons or classes. If you have not received a contract for the lesson, the lesson has not been scheduled through the appropriate channels and may affect our ability to compensate you for the lesson.
• Effectively manage your studio and schedule, working closely with the Academy PMI staff and with adherance to MCAA's written policies.

Attendance & Punctuality

• Attend all scheduled lessons and arrive on time.
• Should you have to cancel a lesson for any reason, schedule a makeup for the missed lesson as soon as possible.

Communication

• Communicate any lesson changes (missed lessons, rescheduled lessons, makeups) to the Academy.
• Respond in a timely manner to all requests for information or trial student offers.
• Complete all semester forms by the noted deadlines.

Availability

• During the Fall and Spring semesters, faculty members must provide a MINIMUM of two days per week of availability, with 5 total hours (in-person), during Peak hours, spread across both days. 
  • Peak Hours are definied as 3pm-8pm on Mondays-Fridays and 10am-4pm on Saturdays. 
  • This is only a minimum requirement and we encourage all faculty to provide as much availability as your schedule will allow. 
• One-Day Saturday Exception: If unable to provide two weekdays of availability, a one-day Saturday exception is available. This option is for faculty who may only be available to teach on the weekend. 

Student Retention & Recruitment

• Contact returning students during each semester transition to gather their availability and build your Returning Student Schedule (more details below).
• Have knowledge of MCAA's group classes and summer programs that will enrich and expand your student's artistic education.

Thank you for your dedication and commitment to your students and the Academy. We look forward to a successful semester together!

Mary Lechter

Executive Director, Mason Community Arts Academy

 

BETWEEN-SEMESTER BREAK (Academy Offices Open): August 18 - August 22, 2025

FALL 2025 SEMESTER DATES: Monday, August 25 - Saturday, December 20, 2025

ACADEMY SKIP DATES (No Lessons Scheduled):

Monday, September 1st (Labor Day)

Wednesday, November 26th - Saturday, November 29th (Thanksgiving Break)

Saturday, December 13th (Recital Weekend)

FALL 2025 RECITAL DATES: Saturday, December 13 & Sunday, December 14

FALL LESSON POLICIES

• Faculty must plan to teach all weeks of the semester, with the exception of a maximum of 3 skip dates per lesson day. 
• Lessons must be held at the same day and time each week through the full semester.
• Students are not required to start lessons right away at the beginning of the semester - But once they begin weekly lessons, they are required to commit to the full semester through December. 
• Lesson Rooms are only available as we receive and process student registrations. Rooms are not able to be reserved until students are fully registered. 

Monday - Thursday: 10:00 AM - 9:00 PM

Friday - 10:00 AM - 8:00 PM

Saturday - 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM

Sunday - CLOSED

We understand that our teachers balance multiple jobs, gigs, rehearsals, performances, and studies. We are happy and appreciative that this includes the Academy!

For the Fall and Spring Semesters, faculty must commit to the full semester of lessons, with the exception of a maximum of 3 skip dates per lesson day. 

Faculty members are expected to provide a MINIMUM of two days per week of availability, and a minimum of 5 hours/week, spread across both/all days. This is only a minimum requirement, and we welcome you to provide as much availability as your schedule allows.

One-Day Saturday Exception: If unable to provide weekday availability, a one-day Saturday exception will be granted for faculty who are only available on Saturdays. When choosing this option, faculty must be available for the full day of lessons on Saturdays (10am-4pm). 

ONLINE-ONLY Exception: An instructor wishing to teach fully online lessons must receive written approval from the Academy. E-mail academy@gmu.edu for further details and to submit your request for this option.

NOTE: The New Student Inquiry Form will open on Wednesday, August 27th for Open Enrollment. We will begin placing new students in open spots within your provided Teaching Availability at that time.

 

FACULTY RESOURCES PAGE

We are in the process of updating and improving our Faculty Resources Webpage. Please bookmark and save this link and reference it for important PMI area information.

• PMI Area Calendar
• Semester Dates
• Missed Lesson Form
• Returning Student Registration Form
• Faculty Enrichment Fund Application

 

Please list any known Personal Skip Dates (max of 3 per lesson day) that you would like to build into your semester schedule up front. We will not schedule any lessons for you on these dates. If none known right now, put "none". 

For students continuing in your studio from the Spring and Summer 2025 semesters, it is your responsibility to reach out to those students to confirm their availability and lesson time for the new Fall semester. The Academy will not directly contact your returning/continuing students.

Once all of your returning students have confirmed their lesson day and time with you for the upcoming semester, you must submit your Returning Student Schedule to the Academy office. This schedule is your written confirmation that you agree to and have been consulted about these lesson days and times.

Note: Without the submission of your confirmed Fall schedule, the Academy is unable to process your students' registrations. 

For more information about the semester registration process, please view the Faculty Resources Page.

 

Fall Semester Registration will open for returning students on Friday, August 1st. - This is the same day your Fall Schedule is due to the Academy.