Fair payment to teacher

[Standarddancer]

Larinda you have great students!!!

talking about possible lawsuit against dance teachers. An English teacher says nowaday in some studios in England, dance studio owners needs kids' parents to sign a waiver that the dance teacher can "tough" or make body/posture corrections of the students before allow the students to take lessons with teachers. Otherwise, the English master says, even a gentle touch on the kid's head could cause a lawsuit for harrassment!! How crazy is that!!!

 

[and123]

Well, if you think about it, if a stranger touched you in the way that a dance instructor sometimes does, it would be quite inappopriate. But yeah, I come from the era where if you were a bad kid, you'd get sent to the principal's office for a good whack. Can't do that nowadays.

 

[Kitty]

1) to original poster:
first of all, I don't understand why you want to reward teachers that teach more lessons per week. Is there any benefit to having 2 teachers that each teach 30 compared with having 3 teachers that teach each 20 hours per week?
Unless you want teachers to help book themselves more, which might result in pushy teachers.
if there is a point to rewarding the ones that teach more hours, i think the proposed quarterly bonus idea is better than sliding hourly rate
the bonus idea is perceived as a reward, the sliding rate is perceived as manipulative

2) once you allow independents on your floor along with studio teachers, there will be problems. as others mentioned, the students might leave to take lessons with independents, the teachers won't be happy they are making less etc

 

[BestTeacher]

okay

1. Thanks for your suggestion and comment. Yeah maybe the quarterly bonus would work better, or even monthly.

2. I think if I had a studio, with both independents and resident instructors... I wouldn't care if some want to move to the independents.....
I would like to see all teachers as staff basically. I am not thinking about the profit margin/student.
I think its good competition for all teachers....capitalism....and I would just be proving independents with a place to make a living.
Plus, i believe very few teachers leave a teacher so easily. Many students get so attached to their teacher, and as long as they feel the teacher improves their dancing, and they conncet with each other I don't think the turn over would be huge.

1) to original poster:
first of all, I don't understand why you want to reward teachers that teach more lessons per week. Is there any benefit to having 2 teachers that each teach 30 compared with having 3 teachers that teach each 20 hours per week?
Unless you want teachers to help book themselves more, which might result in pushy teachers.
if ther eis a point to rewarding the ones that teach more hours, i think the proposed quarterly bonus idea is better than sliding hourly rate
the bonus idea is perceived as a reward, the sliding rate is perceived as manipulative

2) once you allow independents on your floor along with studio teachers, there will be problems. as others mentioned, the students might leave to take lessons with independents, the teachers won't be happy they are making less etc

 

[lcdancesport]

I'm glad the business owners are weighing in with their opinions. At my studio we recently had to raise the prices, something that hasn't been done in over two years. The changes are minor and quite fair since the price of everything has gone up. It irks me when some people complain about prices or proclaim how they can get a "deal" by going to just groups or go to some open dance elsewhere.

I love dance, I love teaching dance, but I just wish more people would understand how expensive it really is to run a studio! The rent by us has gone up nearly 30% in the past year and the electric bills are just crazy.

I just hope students don't think we're trying to "take their money" because really, we're just trying to cover costs, it's not like we're hiding bags of cash in the back. We do return the favor with monthly promotions for free parties and groups, just to show we value everyone who is at the studio and appreciate them coming in.

 

[BestTeacher]

Hey

Can you be specific with the price increases?
dollar amount? incentives you offered?

I'm glad the business owners are weighing in with their opinions. At my studio we recently had to raise the prices, something that hasn't been done in over two years. The changes are minor and quite fair since the price of everything has gone up. It irks me when some people complain about prices or proclaim how they can get a "deal" by going to just groups or go to some open dance elsewhere.

I love dance, I love teaching dance, but I just wish more people would understand how expensive it really is to run a studio! The rent by us has gone up nearly 30% in the past year and the electric bills are just crazy.

I just hope students don't think we're trying to "take their money" because really, we're just trying to cover costs, it's not like we're hiding bags of cash in the back. We do return the favor with monthly promotions for free parties and groups, just to show we value everyone who is at the studio and appreciate them coming in.

 

[lcdancesport]

One of the best studios I encounter had such a complicated payscale it was dizzying. But they have kept the same receptionist and some of the same teachers for over 10 years, and the last teacher to leave them was 3 years ago. The turnover there is so slow, so they must be doing something right. And one of the teachers is a rather well known pro-am competitor with some pretty amazing students.

I will try to recount some of the great things they do as far as paying the staff when I have time tonight... but mostly what holds them together is the fact that the employees feel valued and important. They are never ridiculed or belittled. They are never threatened with "your replacement is right behind you if I choose". It is genuinley a nice atmosphere to work in. The teachers are happy. And THAT is what makes staff stick around.

Well put Larinda.

 

[nucat78]

Are these pay for professionals? or your studio's trainee? what is your teachers' credential? I know some amateurs won't even teach for less than $30 per hour.

I tutor middle and high school math on the side - $45 per hour. My personal time is worth more to me than $30 per hour but I do have a full time job with benes, etc. Just a side data point. OTOH, if I were teaching dance (which I'd love to do), I'd reconsider.

 

[mamboqueen]

I tutor middle and high school math on the side - $45 per hour. My personal time is worth more to me than $30 per hour but I do have a full time job with benes, etc. Just a side data point. OTOH, if I were teaching dance (which I'd love to do), I reconsider.

Let's not have you chat with my son's tutor !

 

[Kitty]

Plus, i believe very few teachers leave a teacher so easily. Many students get so attached to their teacher, and as long as they feel the teacher improves their dancing, and they conncet with each other I don't think the turn over would be huge.

so you are saying few students easily leave a teacher.

that is precisely why your studio will do the work to get new students and connect them to staff teachers, but once you connect enough students to a teacher, the teacher will switch to being independent, will take students with them, and will stop paying the overhead cost.


but why do you want each of the teachers to teach more hours? i don't understand! I am assuming they all want to teach more hours within reason, but if not, why not just hire more teachers?

 

[nucat78]

I can only afford to pay my instructors about 30% of what I take in. They have benefits and bonuses as well.

Benes are a huge expense here in the college / university area.

Anyone want to buy a studio and keep me on as an employee? I'll gladly accept some of the offers per hour here that I have read

If I had a spare wad of cash lying around, I'd offer to buy a stake. Seriously.

 

[latingal]

but why do you want each of the teachers to teach more hours? i don't understand! I am assuming they all want to teach more hours within reason, but if not, why not just hire more teachers?

It sometimes is a matter of the incremental cost that is created by adding more teachers on staff. The administrative costs of; carrying employees on a payroll, reporting and tracking for federal and state requirements, and tracking their time/scheduling, etc. is incremented by adding employees. And if you are paying benefits, more teachers = more costs.

It's not always the case, but something studio owners need to think about.

 

[tanya_the_dancer]

so you are saying few students easily leave a teacher.

that is precisely why your studio will do the work to get new students and connect them to staff teachers, but once you connect enough students to a teacher, the teacher will switch to being independent, will take students with them, and will stop paying the overhead cost.

So that's probably the purpose of convincing students to buy lesson packages. Then they would have to use the remaining lessons with some other teacher and perhaps they will like a new person and stay with the studio? I've seen that happen.

 

[nucat78]

So that's probably the purpose of convincing students to buy lesson packages. Then they would have to use the remaining lessons with some other teacher and perhaps they will like a new person and stay with the studio? I've seen that happen.

Plus lesson packages are a guaranteed cash flow in a sense. You KNOW you have $X (coming) in so you can budget and plan more easily. Pay-as-you-go is great for students who want a lot of flexibility, but I imagine it can be a nightmare for the studios trying to project revenue - especially if they have wildly varying attendance with pay-as-you-go folks.

 

[JANATHOME]

As a student, just recently this was what I was up against. I had just purchased a fair amount of lesson when one of the 2 instructors I work with was leaving in a month’s time to go to an independent studio, yet I was not told this prior to purchasing the lessons.

I guess I understand it. It was the result of the studio’s marketing and advertisement expense that I came to be one of their students and I am sure they were not wiling to take the risk that I would follow the instructor to his new location. For me it worked out fine, the 2nd instructor I work with was able to make changes in her schedule so we could double up with her, and we all ended up happy. It could have turned out not this well, I was fortunate that the owners of this studio reacted to the situation professionally….. But I think that unless we are buying lessons for the first time at a studio we all already have a feel for what type of business environment we are involved in.

I am curious thought... Do not the instructors sign a non-compete clause within a certain mile radius over a certain amount of time?