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Whether or not you follow the traditional School schedule with your studio, Back to School is a busy time for all teachers. Students come back from vacations, get settled into a schedule again, and start up new activities for the School year!

With my students, there is a natural lull during the summer. I don’t take a full break, but with vacations and all else that summer entails, I have a little more time in my schedule – and I like to use that time to prep for the upcoming school year by lining up students, organizing my studio, and planning for the year!

My Back to School Checklist for my Music Studio

Get more Music Students and Fill my Schedule

• Check in with students who are “on break”
  Some of my students take summers off to avoid scheduling hassles – which is great! It gives me more free time. I start filling my schedule by reaching out to them. It is much easier to re-start old students than to find new ones!
• Run Social Media and/or Google Ads
  I like to run my Social Media ads through Square (easy setup from my booking site, and they take care of things like placement and targeting), but meta business suite is easy to use as well!
• Encourage Word of Mouth
  I like to let my current students know that I have some space in my schedule for back-to-school and even offer a referral discount. Their recommendations go a very long way.

Organize my Studio

• Organize/purge stuff
  Old music, pens, pencils, books… Music Studios can become a mess if you don’t keep up with it (pointing a finger at myself here). Just like spring cleaning, back-to-school cleaning is a great way to get prepped for the new school year. And it’s great to get it done while you have a more open summer schedule! Toss what you don’t need and organize what’s left.
• Purchase Supplies
  Anything I need for my studio, I try to buy before the start of the year (here’s a list of great – and important – supplies you can get for your studio on amazon)
• Send intro emails to new students
  Make sure your new students are ready for their upcoming lessons! Send them a welcome email to tell them the time of the lesson, make sure their contract is signed (If you don’t have a contract, make one. Here’s why.), inform them of studio polices, and let them know what books to purchase and what to bring to their lesson!
  *pro-tip: you can use square for automatic lesson reminders and easy messaging.

Plan my Year

• Vacations
  If you’re going to be gone for any lessons this year and you already know it, get it in your calendar. If you use square, make sure to delete the appointments on those days so your students don’t get lesson reminders for when you’re gone!
• Holiday Breaks
  Christmas, New Years, Easter, and if you teach on Mondays, all the federal holidays are things to consider when you’re planning your schedule. Some teachers take off all federal holidays, some don’t, but make sure you know what will work for you and your Studio, and put it on the calendar either way!
• Recitals
  This is a big one. The sooner in advance you can set a date for your recitals, the easier the planning process becomes. Students and their parents can block it out on their calendars, you can more easily manage your prep time, and you have a much better chance of booking the venue you want if you plan it in advance.

*pro-tip: use a private music teacher-specific planner for help with scheduling your year – this one on amazon is great.

That’s what’s on my Back to School Checklist for my Music Studio!

Is there anything that you do to prepare for back to school that I should be doing? Share in the comments!