{"id":1160,"date":"2015-11-25T17:44:13","date_gmt":"2015-11-25T23:44:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/firstlightaa.org\/blog\/?page_id=1160"},"modified":"2025-10-17T12:43:14","modified_gmt":"2025-10-17T18:43:14","slug":"questions-and-policies","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/firstlightaa.org\/blog\/questions-and-policies\/","title":{"rendered":"Questions and Answers"},"content":{"rendered":"[et_pb_section fb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; admin_label=&#8221;section&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.25.0&#8243; custom_padding=&#8221;||0px|||&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_row _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; custom_padding=&#8221;24px|0px|0|0px|false|false&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;4_4&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; custom_padding=&#8221;|||&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; custom_padding__hover=&#8221;|||&#8221;][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.25.0&#8243; text_font=&#8221;||||||||&#8221; text_font_size=&#8221;19px&#8221; header_font=&#8221;Montserrat|800||on|||||&#8221; header_text_align=&#8221;center&#8221; header_font_size=&#8221;40px&#8221; header_letter_spacing=&#8221;5px&#8221; header_line_height=&#8221;1.2em&#8221; header_2_font=&#8221;Montserrat|300||on|||||&#8221; header_2_text_align=&#8221;center&#8221; header_2_font_size=&#8221;35px&#8221; header_3_font=&#8221;Montserrat|||on|||||&#8221; header_3_font_size=&#8221;24px&#8221; header_3_letter_spacing=&#8221;6px&#8221; header_3_line_height=&#8221;1.8em&#8221; header_5_font=&#8221;Oswald|||on|||||&#8221; header_5_letter_spacing=&#8221;5px&#8221; text_orientation=&#8221;center&#8221; custom_margin=&#8221;||16px|&#8221; header_font_size_tablet=&#8221;&#8221; header_font_size_phone=&#8221;32px&#8221; header_font_size_last_edited=&#8221;on|phone&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;]\n<h1>Important Info<\/h1>\n<h3>The things you need to know<\/h3>\n[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider color=&#8221;#c1c1c1&#8243; disabled_on=&#8221;off|off|off&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; max_width=&#8221;66%&#8221; max_width_tablet=&#8221;&#8221; max_width_phone=&#8221;&#8221; max_width_last_edited=&#8221;on|phone&#8221; module_alignment=&#8221;center&#8221; custom_margin=&#8221;||-6px&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][\/et_pb_divider][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; max_width=&#8221;100%&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;4_4&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; custom_padding=&#8221;|||&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; custom_padding__hover=&#8221;|||&#8221;][et_pb_toggle title=&#8221;Questions &#038; Answers! (tap to open)&#8221; closed_toggle_text_color=&#8221;#ffffff&#8221; closed_toggle_background_color=&#8221;#0cbcc9&#8243; icon_color=&#8221;#e2e2e2&#8243; open_icon_color=&#8221;#e2e2e2&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.25.0&#8243; title_font=&#8221;|700|||||||&#8221; title_line_height=&#8221;1.5em&#8221; hover_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; sticky_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243;]\n<p>If you have questions, you just found the answers! (If for some amazing reason you don&#8217;t find the answer you need, just give us a call and we&#8217;ll do our best to help).<\/p>\n<h3><b>Q &#8211; Do you offer art courses for grownups too?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><b>A &#8211;\u00a0<\/b>Yes we do!\u00a0There are daytime and evening classes offered. Select the menu, &#8220;School Year Art&#8221; above.<br \/><b><\/b><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>Q &#8211; Do you offer art courses for children younger than school-age, or special needs?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><b>A &#8211;\u00a0<\/b>Yes we do! Our KidsART courses begin at age 6 (this year we are not doing 4 &amp; 5 year olds due to safety restrictions and limited space). See the on-going classes page for information. We offer summer camps and workshops for all ages too. If you have special needs, please call the number at the top of the page, or text Dennas from our <a href=\"https:\/\/firstlightaa.org\/blog\/about-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Contact Page<\/strong><\/a>.<br \/><b><\/b><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>Q &#8211; Do you have discounts for siblings or more than one class?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><b>A &#8211;\u00a0<\/b>Yes, all second or third enrollments are 10% off. This is a school-year discount. (Summer does not have sibling discounts available).<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>Q &#8211; Are supplies included in the tuition price?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><b>A &#8211; <\/b>The supplies are not included. For all of our classes for <strong>ages 8 and up, you will need to purchase<\/strong> a full set of supplies in addition to tuition. KidsART supplies have a one-time yearly fee for personal and classroom supplies.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>Q &#8211; Do you sell art supplies?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><b>A &#8211;\u00a0<\/b>Yes we do! &#8211; And always at <strong>15% OFF the published MSRP.<\/strong> Tap the SUPPLIES tab above to learn more and place an order.<br \/><b><\/b><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>Q &#8211; What is Saturday Art Buffet?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><b>A &#8211;\u00a0<\/b>This is our Saturday art session for our students. Tap on &#8220;ART BUFFET&#8221; in the <a href=\"https:\/\/firstlightaa.org\/blog\/art-buffet\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong><\/strong><\/a> menu above to learn more and view times. It&#8217;s on most Saturdays of each month, with different times for 3 different age groups. For our weekly class students, the buffet is great for doing a make up class if you miss a session (makeup tokens allow students to attend free for the <em>occassional<\/em> missed class). It&#8217;s also available for everyone at $43\/session, just for fun and to get extra time to make artwork.<\/p>\n<p>There is a teacher, but it&#8217;s not a structured class. You can get a bit of help if you need it including a lesson plan from any days you&#8217;ve missed. It is first-come, first-served, and registration is required.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>Q &#8211; What if I already have some art supplies?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><b>A &#8211;\u00a0<\/b>Bring them!<\/p>\n<p>In class, however, we like for everyone to be using the same kinds of paints, pigments, papers, canvas, etc. You can use your own supplies as long as you have everything on the supply list or something that is of equal quality or better, (such as a larger palette pad). Brushes especially, should not be budget models that come with art sets. Please see the SUPPLIES tab above, and go to the order supplies page using the button. The order page can be used as a checklist. Skip over what you already have, and check the things that you need. It will tally up a total and when you submit it, we&#8217;ll get your order ready by your next class.<br \/><b><\/b><\/p>\n<p>Every student must start the year with a FULL YEAR&#8217;S WORTH of supplies &#8211; so we don&#8217;t have to take up class time managing supplies for 200 students each week. Thank you!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>Q &#8211; If I sign up, how do I know what&#8217;s going on?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><b>A &#8211; Email and Text messages &#8211; PLEASE DO NOT OPT OUT OF EMAIL OR TEXTS!<br \/><\/b><\/p>\n<p>We have to offer the opt-out because we&#8217;ll be blocked if we don&#8217;t, but if you opt out you will never get any emails from us ever. So please don&#8217;t opt out! We only send a handful of sales-related emails each year anyway, because&#8230; emails.<\/p>\n<p>We also send out emails when something important comes up that you need to know or to bring to class.<\/p>\n<p>We will always send\u00a0<strong>texts<\/strong>\u00a0for last-minute updates about\u00a0closings so if you want to receive these, make sure you OPT IN when you create your account on our customer portal. You can change these settings at any time.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>Q &#8211; What if I&#8217;m not a beginner? Which class should I take?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><b>A &#8211; Our<\/b>\u00a0<strong>recommendation<\/strong> is always the same. Foundations is designed not only for beginners, but also intermediate and even advanced students. One of the reasons it works is that artists always need to review the basics, which we use all the time. Another is that what you do with a project changes and improves based on your abilities. Any project can be taken to higher levels in vision, technique, and creativity.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, we teach our foundational principles in ways that no one else does, including information and techniques that are uniquely ours. The methods, exercises, and insights we have developed, make learning easier, understanding clearer, and lead to improvement and competence more easily. This also means that starting right away in an advanced group means a new student will not have the same reference points or vocabulary as the rest of the group.<\/p>\n<p>One more thing about our classes that is helpful for intermediate students is that our second level (for years 3 &amp; 4) &#8211; Creations &#8211; is taken within the same classroom as the Foundations. That means that if a project comes up where a more experienced Foundations student is already proficient, she and the teacher can give this student the Creations version of the lesson. These lessons are more challenging and designed for creating finished works rather than practicing new skills.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>Q &#8211; What if I want to quit the art course sometime during the year?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><strong>A<\/strong> &#8211; A yearly educational course like ours, and for most educational courses, is a one-time purchase for the school year, but since we offer a monthly payment plan, it can seem like we are going month to month. The payment plan is a convenience for our families so you don&#8217;t have to pay the course fee all at once. Cancelling a class is actually returning the course you purchased and asking for your money back for the rest of the year. We do have an option for doing this with our 30-day cancellation policy. Please continue if you are considering cancelling.<\/p>\n<p>Cancelling with a 30-day notice is largely reserved for insurmountable reasons, such as moving, dissatisfaction with our teaching, or health issues. Otherwise, it is very important for the <strong>Class<\/strong>, the <strong>Student<\/strong>, and for <strong>Firstlight<\/strong>, that registrations are completed as purchased.\u00a0Signing up for other activities later on in the year, or feeling busy, is not what our cancellation policy is designed for. Financial considerations can usually be handled with our <a href=\"https:\/\/firstlightaa.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/FLscholarshipApp.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>scholarships<\/strong><\/a>, which we take applications for at any time during the year. Just click the link in the last sentence to download a PDF.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Issues For The Class\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Students in a class develop community. Taking students out mid-year is a loss to that community, and some students take it hard when a friend disappears. It can cause other students to become discouraged and not enjoy their class. Other students often ask about their friends when they&#8217;ve only missed one week. Other class considerations are that if a class is small, we can fall under our break-even point with just one cancellation. If the class is full, we probably have turned away other students who wanted in the class.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Issues For The Student<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Our courses are designed to give a strong foundation to every art student. The curriculum has been crafted and revised for years to ensure that once you get through the 2 years of Foundations lessons, you <em>can<\/em> stand on your own and pursue art at home with a degree of confidence. While It does help to continue with our advanced lessons (if you are serious about pursuing art), for the casual artist, Foundations is a complete course. If you quit even for a month or two and then come back, you will have a significant gap in that course. Key lessons are intermingled with the more fun-oriented lessons, so that students won&#8217;t be overwhelmed, and will enjoy &#8220;doing what I want&#8221; in addition to learning valuable insights. Since we have a two-year cycle, that means taking any break, such as cancelling mid-year and planning to return in the fall, means the missing pieces won&#8217;t be available for two years down the road. This makes it more difficult for a student to advance to the next level, since they don&#8217;t have certain skills or insights. That said, we have made it work when needed!<\/p>\n<p><strong>Issues For The School<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Our main enrollment season is in the late Summer and early Fall. Cancelling your art course mid-year is like returning a partially used product that most likely can never be resold to another student. We try hard to make the courses and supplies as affordable as possible, and we have tight margins as a result. In short, to stay in business we need courses that have been sold, to be paid for, and offering the payment plan shouldn&#8217;t negate the idea that the entire year has been purchased.<br \/><b><\/b><\/p>\n<p>We do offer a 30-day cancelation before our cutoff date in February. If you have something big come up unexpectedly that requires you to cancel your enrollement, please use our 30-day advance notice\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/firstlightaa.org\/blog\/thankyou\/\">CANCELATION REQUEST FORM.<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>Because we don&#8217;t sign up students later in the year, we have a cut-off date of <strong>February 20<\/strong>\u00a0for all cancelations. Please read the\u00a0policy\u00a0section\u00a0directly below for instructions and more explanation.<\/p>\n<p>If you are considering cancelling, please give us a call and we&#8217;ll do everything we can to help you finish your course in a way that works for you. Thank you!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>Q &#8211; How should I pay tuition?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><b>A &#8211;\u00a0<\/b>There are two ways to\u00a0pay the tuition. You may opt to pay the tuition up front, or split the cost into smaller monthly installments. Most of our families use our no-cost monthly installment\u00a0plan with a credit or debit card.\u00a0You can set this up when you make your account log in and\/or register for a class.\u00a0The monthly drafts occur\u00a0on the first of each month.<br \/><b><\/b><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>Q &#8211; Can I store any art supplies at the academy?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><b>A &#8211; <\/b>Sorry but no, with over 200 students there is just no place to store them. Students must take supplies home and bring them back each week. We do store artwork that&#8217;s in progress.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>Q &#8211; Do you give private lessons?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><b>A<\/b>\u00a0&#8211; We do not. There is really no need for private lessons. With art, private lessons means the instructor would have most of his or her time spent waiting on the artist to get to a stopping point. As an instructor goes around one of our small classes and teaches each student individually, it&#8217;s very similar to a private lesson. We also feel strongly that art is great when it&#8217;s also\u00a0a social learning experience. There is nothing like support from friends.<br \/><b><\/b><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>Q &#8211; Do I have to pay for any classes that I miss?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><b>A &#8211;\u00a0<\/b>This is another good question. The answer is a simple yes, but there are several reasons why. The main thing to realize, is that we offer art\u00a0<em>courses<\/em>, and you are\u00a0<strong><em>reserving<\/em>\u00a0the entire course of 36 lessons<\/strong>. We have monthly installment payments as a service to our students, because most people do not want to pay all at once for the whole course. We do not charge interest at all.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 It is your responsibility to attend the course you&#8217;ve registered for. Tuition is not based on a weekly or even monthly basis, or there would be different amounts due each month.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Life is hectic and full of things that call for our attention &#8211; all the time. For art course to be attended regularly, it needs to be a chosen commitment, instead of a decision that you make based on what is happening right before a class.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Most Firstlight courses fill to capacity, and we often have people on waiting lists. It would be unfair for one person to reserve a valuable spot, and then not pay for\u00a0it.<\/p>\n<p>For all of these reasons, we charge the entire tuition for the year, regardless of classes missed. This is standard practice in all other course-style programs &#8211; for the same reasons.<\/p>\n<p>However&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Art Buffet is available for makeups, on Saturdays. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This is a special provision for you \u2013 we have you covered (for registered students), to help with making up for missed art sessions, you&#8217;ll get up to 10 tokens per school year. This is not standard practice in other programs!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>Q &#8211; Why do I need to pay for 30 days after I cancel?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><b>A<\/b>\u00a0&#8211; There are two reasons.<\/p>\n<p>1) We are looking for committed artists, not a place for kids to just hang out. Since we\u00a0can&#8217;t keep our doors open without full classes for the\u00a0school year courses, we need for families to consider the decision carefully. Without a 30-day policy, and especially with our easy interest free monthly payment plan, it&#8217;s easy for someone\u00a0to begin the year treating it\u00a0as a month-to-month class, which it&#8217;s not. We&#8217;d hate for a person to only try us out for a month without that consideration, and then casually quit, taking a space in the class that other, more committed artists would have liked to have. Once courses are 1 or 2 months into the school year, many people will have looked elsewhere for after-school activities, and our courses may have empty spaces the rest of the year.<\/p>\n<p>2) It can take time for another student to change their schedule and fill a vacant spot.<\/p>\n<p><em>The good news is that you are encouraged to stay in the class for those 30 days and make more art!<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>Q &#8211; When do you close due to weather or holidays?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><b>A &#8211;\u00a0<\/b>Weather-related closings are based on road conditions, and we wait as long as we can before canceling classes. We do not follow the Williamson County public school closings. They tend to close when there is\u00a0<b>no<\/b>\u00a0actual snow or very little, and well&#8230; kids like to get out for art class. However, if there actually has been snow, and there is ANY ice or slushy stuff on any roads, then we are usually going to be closed.<\/p>\n<p>We will let you know via\u00a0a\u00a0<strong>TEXT MESSAGE<\/strong>\u00a0that goes out to the classes meeting that day. Please opt in for text messages so you&#8217;ll receive these.<br \/><b><\/b><\/p>\n<p>For holidays, you can see our\u00a0<strong><a href=\"..\/?page_id=1139\">calendar<\/a><\/strong>. We have 4 weeks off each year, and only one Monday holiday, Labor Day. Here&#8217;s the rundown:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>School-year session runs Mid August to the week before Memorial Day, which is 40 weeks total time.<\/li>\n<li>We have 36 weeks of curriculum.<\/li>\n<li>Labor Day we do not meet.\u00a0We DO meet the Monday before Thanksgiving, to make up for Labor Day.<\/li>\n<li>We do not have classes the rest of Thanksgiving week.<\/li>\n<li>We take off 2 weeks at Christmas.<\/li>\n<li>We take off a week at the same time as Williamson County Schools for Spring break.<\/li>\n<li>There are\u00a0<strong>no other Monday holidays<\/strong>\u00a0after Labor day. We are here for all the others.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>Q &#8211; How do I make up a snow day?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><b>A &#8211; <\/b>For make-ups, we are open once a month on a Saturday for our Open Studio. Please come to these to make up for any missed classes. Registered students can come free. Snow days will get a token good until the end of the school year in May.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>Q &#8211; Is there child care provided during classes for younger siblings?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><b>A &#8211;\u00a0<\/b>No, <span>but there is plenty of parking and an outside area with picnic tables. We have free WiFi.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>Q &#8211; Why do you not use oil paints in art classes?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><b>A &#8211;\u00a0<\/b>Acrylics offer a wider range of techniques and is much less expensive. While oil is unique and wonderful, it can also cause allergic reactions in many people, and is very difficult to clean up. It&#8217;s also harder to find good pigments and mediums that are non-toxic.<\/p>\n<p>That said, In advanced courses oils can be\u00a0used, and we encourage (and sell) water-soluble oil paints. It&#8217;s magic.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>Q &#8211; Can I stay and wait during my child&#8217;s class?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><b>A &#8211;\u00a0<\/b><span>We have no extra space indoors, unfortunately. It&#8217;s up to you if you want to wait in your car, or go run some errands. We like Barnes and Nobles cafe too.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>Q &#8211; What should I wear to class?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><b>A &#8211;\u00a0<\/b>Everyone should try to wear old clothes that they can get paint on, or bring a smock or apron. In the winter, an apron doesn&#8217;t help keep paint off of long sleeves though. Plan for messiness! The best idea is to have a long-sleeved shirt for a smock in your art bag. <strong>We are not providing smocks during the health crisis! Please bring your own.<\/strong><br \/><b><\/b><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>Q &#8211; Do you offer scholarships?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><b>A &#8211;\u00a0<\/b>Yes. We have an application that can be obtained by emailing using the tab below,\u00a0and asking specifically about it. Scholarships are awarded based on need and talent, and cover half of the tuition for the year. We get a lot of emails so put &#8220;enrollment scholarship&#8221; (without quotes) into the subject line. Please make sure to\u00a0call or text to follow up with us.<\/p>\n<p>1.<a href=\"https:\/\/firstlightaa.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/FLscholarshipApp.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> <span><strong>Download the form here<\/strong><\/span><\/a> and fill out as best you can<br \/>2. Send it via email as a photo or scan.<br \/>3. Call us to get the email address and notify us OR you can text the document using the button below on a phone. There is also a physical address to send to on the application form. Thank you!<span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n[\/et_pb_toggle][et_pb_toggle title=&#8221;Firstlight Family Policies (tap to open)&#8221; closed_toggle_text_color=&#8221;#ffffff&#8221; closed_toggle_background_color=&#8221;#fc7507&#8243; icon_color=&#8221;#e2e2e2&#8243; open_icon_color=&#8221;#e2e2e2&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.25.0&#8243; title_font=&#8221;|700|||||||&#8221; title_line_height=&#8221;1.5em&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;]\n<h2><strong>Even our policies are fun &#8211; because we actually want you to READ them&#8230;<br \/><\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Know safety rules and what to expect as a student\/family.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Please take a quick 3 and a half minutes to read our 11 awesome policies! This is not that gobbledey-gook that lawyers write. We actually think it is understandable, <strong><em>super important,<\/em><\/strong> and even a little bit fun. If you have more questions please call or text.<\/p>\n<p>Thank you!<\/p>\n<h3><strong><em>Summer students should look at paragraphs 5, 6, 9, 10 &amp; 11<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>1. <strong>School-Year Term<\/strong>. The school-year classes at Firstlight are a 35-week course, and the course requires full tuition for the year &#8211; due upon registration &#8211; or by using an installment payment plan. If you opt for our no-cost monthly payment plan (yes, almost everyone opts for this), please understand that you are not actually paying month to month for classes. You are applying for an installment payment plan to pay for the <strong><em>entire course you have reserved<\/em><\/strong>. All payments are due whether you attend the classes or not. You are reserving a seat, and there are very few seats in each class due to our amazingly small class sizes. We have full year terms because we believe art just can&#8217;t be effectively taught in short isolated courses.<\/p>\n<p>We actually have two 35 week school-year courses for each level of our art program, for a total of 70 lessons to get the complete 2-year comprehensive course, but you must register each year separately.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Trial<\/strong> classes are available if a class is not full, and only after the first week of classes of each school year. Priority goes to students who are signing up for the full year.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Waitlists Are Prioritized<\/strong> into 4 groups: First dibs is for transferring students. Secondly, students with siblings already in the program. Third up is anyone who is a returning student. If you&#8217;re a new student, these others may be prioritized over you, most of these groups sign up really early and are not even on the waiting lists! Take heart and sign up for the waitlists.<\/p>\n<p><strong>IMPORTANT<\/strong> &#8211; There is a yearly registration fee of $40, which is added to your first tuition payment.<br \/>The August installment payment is a smaller payment and is required for securing a spot, along with the $40 registration fee if you are using the installment plan.<\/p>\n<p>2.\u00a0<strong>Siblings<\/strong> are eligible for a\u00a010% scholarship discount on school-year classes\u00a0(not available in the summer).<\/p>\n<p>3.\u00a0<strong>Attendance<\/strong>: It&#8217;s your responsibility to attend your classes. No refunds or other compensation can be made for classes that are missed.<\/p>\n<p>Makeups: We have an amazing thing though; school-year art students will receive a token when they miss class for any reason (<strong>one<\/strong> allowed per month). These markers for you absence will last for two months or until the last week of the session, and can be used to register for free in our Saturday Art Buffet classes*. IMPORTANT: Receiving a token is not a guarantee of getting an extra make up class. The classes should be attended, and if you miss, that class may be lost for you. We are offering many opportunities for making up missed classes, but again, attending class, or working with the make up schedule, is completely your responsibility. Tokens are a record of absense, and have no value unto themselves. See below for uses and limits.<\/p>\n<p>We have 4 age groups for ART BUFFET and sometimes separate rooms for sub-groups. 1) Adults, 2) Ages 6 &#8211; 7 (KidsART classes), and 3) Ages 8 and up. Anyone can attend for the regular price, so you can bring a friend too, if they have also signed up. Please see our Art Buffet page for information and availability.<\/p>\n<p><em>* Make up Tokens cannot be used in the summer or the following school year. Tokens are not transferrable and have no value.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>4. <strong>Supplies<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Saturday &amp; SUMMER<\/strong> Art Buffet supplies are included in the class price, as are all Summer CAMPS. Do not purchase anything if you&#8217;re only in the summer programs unless specifically asked to do so.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Supplies<\/strong> for the <strong>school year program<\/strong> must be purchased before classes begin. If you are returning from a prior year, we will contact you for a meeting to replenish so you don&#8217;t have to purchase an entire set if some things are still in good shape.<\/p>\n<p>Supplies must be completely replenished every school year. Returning students will be contacted in July, and expected to meet to review supplies and get a list of what to order. We take the orders during the meeting.<\/p>\n<p>Tax-Free SUPPLY weekend is usually the last weekend in July, so we try to make sure everyone gets theirs on that weekend. Look for an email.<\/p>\n<p>School year supplies are available in the classroom in the event that you forget your entire case or bag, so if dad took your supplies to work in the other car, chill.<\/p>\n<p><strong>However<\/strong>, please keep your supplies in your case at home. If you run out of something you need, or if you have forgotten something you&#8217;ve taken out of your case, you will need to purchase it during class time if the lesson requires it that day. All supplies are sold at 15%-40% discount off the MSRP, so that&#8217;s pretty cool. You will be required to pay for supplies THAT DAY, if they&#8217;re needed during class. Please tell your children that you have agreed to this. They tend to hide the fact that they have lost or used up something, worried that spending money is going to get them into trouble. You can see a supply checklist on our <a href=\"https:\/\/firstlightaa.org\/blog\/supplies\/\"><strong>Supplies Page.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>5.\u00a0<strong>Drop Off\/Pick up<\/strong> &#8211; Please don&#8217;t let your children leave without letting the teacher know parents have connected! We will freak out. We try to prevent this from happening by telling the kids not to just walk out the door, but when they see you, they often forget.<\/p>\n<p>Children (including teenagers) cannot be left unattended at the school to wait after the school is closed. We will sit there with them until we hand them off to you, because we are responsible for them until you arrive. Charges will be incurred if you arrive more than 15 minutes after the class ends. Charges are $10 for every 10 minute block that begins. We have to pay employees extra for this unexpected overtime. Thank you for being prompt!<\/p>\n<p><strong>SAFETY!<\/strong> Please, please <strong>do not park along the sidewalk\u00a0or wait there to get your child<\/strong>. This blocks other people from parking, leaving, and even pulling into our facility from the street. There have actually been accidents because someone refused to move their car from the sidewalk area, and cars were out in the street. Instead, please use a designated parking spot. It&#8217;s a BIG safety hazard for cars to block the view too. When it&#8217;s raining and dark, people park and wait, but kids are running to cars because of the rain and will dart out from behind the ones who are against the sidewalk.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>DRIVE 5 to 7 MPH PLEASE.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>We have seen kids almost get hit by cars who were driving too fast. Our nerves get seriously wracked! Thank you for slowing down.<\/p>\n<p>6.\u00a0<strong>Sickness\u00a0<\/strong>&#8211; Feverish dripping-nose kiddos will be quarantined, prayed over, and sent home. Try your best to avoid this scenario.<\/p>\n<p>7.\u00a0<strong>Closings<\/strong>: All Weather-related closings will be sent to you via text message. <em>Please opt-in for the texts<\/em>. We only send texts to the affected families so you don&#8217;t get other class&#8217;s notifications. Pretty smart.<\/p>\n<p>Um&#8230; So, we do not always follow Williamson county weather closings, as they tend to be a bit, shall we say, jumpy? about snow and ice. If there is no snow or ice, we will most likely be here having art class as usual. Also, if the snow or ice comes at 5 or 6, we may close even if school was open, since everyone will be driving students home after dark. Ice + dark is not a good equation and we do not want you sliding around in and on it.<\/p>\n<p>8.\u00a0<strong>Breaks<\/strong>: Fall break week is now on our calendar. Our breaks for fall, Christmas &amp; Spring breaks are usually the same as Williamson County Schools. See the <a href=\"https:\/\/firstlightaa.org\/blog\/?page_id=1139\"><strong>calendar<\/strong><\/a>.\u00a0The week of\u00a0Thanksgiving\u00a0we have classes only on Monday, and the rest of the week is off. We do NOT close for any Monday holidays, except for\u00a0Labor Day.<\/p>\n<p>9.\u00a0<strong>Cancellations:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>SUMMER and Saturday CANCELLATIONS<\/strong> must be made at least 7 days before the camp or workshop begins. Summer\/Saturday <strong>Art Buffet<\/strong> changes or cancellations can be made up to 48 hours before the beginning of the class.<\/p>\n<p>Cancellations must be made by sending a text to our main number at 615-678-6745, with the parent\/guardian full name, student name, and exactly what you want to cancel. Refund or credit for cancelled camps is available if made before cutoff times.<\/p>\n<p><strong>SCHOOL YEAR <\/strong>Tuition is due if full for the year (or remainder) when you register, but we offer a monthly payment plan. This doesn&#8217;t mean you are paying month to month. If you need to cancel during the year, and want a refund (stopped payments are considered a refund), you may request a refund for 1. Family emergencies, 2. Moving out of Middle TN, 3. Health related issues, 4. Dissatisfaction (within 30 days of sign up), or 5. finances (but we have scholarships, so please let us know) &#8211; We need 30 days advance notice of changes, on or before our cancellation cut-off date of February 20th, and only by using our <a href=\"https:\/\/firstlightaa.org\/blog\/thankyou\/\"><strong>CANCELLATION FORM<\/strong>.<\/a> We understand when things change or if something big comes up. Please call us if you need to discuss. Please read our Frequently Asked Questions (Q &amp; A) for more information, and look at our detailed cancellation explanation. Please download or ask for a <a href=\"https:\/\/firstlightaa.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/FLscholarshipApp.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>scholarship application<\/strong><\/a> if finances are causing trouble. We want to solve that problem!<\/p>\n<p>Whatever you do, please don&#8217;t attempt to make any changes in your class by speaking to one of us in person, or on the phone, or especially when classes are going or ending, or starting, or about to start, or well, any other time. Let us make it clear; all verbal communication will be forgotten immediately by visual people like us. (&#8220;who was that I just spoke with?! didn&#8217;t they have a purple shirt?) Only by using the cancellation form will a tuition be considered for cancellation, and only before our cut off date. (ok, if something really freaky happens, call. We are pretty understanding folks).<\/p>\n<p>To move a student to another class, please request via your account or by <strong>text<\/strong>. Written requests don&#8217;t get forgotten! (usually this is true).<\/p>\n<p>10.\u00a0<strong>PRIVACY: <\/strong>We promise to take all kinds of reasonable precautions to maintain privacy of your registration information. We will never knowingly share your information with any other entity or persons unless directed to do so by you or by some governmental agency. We can&#8217;t see your financial information once entered into our system except for the last few digits of your card and expiration date. All information collected in processing your purchases are handled by our Credit Card Merchant services provider, who uses military standard encryption, is one of the biggest in the country, and has an excellent privacy policy as well &#8211; even requiring us to make our policy known to you, which we have just done, with flair and panache.<\/p>\n<p>COMMUNICATE! <strong>Please OPT IN for ALL communications<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>We mainly communicate by individual TEXT messages, and email. All emergency closings, classtime parent notifications, and specific class instructions will be sent by text. Please OPT IN! We also send a few announcements each year via email. You will want to add &#8220;<em><strong>help4you@firstlightart.org<\/strong><\/em>&#8221; to your address book, or you probably will not see our correspondence. Some of those email programs will bury us inside weird little folders called &#8220;promotions&#8221; or something similar. Then they often place the promotions folder in an alternate time-space dimension just to be sure you never know our emails exist. Adding our address to your book helps a lot.<\/p>\n<p>11.\u00a0<strong>Permissions<\/strong>:\u00a0Unless you let us know otherwise, in registering for a course, you give Firstlight\u00a0permission\u00a0to reproduce photos of your artwork that has been created in the classroom,\u00a0ONLY\u00a0for use in promoting our businesses, Firstlight Arts Academy and our sister curriculum sites, theartinstructor.comand homeschoolingart.com, in our advertising, promotions, social media, and web pages. We do not have any interest other than that. Please also consider helping us out by granting <em><strong>permission<\/strong><\/em> to use your student classroom images as well.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Done! See that didn&#8217;t take long at all. Thank you tons.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n[\/et_pb_toggle][et_pb_toggle title=&#8221;Current Wellness Practices &#038; Policies (tap to open)&#8221; closed_toggle_text_color=&#8221;#ffffff&#8221; closed_toggle_background_color=&#8221;#5fcc06&#8243; icon_color=&#8221;#e2e2e2&#8243; open_icon_color=&#8221;#e2e2e2&#8243; disabled_on=&#8221;on|on|on&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; title_font=&#8221;|700|||||||&#8221; title_line_height=&#8221;1.5em&#8221; disabled=&#8221;on&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;]\n<h3 style=\"text-align: left;\" class=\"null\"><strong>In-Studio Students: Please Read thoroughly. Thank you.<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h5 style=\"text-align: left;\" class=\"null\">We&#8217;re carefully doing everything possible to keep our students and staff safe. We need everyone&#8217;s cooperation and commitment to the safety policies outlined below. &#8211; Thank you!<\/h5>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\" class=\"null\"><strong>Please do not come to the studio if anyone in your household has been exposed, is undergoing any testing for, has any symptoms of, or has an active case of Covid infection. Thank you.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #008080;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #008080;\">UPDATE on masking:\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #008080;\">For OPEN STUDIO, Please wear a WELL-FITTING MASK when you arrive.<\/span><\/h3>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #008080;\">For Summer Camps, we still do not have a clear idea of how things will be going. Hopefully, we can be mask-free.<\/span><\/h3>\n<div>\n<h3><strong>Some of our classes are mask-free now, and some classes are still wearing masks to protect students and staff who currently have weakened immune systems.<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>We do as much as we can to ensure safety, and want to err on the side of caution for our most vulnerable students and their families.\u00a0We will continue that commitment with: <strong>masks when needed, sanitizing, and HEPA air filters<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Thank you!<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: left;\" class=\"null\">1. Physical Distancing<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Separate entrances<\/strong>. We keep each class as separate from others as we can with Back and Middle studios entering at our back door (<em>See MAP below<\/em>).<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Drop off and pick up<\/strong> children outside at the studio door instead of entering the facility. We have welcoming check-in teachers at the door. At pick-up, students will need to be walked from the studio door to your car. Please park and come get your student. (<em>see MAP below<\/em>)<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Personal items.<\/strong> Each student has a space for\u00a0personal items.<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Space<\/strong>. We&#8217;ve changed our room layouts to ensure each student is 6 feet from others and that there is a clear and open path to the bathrooms.<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Supplies<\/strong>. Students have their own personal supplies.<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Food<\/strong>. Please send\u00a0personal snacks and drinks with your student if breaks are planned in your camp.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: left;\" class=\"null\">2. Sanitizing<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Restrooms<\/strong>: Teacher or students sanitize the restrooms after each use. Except for emergencies, classes will have designated breaks for students to use the restrooms.<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>All surfaces<\/strong>\u00a0are wiped down with disinfectant between classes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>3. Masks<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>In certain classes, students are asked to help others attend, by wearing a mask over mouth and nose<\/strong>. No bandanas or stretchy tubes. Make sure the mask fits so that it doesn&#8217;t pop down when student speaks or have gaps around the edges.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: left;\" class=\"null\">4. Ventilation<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Fans<\/strong>. We air out the rooms with <strong>external air<\/strong> as much as possible. Fans are in each room.<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>HEPA filter air cleaners<\/strong> are running in the center of every room. (These can filter almost everything, including virus particles).<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>UVC light<\/strong> is utilized to further destroy pathogens in the air (inside our air filters).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h1>Traffic Map With Pickup\/Drop-Off Instructions:<\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/firstlightaa.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/FirstlightCarMap.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5500 alignnone size-medium\" width=\"100%\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>We apologize for any inconvenience, but there is no hang-out room for parents through the summer. Parents should stay outside during pickup and drop off times, but if you want to make an appointment for a walk-through you can call or text us.<br \/><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n[\/et_pb_toggle][et_pb_toggle title=&#8221;Current Wellness Practices &#038; Policies (tap to open)&#8221; closed_toggle_text_color=&#8221;#ffffff&#8221; closed_toggle_background_color=&#8221;#5fcc06&#8243; icon_color=&#8221;#e2e2e2&#8243; open_icon_color=&#8221;#e2e2e2&#8243; disabled_on=&#8221;on|on|on&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; title_font=&#8221;|700|||||||&#8221; title_line_height=&#8221;1.5em&#8221; disabled=&#8221;on&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;]\n<h5 style=\"text-align: left;\" class=\"null\">We&#8217;re carefully doing everything possible to keep our students and staff safe. We need everyone&#8217;s cooperation and commitment to the safety policies outlined below. &#8211; Thank you!<\/h5>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\" class=\"null\"><strong>Please do not come to the studio if anyone in your household has been exposed, is undergoing any testing for, has any symptoms of, or has an active case of Covid infection. Thank you.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #008080;\">UPDATE on masking:\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #008080;\">For Summer Camps, masks are optional, but we would appreciate wearing masks if possible to continue to protect the more vulnerable students, staff, and family members at homes.<\/span><\/h3>\n<div>\n<p>We do as much as we can to ensure safety, and want to err on the side of caution. We will continue that commitment with: <strong>masks when we can, sanitizing, and HEPA air filters<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Thank you!<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: left;\" class=\"null\">1. Physical Distancing<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Separate entrances<\/strong>. We keep each class as separate from others as we can with Back and Middle studios entering at our back door (<em>See MAP below<\/em>).<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Drop off and pick up<\/strong> children outside at the studio door instead of entering the facility. We have welcoming check-in teachers at the door. At pick-up, students will need to be walked from the studio door to your car. Please park and come get your student. (<em>see MAP below<\/em>)<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Personal items.<\/strong> Each student has a space for\u00a0personal items.<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Space<\/strong>. We&#8217;ve changed our room layouts to ensure each student is 6 feet from others and that there is a clear and open path to the bathrooms.<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Supplies<\/strong>. Students have their own personal supplies.<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Food<\/strong>. Please send\u00a0personal snacks and drinks with your student if breaks are planned in your camp.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: left;\" class=\"null\">2. Sanitizing<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Restrooms<\/strong>: Teacher or students sanitize the restrooms after each use. Except for emergencies, classes will have designated breaks for students to use the restrooms.<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>All surfaces<\/strong>\u00a0are wiped down with disinfectant between classes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>3. Masks<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\"><b>While optional at this time, if you can wear a mask, it helps the ones who have weakened immune systems. We have a number of students and staff who fall into this category. Thank you!<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: left;\" class=\"null\">4. Ventilation<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Fans<\/strong>. We air out the rooms with <strong>external air<\/strong> as much as possible. Fans are in each room.<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>HEPA filter air cleaners<\/strong> are running in the center of every room. (These can filter almost everything, including virus particles).<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>UVC light<\/strong> is utilized to further destroy pathogens in the air (inside our air filters).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h1>Traffic Map With Pickup\/Drop-Off Instructions:<\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/firstlightaa.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/FirstlightCarMap.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5500 alignnone size-medium\" width=\"100%\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>We apologize for any inconvenience, but there is no hang-out room for parents through the summer. Parents should stay outside during pickup and drop off times, but if you want to make an appointment for a walk-through you can call or text us.<br \/><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n[\/et_pb_toggle][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; custom_padding=&#8221;14px|0px|49px|0px|false|false&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;4_4&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; custom_padding=&#8221;|||&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; custom_padding__hover=&#8221;|||&#8221;][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; header_4_font=&#8221;Montserrat|800|||||||&#8221; header_4_text_align=&#8221;center&#8221; header_4_text_color=&#8221;#0cbcc9&#8243; width=&#8221;67%&#8221; width_tablet=&#8221;100%&#8221; width_phone=&#8221;&#8221; width_last_edited=&#8221;on|phone&#8221; module_alignment=&#8221;center&#8221; custom_padding=&#8221;12px|5px|3px|5px|false|false&#8221; custom_padding_tablet=&#8221;&#8221; custom_padding_phone=&#8221;|35px||35px|false|false&#8221; custom_padding_last_edited=&#8221;on|phone&#8221; link_option_url=&#8221;https:\/\/firstlightaa.org\/blog\/fix-gmail-instructions\/&#8221; link_option_url_new_window=&#8221;on&#8221; border_radii=&#8221;on|50px|50px|50px|50px&#8221; border_width_all=&#8221;1px&#8221; box_shadow_style=&#8221;preset3&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;]\n<h4>Not Getting Emails?! Click Here To Learn How To Fix This.<\/h4>\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row disabled_on=&#8221;off|off|off&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.25.0&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; width_tablet=&#8221;&#8221; width_phone=&#8221;90%&#8221; width_last_edited=&#8221;on|desktop&#8221; custom_margin_tablet=&#8221;&#8221; custom_margin_phone=&#8221;-19px||-17px||false|false&#8221; custom_margin_last_edited=&#8221;on|phone&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;4_4&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.25.0&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; text_font=&#8221;Caladea||||||||&#8221; header_2_font=&#8221;Montserrat|800|||||||&#8221; header_2_font_size=&#8221;36px&#8221; header_2_letter_spacing=&#8221;7px&#8221; header_2_line_height=&#8221;1.1em&#8221; header_3_font=&#8221;Montserrat|300|||||||&#8221; header_5_font=&#8221;Baskervville|800|on||||||&#8221; text_orientation=&#8221;center&#8221; custom_padding=&#8221;||0px|||&#8221; header_2_font_size_tablet=&#8221;32px&#8221; header_2_font_size_phone=&#8221;28px&#8221; header_2_font_size_last_edited=&#8221;on|phone&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;]\n<h2>PICK-UP &amp; DROP-OFF<\/h2>\n<h3>Please take a moment to learn how to keep everyone safe.<\/h3>\n<p><em>We&#8217;re committed to doing every single thing possible to maintain the safety of students, families, and staff.<\/em><\/p>\n[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.25.0&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; header_2_font=&#8221;Montserrat|800|||||||&#8221; header_2_text_align=&#8221;center&#8221; header_2_font_size=&#8221;18px&#8221; header_2_letter_spacing=&#8221;5px&#8221; header_2_line_height=&#8221;3em&#8221; header_3_font=&#8221;Encode Sans Condensed||||||||&#8221; text_orientation=&#8221;center&#8221; width=&#8221;74%&#8221; width_tablet=&#8221;74%&#8221; width_phone=&#8221;74%&#8221; width_last_edited=&#8221;on|tablet&#8221; module_alignment=&#8221;center&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;]\n<h3>Please park &#8211; and wait or escort your children, even when raining.<\/h3>\n<p>Rain or very cold weather tells us we should pull up and wait for our kids close to the door, but this is actually the worst time to do so.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u2022 Kids run when it&#8217;s raining.<\/strong><br \/><strong>\u2022 Rain noise masks the sound of cars.<\/strong><br \/><strong>\u2022 It&#8217;s dark and busy.<br \/>\u2022 Other cars will be driving around you.<br \/><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>There are guide-maps below, that you can view and even print out if you want. We are using both the front and back entrances, and we have a pickup line for the back entrance.<br \/>Your first email for registration (or trial) will say which studio your class is in.<\/p>\n<p>Also, the <a href=\"https:\/\/firstlightaa.org\/blog\/s-c-h-e-d-u-l-e\/#sched\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>schedule graphic on our Foundational Art page<\/strong><\/a> indicates each class&#8217; studio.<\/p>\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;4_4&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.25.0&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; text_line_height=&#8221;1.1em&#8221; header_2_font=&#8221;Montserrat|800||on|||||&#8221; header_2_text_align=&#8221;center&#8221; header_2_font_size=&#8221;20px&#8221; header_2_letter_spacing=&#8221;5px&#8221; header_2_line_height=&#8221;1.6em&#8221; text_orientation=&#8221;center&#8221; width=&#8221;55%&#8221; width_tablet=&#8221;100%&#8221; width_phone=&#8221;&#8221; width_last_edited=&#8221;on|phone&#8221; module_alignment=&#8221;center&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;]\n<h2>Traffic and Parking Maps<\/h2>\n<p>On mobile, pinch to zoom in.<\/p>\n[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=&#8221;https:\/\/firstlightaa.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/FirstlightCarMap.jpg&#8221; title_text=&#8221;FirstlightCarMap&#8221; align=&#8221;center&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; width=&#8221;80%&#8221; width_tablet=&#8221;auto&#8221; width_phone=&#8221;&#8221; width_last_edited=&#8221;on|tablet&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_button button_url=&#8221;https:\/\/firstlightaa.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/FirstlightCarMap.pdf&#8221; url_new_window=&#8221;on&#8221; button_text=&#8221;Download Map PDF&#8221; button_alignment=&#8221;center&#8221; admin_label=&#8221;register now button&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; custom_button=&#8221;on&#8221; button_bg_color=&#8221;#5fcc06&#8243; button_font=&#8221;||||||||&#8221; background_layout=&#8221;dark&#8221; button_text_size_tablet=&#8221;&#8221; button_text_size_phone=&#8221;&#8221; button_text_size_last_edited=&#8221;on|desktop&#8221; button_letter_spacing_hover=&#8221;1&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; button_text_size__hover_enabled=&#8221;off&#8221; button_one_text_size__hover_enabled=&#8221;off&#8221; button_two_text_size__hover_enabled=&#8221;off&#8221; button_text_color__hover_enabled=&#8221;off&#8221; button_one_text_color__hover_enabled=&#8221;off&#8221; button_two_text_color__hover_enabled=&#8221;off&#8221; button_border_width__hover_enabled=&#8221;off&#8221; button_one_border_width__hover_enabled=&#8221;off&#8221; button_two_border_width__hover_enabled=&#8221;off&#8221; button_border_color__hover_enabled=&#8221;off&#8221; button_one_border_color__hover_enabled=&#8221;off&#8221; button_two_border_color__hover_enabled=&#8221;off&#8221; button_border_radius__hover_enabled=&#8221;off&#8221; button_one_border_radius__hover_enabled=&#8221;off&#8221; button_two_border_radius__hover_enabled=&#8221;off&#8221; button_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=&#8221;on&#8221; button_letter_spacing__hover=&#8221;1&#8243; button_one_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=&#8221;off&#8221; button_two_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=&#8221;off&#8221; button_bg_color__hover_enabled=&#8221;off&#8221; button_one_bg_color__hover_enabled=&#8221;off&#8221; button_two_bg_color__hover_enabled=&#8221;off&#8221;][\/et_pb_button][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=&#8221;1_3,1_3,1_3&#8243; disabled_on=&#8221;on|on|on&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.25.0&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; disabled=&#8221;on&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;1_3&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=&#8221;1_3&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; header_2_font=&#8221;Montserrat|800|||||||&#8221; header_2_text_align=&#8221;center&#8221; header_2_font_size=&#8221;18px&#8221; header_2_letter_spacing=&#8221;5px&#8221; header_2_line_height=&#8221;3em&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;]\n<h2>Shared Materials<\/h2>\n<p>We try to not share things around the studio, and disinfect when we do. Here&#8217;s a quick guide:<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 You must bring your own SMOCK. An old long-sleeve dad-shirt is great for all seasons, since you can roll up the sleeves when needed.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Any studio supplies are designated with student names and kept separated.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 We still provide materials if you leave your set at home by accident, but please try not to forget!<\/p>\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=&#8221;1_3&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_text disabled_on=&#8221;off|off|off&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.25.0&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; header_2_font=&#8221;Montserrat|800|||||||&#8221; header_2_text_align=&#8221;center&#8221; header_2_font_size=&#8221;18px&#8221; header_2_letter_spacing=&#8221;5px&#8221; header_2_line_height=&#8221;3em&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;]\n<h2>Online Students<\/h2>\n<p>Online students can see and hear the students in the studio. There are 4 modes for the online hybrid classes. The class begins with Facilitator Mode: you get warmup art prompts and can talk with your online friends and facilitator. Then there is a greeting time in Social Mode, talking with your in-studio classmates, before moving into the Instructions with Demo Mode and\/or Screen Mode (presentations). During the class work-times you&#8217;ll get to go back to the Social Mode and enjoy interacting with the entire class, both online and in-studio.<\/p>\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=&#8221;1_2,1_2&#8243; disabled_on=&#8221;on|on|on&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; disabled=&#8221;on&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;1_2&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; header_2_font=&#8221;|300|||||||&#8221; header_2_text_align=&#8221;center&#8221; header_2_font_size=&#8221;68px&#8221; background_color=&#8221;#ff9c07&#8243; background_layout=&#8221;dark&#8221; max_width=&#8221;100%&#8221; max_width_tablet=&#8221;&#8221; max_width_phone=&#8221;&#8221; max_width_last_edited=&#8221;on|desktop&#8221; module_alignment=&#8221;center&#8221; custom_padding=&#8221;16px||8px||false|false&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;]\n<h2>1<\/h2>\n[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; header_2_font=&#8221;Montserrat|800|||||||&#8221; header_2_text_align=&#8221;center&#8221; header_2_font_size=&#8221;18px&#8221; header_2_letter_spacing=&#8221;5px&#8221; header_2_line_height=&#8221;3em&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;]\n<h2>Physical Safety Measures<\/h2>\n<p>We have implemented everything we know, to physically ensure safety and containment. Masks are needed in a few classes still, to protect some students and allow them to attend. We have great ventilation with multiple HEPA filtered, and UVC light, air cleaners in every studio. There&#8217;s more about our health and safety above in the blue box. Tap to open it.<\/p>\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=&#8221;1_2&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; header_2_font=&#8221;|300|||||||&#8221; header_2_text_align=&#8221;center&#8221; header_2_font_size=&#8221;68px&#8221; background_color=&#8221;#5FCC06&#8243; background_layout=&#8221;dark&#8221; max_width=&#8221;100%&#8221; max_width_tablet=&#8221;&#8221; max_width_phone=&#8221;&#8221; max_width_last_edited=&#8221;on|desktop&#8221; module_alignment=&#8221;center&#8221; custom_padding=&#8221;16px||8px||false|false&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;]\n<h2>2<\/h2>\n[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; header_2_font=&#8221;Montserrat|800|||||||&#8221; header_2_text_align=&#8221;center&#8221; header_2_font_size=&#8221;18px&#8221; header_2_letter_spacing=&#8221;5px&#8221; header_2_line_height=&#8221;3em&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;]\n<h2>Pick-up &amp; Drop-off<\/h2>\n<p>There are guide-maps below, that you can view and even print out if you want. We are using both the front and back entrances, and we have a pickup line for the back entrance.<br \/>You can view our weekly schedule HERE (tap the schedule tab), and see which studio your class is in. Then use this entrance guide:<\/p>\n<p><strong>FRONT<\/strong> STUDIO = Front Entrance<br \/><strong>MIDDLE<\/strong> STUDIO = Back Entrance<br \/><strong>BACK<\/strong> STUDIO = Back Entrance<\/p>\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=&#8221;1_2,1_2&#8243; disabled_on=&#8221;on|on|on&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; disabled=&#8221;on&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;1_2&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; header_2_font=&#8221;|300|||||||&#8221; header_2_text_align=&#8221;center&#8221; header_2_font_size=&#8221;68px&#8221; background_color=&#8221;#FC3926&#8243; background_layout=&#8221;dark&#8221; max_width=&#8221;100%&#8221; max_width_tablet=&#8221;&#8221; max_width_phone=&#8221;&#8221; max_width_last_edited=&#8221;on|desktop&#8221; module_alignment=&#8221;center&#8221; custom_padding=&#8221;16px||8px||false|false&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;]\n<h2>3<\/h2>\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=&#8221;1_2&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; header_2_font=&#8221;|300|||||||&#8221; header_2_text_align=&#8221;center&#8221; header_2_font_size=&#8221;68px&#8221; background_color=&#8221;#A95CF2&#8243; background_layout=&#8221;dark&#8221; max_width=&#8221;100%&#8221; max_width_tablet=&#8221;&#8221; max_width_phone=&#8221;&#8221; max_width_last_edited=&#8221;on|desktop&#8221; module_alignment=&#8221;center&#8221; custom_padding=&#8221;16px||8px||false|false&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;]\n<h2>4<\/h2>\n[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; header_2_font=&#8221;|300|||||||&#8221; header_2_text_align=&#8221;center&#8221; header_2_font_size=&#8221;68px&#8221; background_color=&#8221;#0CBCC9&#8243; background_layout=&#8221;dark&#8221; max_width_last_edited=&#8221;off|phone&#8221; module_alignment=&#8221;center&#8221; custom_padding=&#8221;16px||8px||false|false&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;]\n<h2>5<\/h2>\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row disabled_on=&#8221;on|on|on&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.25.0&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; width=&#8221;40%&#8221; width_tablet=&#8221;80%&#8221; width_phone=&#8221;&#8221; width_last_edited=&#8221;on|phone&#8221; disabled=&#8221;on&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;4_4&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; header_2_font=&#8221;Montserrat|800|||||||&#8221; header_2_text_align=&#8221;center&#8221; header_2_font_size=&#8221;18px&#8221; header_2_letter_spacing=&#8221;5px&#8221; header_2_line_height=&#8221;3em&#8221; width=&#8221;100%&#8221; width_tablet=&#8221;100%&#8221; width_phone=&#8221;&#8221; width_last_edited=&#8221;on|phone&#8221; module_alignment=&#8221;center&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;]\n<h2>Supplies<\/h2>\n<p>Everyone in the age 8 and up classes must begin the year with a full year&#8217;s worth of supplies. If you haven&#8217;t purchased all your supplies yet, please make an appointment with Ruthie by emailing her at supplies@firstlightart.org<\/p>\n<p>KidsART students will be charged a $50 supply fee for an in-room personal art supply bin.<\/p>\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=&#8221;1_3,1_3,1_3&#8243; disabled_on=&#8221;on|on|on&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; disabled=&#8221;on&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;1_3&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; custom_padding=&#8221;|||&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; custom_padding__hover=&#8221;|||&#8221;][et_pb_image src=&#8221;https:\/\/firstlightaa.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/MasksAntelopes.jpg&#8221; align=&#8221;center&#8221; align_tablet=&#8221;center&#8221; align_phone=&#8221;&#8221; align_last_edited=&#8221;on|desktop&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; max_width=&#8221;100%&#8221; max_width_tablet=&#8221;48%&#8221; max_width_phone=&#8221;77%&#8221; max_width_last_edited=&#8221;on|phone&#8221; module_alignment=&#8221;center&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;]\n<p>Too bad we can&#8217;t use masks like these! But masks are required for all students right now. Thank you!<\/p>\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=&#8221;1_3&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_image src=&#8221;https:\/\/firstlightaa.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/FLstudioDistSquare800.jpg&#8221; title_text=&#8221;FLstudioDistSquare800&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;]\n<p>Everyone has a 6 ft table of their own.<\/p>\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=&#8221;1_3&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_image src=&#8221;https:\/\/firstlightaa.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/FLstudioDotsSq800.jpg&#8221; title_text=&#8221;FLstudioDotsSq800&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;]\n<p>Fun places to stand 6 ft apart.<\/p>\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Important Info The things you need to knowIf you have questions, you just found the answers! (If for some amazing reason you don&#8217;t find the answer you need, just give us a call and we&#8217;ll do our best to help). Q &#8211; Do you offer art courses for grownups too? A &#8211;\u00a0Yes we do!\u00a0There are [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"<h3>Here is all the wisdom we can muster. Tap the bars to open the full text below.<\/h3><p>[su_spoiler title=\"Frequently Asked Questions\" style=\"fancy\" icon=\"plus-square-1\"]<\/p><p>We<em>\u00a0are absolutely positively sure beyond a shadow of a doubt that every question you could possibly have is answered here.<\/em><\/p><p><strong><em>Probably!<\/em><br \/><\/strong><b><\/b><\/p><h3><b>Q - Do you offer art courses for grownups too?<\/b><\/h3><p><b>A -\u00a0<\/b>Yes we do!\u00a0There are daytime and evening classes offered. <a href=\"http:\/\/firstlightaa.org\/blog\/adult-classes\/?et_fb=1\/#overviewadult\"><strong>Start HERE.<\/strong><\/a><br \/><b><\/b><\/p><h3><b>Q - Do you offer art courses for children younger than school-age, or special needs?<\/b><\/h3><p><b>A -\u00a0<\/b>Yes we do! Our KidsART courses begin at age 4. See the on-going classes page for information. We offer summer camps and workshops for all ages too. If you have special needs, please call the number at the top of the page, or text from our <a href=\"http:\/\/firstlightaa.org\/blog\/meet-the-staff\/\"><strong>Contact Page<\/strong><\/a>.<br \/><b><\/b><\/p><h3><b>Q - Do you have discounts for siblings or more than one class?<\/b><\/h3><p><b>A -\u00a0<\/b>Yes, all second or third enrollments are 10% off. This is a school-year discount. Summer does not have sibling discounts available.<\/p><h3><b>Q - Are supplies included in the tuition price?<\/b><\/h3><p><b>A - <\/b>Yes. No. Maybe so<b>.\u00a0<\/b>For our KidsART classes (ages 4 & 5, or 6 & 7), yes, the supplies <strong>are<\/strong> included. For all of our classes for <strong>ages 8 and up, you will need to purchase<\/strong> a full set of supplies in addition to tuition.<\/p><h3><b>Q - Do you sell art supplies?<\/b><\/h3><p><b>A -\u00a0<\/b>Yes we do! Check the\u00a0<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/firstlightaa.org\/blog\/?page_id=1208\">Art Supply<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0page.<br \/><b><\/b><\/p><h3><b>Q - What if I already have some art supplies?<\/b><\/h3><p><b>A -\u00a0<\/b>Bring them! In class, however, we like for everyone to be using the same 10-color paint set for mixing, and the same quality of supplies. You can use your own supplies as long as you have everything on the supply list or something that is of equal quality or better, (such as a larger pallette pad). Brushes especially, should not be budget models that come with art sets.<br \/><b><\/b><\/p><h3><b>Q - If I sign up, how do I know what's going on?<\/b><\/h3><p><b>A - Our Website (Articles & News Page).<\/b>\u00a0Bookmark it or save to your home screen.\u00a0School closings will be posted here, and all events or class needs.\u00a0We also send out emails and even text messages when something important comes up that you need to know.<\/p><p>We will always send\u00a0<strong>texts<\/strong>\u00a0for last-minute updates about\u00a0closings so if you want to receive these, make sure you indicate so when you create your account on our parent portal. You can change these settings at any time.<\/p><h3><b>Q - What is Open Studio?<\/b><\/h3><p><b>A -\u00a0<\/b>This is our ONCE-A-MONTH (on the first Saturday of each month) free art session for our students (See our <a href=\"http:\/\/firstlightaa.org\/blog\/calendar\/\"><strong>Calendar Page<\/strong><\/a>). We understand that some artists want or need extra time to work in our studio. Also, if you miss a class, you can get some instruction for making up the missed work or catching up on a project you're in the middle of. There is a teacher, but it's not a structured class. You can get some help as you need it. Sometimes the teacher is painting too. All 3 studios are open and you can drop in at any time during the open hours. It is usually on the first Saturday of the month with 3 sessions for all ages.<\/p><h3><b>Q - What if I need to quit the art course sometime during the year?<\/b><\/h3><p><b>A<\/b>\u00a0- Most yearly educational courses like ours are set once you sign up, but we do offer a 30-day cancelation before our cutoff date in February. If you have something big come up unexpectedly that requires you to cancel your enrollement, please use our 30-day advance notice\u00a0<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/firstlightaa.org\/blog\/?page_id=1236\">CANCELATION REQUEST FORM.<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>It's hard to fill spaces after the course is half finished, and we really can't find reaplacements for reserved spaces after\u00a0\u00a0<strong>February 20<\/strong>, which is our cut-off date for cancelations. Please read the\u00a0policy\u00a0section\u00a0directly below for instructions and more explanation.<\/p><p>You are purchasing a full course. Cancelling mid-year is a special option we offer, but it is a big deal for the class, the student, and for us since the enrollment season is in the late Summer and early Fall. Changing your mind, signing up for other activities later on in the year, or feeling too busy, are not valid reasons to cancel. Cancelling your art course mid-year is like returning a partially used product that most likely can never be resold to another student. We understand that big changes such as moving out of the Middle Tennessee area, or family health problems, are important reasons to need a cancellation, and why we offer it. Most other issues can be worked out with scholarship or scheduling changes. Give us a call and we'll do everything we can to help you finish your course in a way that works for you.<br \/><b><\/b><\/p><h3><b>Q - How should I pay tuition?<\/b><\/h3><p><b>A -\u00a0<\/b>There are two ways to\u00a0pay the tuition\u00a0after you've made your deposit and registration fee payment. You may opt to pay all the tuition up front, or split the cost into smaller monthly installments. Most of our families use our no-cost monthly installment\u00a0plan with a credit or debit card.\u00a0You can set this up when you make your account log in and\/or register for a class.\u00a0The monthly drafts occur\u00a0on the 2nd or 3rd of each month.<br \/><b><\/b><\/p><h3><b>Q - Can I store any art supplies at the academy?<\/b><\/h3><p><b>A -\u00a0<\/b>Yes and no, but that doesn't mean we're wishy-washy. We have a space for large pads and art boards, so those can stay. The rest of the supplies need to be taken with you each week since we do not have that much storage space. The cases have nifty handles and we give you a free bag too!<br \/><b><\/b><\/p><h3><b>Q - Do you give private lessons?<\/b><\/h3><p><b>A<\/b>\u00a0- We do not. There is really no need for private lessons. With art, private lessons means the instructor would have most of his or her time spent waiting on the artist to get to a stopping point. As an instructor goes around one of our small classes and teaches each student individually, it's very similar to a private lesson. We also feel strongly that art is great when it's also\u00a0a social learning experience. There is nothing like support from friends.<br \/><b><\/b><\/p><h3><b>Q - Do I have to pay for any classes that I miss?<\/b><\/h3><p><b>A -\u00a0<\/b>This is another good question. The answer is a simple yes, but there are several reasons why. The main thing to realize, is that we offer art\u00a0<em>courses<\/em>, and you are\u00a0<strong><em>reserving<\/em>\u00a0the entire course of 36 lessons<\/strong>. We have monthly installment payments as a service to our students, because most people do not want to pay all at once for the whole course. We do not charge interest at all.<\/p><p>\u2022 It is your responsibility to attend the course you've registered for. Tuition is not based on a weekly or even monthly basis, or there would be different amounts due each month.<\/p><p>\u2022 Life is hectic and full of things that call for our attention - all the time. For art course to be attended regularly, it needs to be a chosen commitment, instead of a decision that you make based on what is happening right before a class.<\/p><p>\u2022 Most Firstlight courses fill to capacity, and we often have people on waiting lists. It would be unfair for one person to reserve a valuable spot, and then not pay for\u00a0it.<\/p><p>For all of these reasons, we charge the entire tuition for the year, regardless of classes missed. This is standard practice in all other course-style programs - for the same reasons.<\/p><p>[su_panel background=\"#74BF44\" color=\"#ffffff\" border=\"1px none #cccccc\" shadow=\"0px 0px 0px #eeeeee\" radius=\"1\"]However! There is a special provision for you - we have our free open studio (for registered students) once a month on a Saturday for 3 hours (1.5 hours for KidsART ages), to help with making up for missed art sessions. That's up to 30 extra hours we are here for you. This is not standard practice in other programs![\/su_panel]<b><\/b><\/p><h3><b>Q - Why do I need to pay for 30 days after I cancel?<\/b><\/h3><p><b>A<\/b>\u00a0- There are two reasons.<\/p><p>1) We are looking for committed artists, not a place for kids to just hang out. Since we\u00a0can't keep our doors open without full classes for the\u00a0school year courses, we need for families to consider the decision carefully. Without a 30-day policy, and especially with our easy interest free monthly payment plan, it's easy for someone\u00a0to begin the year treating it\u00a0as a month-to-month class, which it's not. We'd hate for a person to only try us out for a month without that consideration, and then casually quit, taking a space in the class that other, more committed artists would have liked to have. Once courses are 1 or 2 months into the school year, many people will have looked elsewhere for after-school activities, and our courses may have empty spaces the rest of the year.<\/p><p>2) It can take time for another student to change their schedule and fill a vacant spot.<\/p><p><em>The good news is that you are encouraged to stay in the class for those 30 days and make more art!<\/em><\/p><h3><b>Q - When do you close due to weather or holidays?<\/b><\/h3><p><b>A -\u00a0<\/b>Weather-related closings are based on road conditions, and we wait as long as we can before canceling classes. We do not follow the Williamson County public school closings. They tend to close when there is\u00a0<b>no<\/b>\u00a0actual snow or very little, and well... kids like to get out for art class. However, if there actually has been snow, and there is ANY ice or slushy stuff on any roads, then we are usually going to be closed.<\/p><p>We will let you know via\u00a0a\u00a0<strong>TEXT MESSAGE<\/strong>\u00a0that goes out to the classes meeting that day. Please opt in for text messages so you'll receive these.<br \/><b><\/b><\/p><p>For holidays, you can see our\u00a0<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/firstlightaa.org\/blog\/?page_id=1139\">calendar<\/a><\/strong>. We have 4 weeks off each year, and only one Monday holiday, Labor Day. Here's the rundown:<\/p><ul><li>School-year session runs Mid August to the week before Memorial Day, which is 40 weeks total time.<\/li><li>We have 36 weeks of curriculum.<\/li><li>Labor Day we do not meet.\u00a0We DO meet the Monday before Thanksgiving, to make up for Labor Day.<\/li><li>We do not have classes the rest of Thanksgiving week.<\/li><li>We take off 2 weeks at Christmas.<\/li><li>We take off a week at the same time as Williamson County Schools for Spring break.<\/li><li>There are\u00a0<strong>no other Monday holidays<\/strong>\u00a0after Labor day. We are here for all the others.<\/li><\/ul><h3><b>Q - How do I make up a snow day?<\/b><\/h3><p><b>A -\u00a0<\/b>When we miss a class, we slide the curriculum forward.<b>\u00a0<\/b>Then when we have a day of artists' choice (usually towards the end of the school year), we will skip over that week since it can be made up much easier than a more critical\u00a0lesson.\u00a0For make-ups, we are open 9 Saturdays each year. Please come to these to make up for any missed classes.<br \/><b><\/b><\/p><h3><b>Q - Is there child care provided during classes for younger siblings?<\/b><\/h3><p><b>A -\u00a0<\/b>No, but we do have a small library room if you want to hang out. Space is limited. Siblings need to remain in the library, not in the classrooms. We have free WiFi.<br \/><b><\/b><\/p><h3><b>Q - Why do you not use oil paints in art classes?<\/b><\/h3><p><b>A -\u00a0<\/b>Acrylics offer a wider range of techniques and is much less expensive. While oil is unique and wonderful, it can also cause allergic reactions in many people, and is very difficult to clean up. It's also harder to find good pigments and mediums that are non-toxic.<\/p><p>That said, In advanced courses oils can be\u00a0used, and we encourage (and sell) water-soluble oil paints. It's magic.<\/p><h3><b>Q - Can I stay and wait during my child's class?<\/b><\/h3><p><b>A -\u00a0<\/b>Absolutely, and we have some chairs, a small table and free WiFi. Just know that there's not a whole lot of space and kids are coming and going. It's up to you if you want to hang out with us or go run errands.<\/p><h3><b>Q - What should I wear to class?<\/b><\/h3><p><b>A -\u00a0<\/b>Everyone should try to wear old clothes that they can get paint on, or bring a smock or apron. In the winter, an apron doesn't help keep paint off of long sleeves though. Plan for messiness! The best idea is to have a long-sleeved shirt for a smock in your art bag.<br \/><b><\/b><\/p><h3><b>Q - Do you offer scholarships?<\/b><\/h3><p><b>A -\u00a0<\/b>Yes. We have an application that can be obtained by emailing using the tab below,\u00a0and asking specifically about it. Scholarships are awarded based on need and talent, and cover half of the tuition for the year. We get a lot of emails so put \"enrollment scholarship\" (without quotes) into the subject line. You might also want to call or text. Actually, you\u00a0<em>should<\/em>\u00a0call or text. Often.<\/p><p>Email form for scholarship - write \"scholarship\" in the subject line.<\/p><p>[contact-form-7 id=\"1279\" title=\"Contact form 1\"]<\/p><h5>This is not that gobbledey-gook that lawyers write. We didn't even hire one. Please read, because this is your guide, full of things you need to know.<\/h5><h5>We worked hard to make our policies\u00a0understandable, and maybe even a little bit fun. If you need to, you can\u00a0call or email with further questions.<\/h5><h5>Thank you!<\/h5><p>[\/su_spoiler][su_divider text=\"Go to top of page\" divider_color=\"#bebebe\" size=\"1\" margin=\"20\"][su_spoiler title=\"POLICIES - How we do stuff\" style=\"fancy\" icon=\"plus-square-1\"]<\/p><p>1. The\u00a0<b>school-year classes<\/b>\u00a0at\u00a0Firstlight are 36-week courses and have a full tuition that is due upon registration - unless you opt for our no-cost monthly payment plan. Please understand that if you pay monthly installments, you are not paying month to month for classes. It's an installment plan to pay for the entire course. Monthly-plan drafts use a credit or debit card, and occur on the 2nd or 3rd of each month.<\/p><p>When you register, just choose which option you want. It's set to the monthly payments by default, but you can switch it to\u00a0pay the\u00a0full year by using the drop-down menu option. There is a small\u00a0savings\u00a0if you choose to pay up front. The software pro-rates the amounts automatically.<\/p><p>2. Siblings or any second and third classes\/students will receive\u00a0a<b>\u00a010% discount on school-year classes<\/b>\u00a0(not available in the summer).<\/p><p>3. It's your responsibility to\u00a0<b>attend<\/b>\u00a0your classes. No refunds can be made for classes that are missed because that would pretty much make us go bye bye. We have a cool thing though; all students may come into our open studios for free! These take place once each month, most often on the first Saturday of the month. They are there so you can catch up if needed, or just to enjoy working on art projects! Ages 4 - 7 or 8 (KidsART classes) are in the mornings 11 am to 12:30, and ages 8 and up are in the afternoons from 1 - 4 pm.<\/p><p>Please read our\u00a0<b>Frequently Asked Questions<\/b>\u00a0section\u00a0above for more information. We have tried a zillion ways to make everything work and this is it. Really it is.<\/p><p>4. Temporary\u00a0<b>supplies<\/b>\u00a0will be available in the room so if you forget your case or bag, chill.<\/p><p>[su_panel background=\"#FC3926\" color=\"#ffffff\" border=\"1px none #cccccc\" shadow=\"0px 0px 0px #eeeeee\" radius=\"1\"]<strong>If you run out of something you need, or if you have forgotten something you've\u00a0<i>taken out of your case<\/i>, you will have to purchase it during class time. All supplies are sold at 15%-40% discount off the MSRP, so that's pretty cool. You will be required to pay for supplies THAT DAY, if they're needed during class. We have an online store\u00a0and will call or text you during class to make a payment online so your student will be able to continue his or her project uninterupted.<\/strong><\/p><p>[su_button url=\"http:\/\/mkt.com\/firstlightart\" style=\"flat\" background=\"#ffffff\" color=\"#oooooo\" size=\"10\" radius=\"5\" target=\"blank\"]Online Store[\/su_button][\/su_panel]<\/p><p>5.<b>\u00a0Please don't let your children run out to the car without letting the teacher know parents have arrived! We will freak out.\u00a0<\/b>Children and teenagers cannot be left unattended at the school to wait after the school is closed. We will sit there with them until we hand them off to you. No joke!<\/p><p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">AND ALSO, please do not park along the sidewalk to wait or go get your child. This blocks other people from parking, leaving, and even pulling into our facility from the street. Instead, please use a designated parking spot. Thank you.<\/span><\/p><p>6. Feverish dripping-nose kiddos will be quarantined, prayed over, and sent home. Try your best to avoid this scenario.<\/p><p>7.\u00a0<b>Closings<\/b>: All Weather-related closings will be posted on our website Student Homepage, on twitter, and facebook. If you have classes that day, you'll receive a TEXT MESSAGE if you've opted in for them.<\/p><p>We do not always follow Williamson county weather closings, as they tend to be a bit, shall we say, jumpy? about snow and ice. If there is NO\u00a0snow or ice, we are here. Also, if the snow or ice comes at 5 or 6, we may close even if school was in session, since everyone will be driving students home after dark.\u00a0<strong>Ice\u00a0+\u00a0dark<\/strong>\u00a0is not a good equation and we do not want you sliding around on it.<\/p><p>8. Our holidays,\u00a0<b>Christmas<\/b>\u00a0&\u00a0<b>Spring break<\/b>\u00a0are the same as Williamson County Schools.\u00a0See the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/firstlightaa.org\/blog\/?page_id=1139\">calendar<\/a>.\u00a0The week of\u00a0<b>Thanksgiving<\/b>\u00a0we have classes only on Monday, and the rest of the week is off. We do NOT close for Monday holidays, except for\u00a0<b>Labor Day<\/b>.<\/p><p>9.\u00a0<b>If you can't finish your course<\/b>\u00a0- We need 30 days advance notice on or before our cancelation cut-off date of\u00a0<b>February 20th<\/b>\u00a0using our\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/firstlightaa.org\/blog\/?page_id=1236\"><b>CANCELATION REQUEST FORM<\/b><\/a>. We understand when things happen unexpectedly. We just ask you to TALK to us if something big comes up. Please call Dennas at 615-202-6426. Please read our\u00a0Frequently Asked Questions (Q & A) also on this page, for more information, and look at our detailed cancelation explanation at the bottom of this page in the colored area. Appropriate reasons for cancelling a course after you purchased it and have used it for several months are thing such as moving out of the middle TN area or family health problems. Changing your class\/schedule or applying for a scholarship can solve most any other problems that arise.<\/p><p>Whatever you do, please don't\u00a0attempt\u00a0to\u00a0make any changes in your class\u00a0by speaking to one of us in person, especially when classes are going or ending, or starting, or about to start, or well, any other time. Let us make it clear; all verbal communication will be forgotten immediately by visual people like us. (\"who was that I just spoke with?! didn't they have a purple shirt?) Only by using the cancelation request form can\u00a0a tuition be refunded or payments stopped. And only before our cut off date. (ok, if something really freaky happens, call. We are pretty understanding folks).<\/p><p>10. PRIVACY POLICY: We promise to take all kinds of reasonable precautions to maintain privacy of your registration information (we can only see the last 4 digits of any card after it's entered). We will never knowingly share your information with any other entity or persons unless directed to do so by you or by some governmental agency. All information collected in processing your purchases are handled by our Credit Card Merchant services provider, who uses military standard encryption and has an excellent privacy policy as well - even requiring us to make our policy known to you, which we have just done, with flair and panache.<\/p><p>11. Permissions. Unless you let us know otherwise, in the act of registering for a course, you give Firstlight\u00a0<b>permission<\/b>\u00a0to reproduce photos of your artwork that has been created in the classroom,\u00a0<i>ONLY<\/i>\u00a0for use in promoting Firstlight Arts Academy and our sister curriculum site, ArtSquish.com in our advertising, promotions, and web pages. We do not have any interest other than that.<\/p><p>[su_section background=\"#D7D7C4\" parallax=\"no\" border=\"1px none #cccccc\"]<\/p><p><b>Here is our cancelation policy explained in extra loving detail.<\/b><\/p><p>Firstlight Arts Academy loves art students and we want to keep 'em happy. If you or your child is unhappy for any reason, please let us know as soon as you can so that we can address the issue. We like to be encouraging and proactive. Please know that talking to us about anything will be as good an experience as we can make it!<\/p><p>Most schools are a tight business financially, and we struggle to make the ends meet every single year. We simply cannot operate successfully without full classes all year long. We are a school-year supplemental program, with most\u00a0of our activity squeezed into a 2-hour window each day. Students usually sign up for these type of courses\u00a0at the beginning of the school year, and it's harder to fill empty spaces in the middle of the year. We also do most of our advertising during the sign-up season at the beginning of the school year.<\/p><p>That's why we ask for a commitment from our families. It's a promise that you will do your best to complete the courses purchased,\u00a0and give us a chance to work with you. In turn, we promise that we will do our best to make the art course as fabulous as we can in every way. We can't refund a course\u00a0when people just\u00a0want to try something new\u00a0that came up. Then we have an empty seat that someone else could have used.<\/p><p>There are other reasons beyond just keeping us going, however, that makes sticking to your commitment a great idea.<\/p><ul><li>Each class is a wonderful little social group, and we hate to see it disturbed during the year.<\/li><li>The curriculum is designed to be taken for the full year, so quitting gives you an\u00a0<b>incomplete<\/b>\u00a0art course.<\/li><li>We may have given away a month of tuition to someone who referred you as a yearly sign-up.<\/li><li>The most important reason: Artists can have ups and downs, and it is good for them to see that they can get past a few \"learners\" and find a \"keeper\" by sticking with it past the mood of the moment. This can actually be critical to the enjoyment of art for the rest of your life. We have lots of stories...<\/li><\/ul><p>That said, we understand when things come up unexpectedly. If you have to quit for some unforeseen issue, or if you feel that the program has not fulfilled our description of it, then there is a 30 day cancelation policy. To request a cancelation and refund, you\u00a0<b>MUST use our\u00a0<\/b><a href=\"http:\/\/firstlightaa.org\/blog\/?page_id=1236\"><b>cancelation form<\/b><\/a>\u00a0before February 20th. Please\u00a0contact our founder and\u00a0director, Dennas to discuss your situation.<\/p><p>If you are having financial trouble and that is affecting your decision, then please talk to us to see if we can work something out together. There are\u00a0<b>several scholarship options<\/b>\u00a0available to you.<\/p><p>Thank you![\/su_section]<\/p><p>[su_divider text=\"Go to top of page\" divider_color=\"#bebebe\" size=\"1\" margin=\"20\"]<\/p><p>[\/su_spoiler]<\/p><p>[su_divider top=\"no\" divider_color=\"#bebebe\" size=\"1\" margin=\"30\"]<\/p><p class=\"smallertext\">[su_button url=\"https:\/\/www.iclassprov2.com\/parentportal\/firstlight\" style=\"flat\" background=\"#FC3926\" color=\"#ffffff\" size=\"12\" center=\"yes\" radius=\"5\"]Register Now[\/su_button]<\/p><div><p>[su_divider top=\"no\" divider_color=\"#bebebe\" size=\"1\" margin=\"30\"]<\/p><p>[su_divider text=\"Go to top of page\" divider_color=\"#bebebe\" size=\"1\" margin=\"20\"]<\/p><\/div><p class=\"smallertext\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><em><strong>Contact:<\/strong><\/em><\/p><p class=\"smallertext\" style=\"text-align: center;\">[su_button url=\"sms:6152026426\" style=\"flat\" background=\"#6DB406\" color=\"#ffffff\" size=\"8\" radius=\"5\"]T E X T[\/su_button]<\/p><p class=\"smallertext\" style=\"text-align: center;\">[su_button url=\"tel:6156786745\" style=\"flat\" background=\"#1BAEB5\" color=\"#ffffff\" size=\"8\" radius=\"5\"]C\u00a0A L L[\/su_button]<\/p><p class=\"smallertext\" style=\"text-align: center;\">[su_spacer size=\"40\"]<\/p>","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1160","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/firstlightaa.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1160","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/firstlightaa.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/firstlightaa.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firstlightaa.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firstlightaa.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1160"}],"version-history":[{"count":134,"href":"https:\/\/firstlightaa.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1160\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11115,"href":"https:\/\/firstlightaa.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1160\/revisions\/11115"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/firstlightaa.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1160"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}