We are so excited this week to have two brand new student teachers kicking off full days of teaching! We also have a new associate faculty member starting this week as well, but this important note is about student teaching and why it is such an important part of TIA! We love student teachers at TIA for so many reasons! But here are a few key reasons student teachers are important for the community.

• Young music students love student teachers because they are young too, which makes them super relatable, and, it shows these young students what they are capable of at such a young age.

• Student teachers make great teachers because they have a love and passion for music and a hunger to learn—to essentials for any great musician and teacher by the way—but it’s often contagious to young students.

• TIA student teachers are highly capable and knowledgeable in music, and young people of character, integrity, and in their ability to teach. You can trust them with your kids! All of our faculty go through a significant series of interviews, auditions, and background checks with their peers, community leaders, and teachers. You likely won’t find this to be true in other music studios in town.

• Most of our student teachers at TIA are homegrown, meaning they learned music from the ground up at TIA, which means they have a great foundation in technique, theory, and overall musicianship as well as how we teach—which means your kids will get the #TIAexperience just as much if not more than they would from other TIA faculty.

• With student teachers, we can offer much lower tuition rates. The average cost of private musicians in Olympia by qualified (or far less than qualified) music teachers is between $100-$120 monthly for weekly 30-minute private lessons. Tuition with our Student (and also Associate) faculty is just $75 monthly for weekly half hour lessons!

• Student teachers are exceptionally effective: some of our most advanced students (and student teachers) began at TIA as students under other student teachers. For example, our two newest TIA Student teachers began as TIA students under the teaching of another TIA Student faculty member. Lauren Eeekhoof (Student Faculty of Piano and Ukulele) began as a ukulele student under Angelia (Student Faculty) and then began to study piano with me (SD). Wyatt Hobbs, who starts this week as a new Student Faculty of Guitar, Bass, and Beginning Drums), began as a student of Ben Vincent, our first ever student teacher. Now, not only are Wyatt and Lauren highly capable musicians—but they have also answered the call to teach, and we are so excited to have them!

Families love our student teachers! In fact, Angelia has been on a waitlist for about the last two years straight, and when a spot opens, it usually fills within days, if not hours of being posted. 

Lauren is currently accepting students late morning/early Monday afternoons and has ONE 4PM Tuesday spot available, but is otherwise already full!

Wyatt currently has one spot available at 5PM Thursdays and will have more in the spring as he opens up Fridays.