SIGNING TIME ACADEMY CLASS LOCATIONSWhere should I teach in my community?

SIGNING TIME ACADEMY CLASS LOCATIONS

Baby/Children’s Boutiques - many times owners will welcome you in to teach classes knowing it will bring business into their stores.

Childcare Centers - Offer workshops for the teachers and train them in the basic signs! This is a great place to teach and you may have an opportunity to go back and do additional training as new staff comes on board.

Art Schools or Institutes that cater to children - These organizations attract the kinds of families that are interested in furthering and enriching their child’s education.

  

CLASS LOCATIONS- CHURCHES & HOSPITALS Churches - Many churches have child care

facilities attached and are always looking for ways to expand their programs.

Hospitals - Hospitals offer a variety of classes for parents from pregnancy and beyond. Many hospitals offer childbirth classes or have new mom groups. Some even offer baby sign language classes, but there are many more that don’t know about offering signing classes to expectant parents. Also consider offering a class to those who care for patients who may be non-verbal due to tracheotomies, strokes, etc. as ASL is an invaluable tool for communication with these patients.

CLASS LOCATIONS…

Vocational Schools - Many vocational/technical schools offer classes for Child Care, Home Care, and Special Needs Instruction, so this venue is a perfect opportunity to offer classes that support these existing programs.

Community Centers - Some community centers may rent class/workshop space for free or for a minimal fee. Some even include class offerings in their newsletters, which means you get free advertising.

CREATIVE LOCATIONS…

The Zoo - This is the perfect place to hold a sign language workshop/field trip. Depending on the weather, you can make a morning stroll of the local zoo, introducing the signs for the animals they will see and then finish off the journey with a picnic.

City Park - Just like the Zoo, the park is loaded with opportunities to sign. Have parents bring a sack lunch and a blanket, and use your surroundings to teach new signs.

CREATIVE LOCATIONS CONTINUED…

Toy or Craft Stores - This is another marketing opportunity for retailers wanting families to walk through their store to attend your classes. Some charge a fee and many are free.

Doctors’ offices/clinics - Just like hospitals, many doctors understand the benefits of using ASL signs for communication. They may have space for workshops, and may be willing to post information about Signing Time products or your classes.

PRIVATE AND PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Public Schools - Each school system is a little different in their requirements, but it does not hurt to do some checking to see if they allow private classes to be held on the school grounds, such as an after school ASL club.

Private Schools - Private schools can be very receptive to offering classes during or after school. Parents of children in private schools tend to value opportunities to enrich their child’s education.

FITNESS AND YOGA CENTERS

Fitness Centers - Many fitness centers offer classes for new moms and babies. Their group fitness rooms are not always scheduled with classes, and they often rent out space for an hourly fee. Many even have childcare facilities that may be supportive of classes that teach signing to children.

Yoga Centers - Many yoga facilities offer classes to pregnant women and yoga classes for moms with babies and they may welcome other children’s classes in their facility when the space is available.

DANCE STUDIOS AND MUSIC SCHOOLS

Dance Studios - Dance studios often have downtime and space for rent. And sometimes parents will have an older child in a dancing class and a toddler in tow. Offering an ASL class at the same time allows everyone to be busy at the same location. The dance studio benefits from exposing your students to their offerings.

Music Schools and Stores - Signing Time curriculums include songs that can be introduced into a music school with ease. Bringing new business into an existing business is always a plus.

BIRTHING CENTERS & IN THE HOME

Birthing Classes/Centers - Check your area directories for freestanding birth centers (not attached to hospitals), or for doulas, midwives, and childbirth educators who offer birthing classes. They can be a great source of referrals.

At Home - If you are doing a class with people you know, or teaching one at the request of someone else, you can teach a class in someone’s home. Just make sure that the space is clean, safe, and conducive to learning. This is a great place to hold the NEW Home Party plan.

EVEN MORE AWESOME LOCATIONS!

Gyms for children - Parents who enroll their children in fitness and movement programs are often very open to other life-enhancing classes.

Health Food Stores - Health food stores often have community classes and invite local teachers to do classes on special topics.

Hotels - Meeting rooms can be rented at hotels. Consider prices and the size of your class/workshop when investigating this option.

Conference Centers - Fees usually depend on the size of the room needed.

ONE-ON-ONE & CHARTER SCHOOLS

One-on-One Teaching - You may receive calls from families wanting a one-on-one teaching session. Sometimes it has to do with traveling restraints for the child, or they simply want the special attention that one-on-one teaching can provide.

Become a vendor for local Charter Schools and offer classes for school age kids, K-12. State funds are often used from public charter schools to pay for your services and products instead of coming directly from the family’s personal budget.

LIBRARIES!

Public and Private Libraries are a wonderful way to advertize and teach classes. You can offer an occasional free class to demo what families could expect in your normal paid classes.

Many libraries have funding to hire “performers” to come present at the library. Signing Time Academy Instructors can teach classes and be paid by the library and then families come for free! Remember to sell products to your local libraries. Then families can check out ST DVDs and want to learn even more ASL with you!

LIABILITY INSURANCE AND BUSINESS LICENSES

Some class locations will require that you have the following:

Liability Insurance (often up to $1-$2 million dollars protecting the location and the city)- see forums for good companies to purchase insurance.

Business License- this depends on the city (or county, state, or even country in which you teach). These are issued on a yearly basis in most areas.

ADVERTIZING

Realize that YOU are the business owner and are primarily responsible for the advertizing of your classes, regardless of the location. Without your efforts in advertizing your classes, they may be canceled due to no enrollment. Use Twitter, Facebook, Blog, word of mouth, and more to get the word out about your classes.

Signing Time Academy Home Parties are also a great way to get the word out about your classes!

RESOURCES TO LEARN MORE VOCABULARY

Invest in a good ASL dictionary. The Gallaudet Dictionary of American Sign Language is good and comes with a DVD to watch the signs. This also teaches some basics of ASL beyond just vocabulary.

www.SigningSavvy.com is a good online resource to look up new ASL vocabulary words.

THANK YOU FOR LEARNING WITH US!

As you can see, there are a plethora of potential class locations all around you!

If you live in an area with multiple STA Instructors, consider “thinking out of the box” and offering classes at one of the new locations you learned about today!

Happy Signing!