<p>I know this won’t work for everyone, but it worked for us. Son had a fall break at the end of October and we went to one of his top choices for a second visit and second lesson with his preferred teacher. The lesson was over an hour so the teacher had a really good idea how son played and what his issues were. Since we did that visit, we felt comfortable doing a regional audition for that school, which was on a Sunday and only 3 hours away. He was accepted to the school with merit money. </p>
<p>One other school also had an auditon day on a day off from school. Since he only auditioned at 4 schools, he was able to minimize time off. That being said, his school was great about days missed. It was never an issue. I think a lot of it has to do with state funding formulas. In some states, state reimbursement is based on the percentage of time kids are in school, regardless of the reasons they miss. In our state, the formula is entirely different and is based on enrollments, not attendance.</p>