What If the Student Is Late or Doesn't Attend the Class?

If the student is late or doesn't show up for a lesson, the teacher should still end the lesson as normal. However, the teacher should wait at least 30 minutes or more for the student to show up before ending. The platform will not allow the teacher to end the lesson until at least 30 minutes after the lesson start time. When ending the lesson, please click the "Charge the Student" option to charge the student for the entire class. Note that the student may open an issue later and dispute the charge. They may even raise the issue to the administrator level if they are not satisfied with your decision.

For trial lessons, the teacher should NOT end the lesson, but should unschedule or cancel the lesson, instead. This is done so that the student can reschedule the lesson again.

If the student is often late to class or misses class, please write a message to the parent recommending that they add their phone number to the Account Settings screen and enable SMS reminders:

Don't forget to click the "Save Changes" button after making any changes to the Account Settings screen.

The 30-minute waiting period balances fairness between teachers and students while accommodating genuine emergencies or technical difficulties that might delay a student's arrival. During this waiting time, remain in the virtual classroom and be ready to start the lesson if the student joins late. Some teachers use this time productively by preparing additional lesson materials or reviewing the student's progress notes. If a student does arrive late, you can still conduct a shortened lesson and charge for the full time since you blocked your schedule and waited as required.

When students consistently arrive late or miss lessons without advance notice, this pattern may indicate they need better reminder systems. SMS reminders work particularly well for busy families who might miss email notifications. The platform sends text message alerts at configurable intervals before lessons, providing an additional layer of reminder beyond email. Parents can set up SMS notifications by adding their phone number in Account Settings and enabling the SMS reminder option, which typically sends alerts 24 hours and 30 minutes before each scheduled lesson.