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Privacy Policy

The Old Town School of Folk Music (Old Town School) respects your individual privacy. This Privacy Policy (Policy) embodies our commitment to its protection through adherence to fair information practices. You have our promise that we will not use your personal information in any way that is incompatible with this Policy. This privacy statement covers the site http://www.oldtownschool.org. This policy articulates the following.

  1. What personally identifiable information Old Town School of Folk Music collects.
  2. How the Old Town School of Folk Music uses the information.
  3. With whom the Old Town School of Folk Music may share personally identifiable information.
  4. What choices are available to individuals regarding collection, use and distribution of information.
  5. How users can correct any inaccuracies in the information.

Information Collection and Use

Information Collection

Old Town School of Folk Music is the sole owner of the information collected on www.oldtownschool.org. Old Town School collects information from our visitors at several different points on our Web site.

Registration/Order

In order to register for activities with Old Town School, a visitor must first complete the registration form. During registration a visitor is prompted to provide personally identifiable information (PII) such as name, email address, shipping address, phone number, birth date and financial information (credit card number and expiration date) on the order form. This information is used for billing purposes and to fill customer orders. If we have trouble processing an order, the information is also used to contact the customer. There is also a check box to opt in or out of receiving email communications from Old Town School on the registration form. Use of information associated with this check box is covered in this privacy policy.

Educational Experience

Email communications between teachers and their classes is part of the Old Town School educational experience. It allows teachers to supplement classes by facilitating dialog outside the classroom and is a means to distribute educational materials such as sound and written music files. For this reason, student email addresses are included with class roster information that is shared with teachers.

Opt In for Promotional Email Communications

In order to opt in to receive promotional email communications from Old Town School, a visitor is prompted to provide personally identifiable information. Email address and email preference are required fields, it is optional for the visitor to provide additional personally identifiable or demographic information.

This information is shared with and stored by the Old Town School's email distribution partner, MailChimp

The Old Town School maintains exclusive ownership of all personally identifiable information collected on http://www.oldtownschool.org. Personally identifiable information is shared with MailChimp exclusively for the purposes of distributing promotional email communications solely to the Old Town School's opt-in subscribers. MailChimp does not have permission to use this information for any other purpose.

More information about MailChimp, Inc. can be viewed at http://www.mailchimp.com/.

Log Files and Tracking Tags

Like most standard Web site servers Old Town School records log files. This includes Internet protocol (IP) addresses, page views and date/time stamp to analyze trends, administer the site, track visitor behavior in the aggregate, and gather broad demographic information for aggregate use. We use tracking utility Google Analytics to analyze visitor behavior. Tracking information is analyzed in the aggregate and not linked to personally identifiable information.

In addition, OldTownSchool.org uses tracking pixels in our HTML-based emails to let us know which emails recipients have opened. This allows us to gauge the effectiveness of certain communications and the effectiveness of our marketing campaigns. If subscribers would like to opt-out of these emails, please see the Opt-out section.

Cookies

A cookie is a piece of data stored on a website visitor's computer tied to information about the visitor. There are two types of cookies - persistent cookies and session cookies. Session cookies are only stored by a visitor's computer for the duration of the website visit. Once the visitor closes her/his Internet browser or moves on to visit a new domain, the cookie is deleted. Persistent cookies are stored on a visitor's computer until action is taken to delete them. Persistent cookies can be removed by following Internet browser help file directions.

OldTownSchool.org utilizes session cookie technology to enable visitors to conduct a transaction, such as registration and class enrollment. OldTownSchool.org's visitors will also be served persistent cookies by our tracking partners - Google Analytics and Alexa. These cookies are not tied to personally identifiable information. The data collected in conjunction with these cookies is used in the aggregate to help Old Town School better understand visitor behavior so the site can be improved to better fit our visitor's needs.

Internet browsers can also be configured to block cookies from being stored on a computer's hard drive. If a visitor's computer rejects the cookie, they may still use our site. However, the visitor may be limited in some areas of our site, such as registration and class enrollment.


Communications from the Site

Special Offers and Updates

We send new registrants a welcoming email to verify password and username. Established members will occasionally receive information on products, services, special deals, or a newsletter. Out of respect for the privacy of our users we present the option to not receive these types of communications. Please see the Choice and Opt-out sections.

Newsletter

In order for an individual to opt in to receive Old Town School email communications, we ask for contact information such as name and email address. Out of respect for our subscribers privacy we provide a way to opt-out of these communications. Please see the Choice and Opt-out sections.

Service Announcements

On rare occasions it is necessary to send out a strictly service related announcement. For instance, if school functions are temporarily suspended due to inclement weather or if a class is cancelled due to instructor illness, we might send students an email. Generally, users may not opt-out of these communications, though they can deactivate their account. However, these communications are not promotional in nature.

Customer Service

We communicate with users on a regular basis to provide requested services and in regards to issues relating to their account we reply via email or phone, in accordance with the users wishes.


Sharing

Legal Disclaimer

Though we make every effort to preserve user privacy, we may need to disclose personal information when required by law wherein we have a good-faith belief that such action is necessary to comply with a current judicial proceeding, a court order or legal process served on our Web site.

Mailing List Swaps

From time to time, Old Town School will share the postal addresses of those who provide them to us with other reputable organizations relevant to the Old Town School audience. We limit this practice solely to partnerships with other non-profit arts and educational institutions. If you do not want us to share your postal address with other companies or organizations, please let us know by contacting Old Town School through the means outlined at the following page of our web site: http://www.oldtownschool.org/contact/

Third Party Intermediaries

We use an outside mailing company to mail promotional materials, and a credit card processing company to bill for goods and services. These companies do not retain, share, store or use personally identifiable information for any secondary purposes.

Business Transitions

In the event Old Town School goes through a business transition, such as a merger, being acquired by another company, or selling a portion of its assets, users' personal information will, in most instances, be part of the assets transferred. Users will be notified via email and a prominent notice will be posted on oldtownschool.org for 30 days prior to a change of ownership or control of their personal information. If as a result of the business transition, the users' personally identifiable information will be used in a manner different from that stated at the time of collection they will be given choice consistent with our notification of changes section.

Choice/Opt-out

Our users are given the opportunity to opt out of having their information used for purposes not directly related to our site at the point where we ask for information. For example, our order form has an opt out mechanism so users who commit a transaction with us, but don't want any marketing material, can keep their email address off of our lists.

Subscribers who no longer wish to receive our newsletter and promotional communications may opt-out of receiving these communications by following the directions provided in the unsubscribe disclaimer at the bottom of every email communication sent by Old Town School.

Links

This Web site contains links to other sites. Please be aware that we, Old Town School, are not responsible for the privacy practices of such other sites. We encourage our users to be aware when they leave our site and to read the privacy statements of each and every Web site that collects personally identifiable information. This privacy statement applies solely to information collected by this Web site.

Surveys and Contests

From time-to-time Old Town School asks for information from individuals and families via surveys or contests. Participation in these surveys or contests is completely voluntary and the user therefore has a choice whether or not to disclose this information. The requested information typically includes contact information (such as name and shipping address), as well as demographics and information about your experiences as a student, concert attendee or customer of the Old Town School. Contact information will be used to notify the winners and award prizes. Survey information are used for purposes of monitoring or improving services offered by Old Town School. Participants' personally identifiable information is not shared with third parties unless we give prior notice and choice. Though we may use an intermediary to conduct these surveys or contests, they may not use users' personally identifiable information for any secondary purposes.

Security

The School takes every precaution to protect our users' information. When visitors submit sensitive information via the Web site, their information is protected both online and off-line.

When our registration/order form asks users to enter sensitive information (such as credit card number), that information is encrypted and is protected with the best encryption software in the industry - SSL.

While we use SSL encryption to protect sensitive information online, we also do everything in our power to protect user-information off-line. All of our users' information is restricted to our offices. Only employees who need access to this information to perform a specific job (for example, a customer service representative) are granted access to personally identifiable information. Old Town School employees are kept up-to-date on our security and privacy practices and the servers that store personally identifiable information are maintained in a secure environment.

Supplementation of Information

In order for the Old Town School to optimize audience communications, it is necessary for us to supplement the information we receive with information from 3rd party sources.

Correcting/Updating/Deleting/Deactivating Personal Information

If a user's personally identifiable information changes (such as zip code, phone, email or postal address), or if a user no longer desires our service, we provide a way to correct, update or delete/deactivate users' personally identifiable information. This can usually be done by contacting Old Town School customer support via the below mentioned contact information.

Notification of Changes

If we decide to change our privacy policy, we will post those changes to this privacy statement so our users are always aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances, if any, we disclose it. We will use information in accordance with the privacy policy under which the information was collected.

Contact Information

If users have any questions regarding our privacy policy or wish to contact us about your personally identifiable information as recorded by Old Town School and its use, please contact us at:

Old Town School of Folk Music
4544 N. Lincoln Ave.
Chicago, IL 60625
Contact Online: http://www.oldtownschool.org/contact/
Contact via phone: (773)728-6000
Contact via fax: (773)728-6999

Photography & Video Policy

Old Town School of Folk Music reserves the right to photograph or video individuals present in our classrooms, lobby, concert hall and hallways. Photography and video taken on premises will be used in a promotional capacity including but not limited to print materials, web site, print, online or out of home media and other medium now or later developed; and may also be shared for use by media publications and institutions that fund Old Town School of Folk Music operations and programs.


Children's Privacy Policy

Information Collected

We respect the privacy of children, and do not collect any more personal information than reasonably necessary to enable children to participate in activities conducted by Old Town School of Folk Music. Old Town School does not intent to collect personally identifiable information directly from children or to marketing directly to children. OldTownSchool.org exists as a resource and transactional vehicle for adults and parent of children. Our marketing efforts are directed towards parents and the information collected about children on OldTownSchool.org is for class registration purposes.

With respect to our online information collection practices for children under 13 years of age, we collect the following types of personal information about children online: name, home or physical address, email address, city, telephone number and birth date.

Use and Sharing of Information

The information we collect about children is used for fulfillment of a requested transaction, record keeping and marketing to parents. This information is subject to use by Old Town School as outlined in this privacy policy.

Parental Review

Parents can review the information that we have collected about children online, prevent the further use or maintenance of such information, or direct the deletion of their children's personal information by:

  • Calling us at the telephone number provided below
  • Contacting us via http://www.oldtownschool.org/contact/
  • Writing to us at the below address

Contact Information

If users have any questions regarding the Old Town School privacy policy or wish to contact us in regards to your or your family's personally identifiable information as recorded by Old Town School and its use, please contact us at:

Old Town School of Folk Music
4544 N. Lincoln Ave.
Chicago, IL 60625
http://www.oldtownschool.org
Contact Online: http://www.oldtownschool.org/contact/
Contact via phone: (773)728-6000
Contact via fax: (773)728-6999