You’ve probably seen signage around the studio proclaiming that Liberty Dance Center is a proud member of YPAD. In fact, we are the only YPAD certified studio in our area. But, what is YPAD and why does it matter?
What is YPAD?
YPAD stands for Youth Protection Advocates in Dance. It was founded in 2012 by professional dancer Leslie Scott Zanovitch and was fueled by the passion and commitment of doctors, therapists, specialists, and educators. Being a YPAD-certified studio means many different things. Over the course of the next few blog posts, we’ll address some of them.
For now, imagine taking your child to open house night at their elementary, middle, or high school. The first teacher you meet tells you that she used to be a student at the school where she now teaches. She has no formal training in education, but her connections alone and the fact that she was once a student at the school are what got her the job.
Next, you meet the art teacher. This teacher is very accomplished in what they have produced in the art world, but they have never worked with children. They’ve been hired for their art-related skills alone but they don’t have the first clue about what developmentally appropriate teaching should look like for each grade level.
Finally, imagine you meet the gym teacher. They’re very friendly and seem to have a strong background in curriculum development and working with children. However, they were never background checked before being hired at the school. It turns out that they have a violent criminal history.
Why YPAD?
All of these scenarios are unthinkable because they would NEVER be tolerated in public education. Yet, they occur in the unregulated dance world. Oftentimes, the only requirement for the hiring of a dance instructor is that they have had dance training. When it comes to public education, teachers are thoroughly vetted, background checked, and rigorously trained before they can work in a school.
The Department of Public Instruction requires every teacher to be licensed to teach at their grade level. This is the bare minimum expectation we have for our children’s education. If we expect this for our schools, why do parents compromise when it comes to dance education?
Because up until now, there has been no governing force regulating the dance world. YPAD saw this disparity and the organization was created to implement a more standardized approach to dance education, focused on quality education and safety.
The YPAD certification is a rigorous process for studios and their employees and it means you can rest assured that your children are in the best possible environment when they come to take class at the studio.
Stay tuned next week for some of the details of what a YPAD certification training entails for our staff.
