You've made a great decision to pursue YPAD™ Certification!
The YPAD™ Certification process was created to help individuals, studio owners, event owners, and their staff gain the tools and practice the knowledge for safeguarding capacity-building.
Pursuing YPAD™ Certification shows your commitment to safeguarding children and empowering confident adults.
Much like a dance education, a YPAD™ Certified Studio designation requires an investment of time, patience, hard work, and financial resources. Just like a dancer gets stronger over time, your safety practices can get better over time as well. There is a process to raising the standard of dancer well-being, and YPAD™ is here to help you achieve it. Those who choose to become certified agree to self-regulation and to follow YPAD’s 5-tier accountability model.
YPAD™ Certified Studio Owner Courses are open now. YPAD™ Certified Individual Courses will be open in late Summer / early Fall 2023. Education courses will be available in the Fall of 2023.
It all starts here: with you, the studio owner, and these three steps.
Studio Owner, California
"Youth Protection Association for Dance™ education is evidence to families that we are committed to keeping kids happy, healthy, and safe in dance. It is comforting to know that as challenging issues arise, YPAD™ is there to support and guide us to ensure we are doing what's right for our students. Thank you to Youth Protection Association for Dance™ for leading the dance industry in this vital endeavor!"
Studio Owner, Wisconsin
"If you haven't done YPAD™ training yet, do it. We had a loaded gun incident at the local high school this morning (everything is okay). But the thought that something could happen so close, is so scary. As hard as it was to imagine and read about all the 'what to do's' in YPAD™ training, I am proud that we did, because 'It's better to know and not need than to need and not know'. Thank you YPAD™ team for all the great knowledge in the YPAD™ course!"
Studio Owner, Iowa
"I'm a studio owner, but I wanted to start with individual certification first. This allowed me to get to know the program through monthly Community Connection Calls and to implement best practices in my studio. This program has given me a community of like-minded dance professionals who choose to put the wellness and safety of their students as a top priority. I’m eager to get my entire studio certified next!"
Studio Owner, California
"Being a YPAD™ Certified Studio is essential to our studio’s culture. Our parents and families are confident that our studio is intentionally focused on keeping their kids healthy and safe. YPAD™'s extensive resources and monthly ongoing education opportunities have been integral in carrying out our mission of Encouraging Kids to Lead Inspired Lives!"
After your application is accepted and you complete the YPAD™ Certified Course, submit the reflections, and pass the knowledge checks with 90% proficiency, it is time to move on to STEP THREE: external training and documentation.
The following external actions and training must be completed and submitted. Items with an "*" indicate third-party provider, additional required time commitment, and cost. Links to those programs are in the course. Costs and time commitment are listed below in the FAQ section.
Certifying a studio or an event has greater documentation requirements than certifying an individual.
YPAD™ Certified Studios receive unlimited FREE access to short courses for the following important roles:
SUBSTITUTE COURSE
Need to cover a class on short notice? Not able to find someone who is YPAD™ certified? Use this course to cover the essentials for substitutes on short notice.
VOLUNTEER COURSE
Do you use volunteers for your programs? Use this short course for volunteers to cover the basics of working safely with youth in classroom and performance settings.
GUEST TEACHER COURSE
Do you hire guest and master teachers for special programs? Use this course to share the baseline expectations of teaching in a YPAD™ Certified environment.
$499
This 8-10 hour course provides foundations for studio owners for best practices in the areas of Hiring, Onboarding and Training, Studio Safety, Abuse Protection, Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds, Social Media & Communications, and Artistic Integrity.
$299
This 3-4 hour course covers teacher-specific essentials regarding Student Safety, Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds, and Artistic Integrity.
$199
This 1-2 hour course provides adminstrative eand learn all about: Safety Safetey, Protecting Students, Healthy Communication, and Professional Integrity.
UNLIMITED FREE WITH CERTIFICATION
This short 30 minute course covers the highlights for substitutes working on short notice. Includes the essentials for student safety and health, safe movement in class and onstage, and artistic integrity.
UNLIMITED FREE WITH CERTIFICATION
This short 15 minute course covers the basics of student safety and health for studio volunteers.
UNLIMITED FREE WITH CERTIFICATION
This 30 minute course helps guest teachers understand the baseline expectations of teaching in a YPAD™ Certified environment.
YPAD™ endorses the concept of continuing education and continuous improvement.
Because of that, certification must be renewed annually.
Annual renewal: 50% discount.
Now accepting studio certification renewals and new studio certification applications!
YPAD™ Certified Individual courses will be open in late Summer 2023.
“YPAD™ has brought so much value into the dance industry by helping kids stay safe, encouraging community, self-accountability, and awareness. YPAD™ gives anyone working in the dance industry clear priorities to develop this next generation of dancers. Through educational opportunities, YPAD™ is leading the way for the betterment of all involved in the dance industry.”
“REVEL has been partnered with YPAD™ as a certified event for the past 2 years. YPAD™ has become an invaluable resource to our leadership team, administrative staff and dance educators. YPAD™'s subject matter experts have helped shape our policies and procedures around child safety & wellness, promoted a culture of awareness & accountability, and made us a better organization overall. Without hesitation, we recommend that other event organizers explore YPAD™ training and certification."
"YPAD™ has been a gift to the dance industry. The information we receive through continual YPAD™ training is essential and integral to keeping youth dancers safe. This training goes far beyond our events and has given our team tools to navigate everyday situations involving children. We are honored to offer dance experiences to people around the country and are grateful that through YPAD™, studio directors and parents feel even more confident that dancers' health and safety are a priority at Adrenaline and Revive Dance Conventions."
YPAD™ is based in the United States. Though the education presented here is built upon U.S. standards, YPAD™ recognizes that there may be different standards in other cultures and countries across the globe. It is important to refer to the governance of your home country, state, province, or city to ensure consistent, legal compliance with the appropriate local regulations.
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