Gateway to the Arts is proud to announce that our Western Pennsylvania Wolf Trap program has been certified by the state as an approved provider for early childhood professional development.

Much in the same way organizations can receive approval as an official Act 48 provider of professional development for K-12 educators, the PA Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) sponsors a program called the Pennsylvania Early Learning Keys to Quality (PAKeys) which assures quality instruction for early childhood educators. Organizations must meet rigorous standards to become a part of PAKeys and the Pennsylvania Quality Assurance System (PQAS).

As an approved organization, Gateway to the Arts has met established post-secondary educational criteria for their PQAS Certified Instructors, which includes following a recognized early childhood code of ethics and meeting specific best practices. 

As part of being an approved provider, Gateway to the Arts’ Western Pennsylvania Wolf Trap program will be able to use the PA Keys to Professional Development online system to market our professional development workshops, accept registrations, and issue participation certificates and evaluation forms to educators through the www.pakeys.org web site.

The PQAS approval, along with last year’s recognition as a regional affiliate of the internationally acclaimed Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning Through the Arts, demonstrates the rigor and quality of our early childhood programming and is a testament to the talents and dedication of our team of professional teaching artists.