What we believe:

Irish Dance teachers are unique in that unlike schoolteachers or sports coaches, they will often be present in a child's life for the span of 3-15+ years.  This extensive exposure to a child, especially in the role of a mentor, means that an Irish Dance teacher can become much like a 2nd parent and that they are essentially helping to raise the children that they work with.  The teacher's values, opinions, and behaviors will most likely be passed on to these children.

Due to this, we look to hire TCRGs, TMRFs, and ADCRGs who believe in our policies and "child-raising" beliefs and who wish to impact children's lives for good.

Every Child Matters

  • Child Protection is priority.  Bullying of any kid will not be tolerated by other children, parents, or teaching staff.  Each child deserves to be treated with respect and care.  Dancers will not be yelled at, belittled, or made to feel inferior by comparisons with other dancers.
  • A child's character and attitude is more important than competitive accolades.  Teaching staff will work hard to teach the students the importance of positivity, kindness, hard work, determination, etc. 
  • Each child deserves the same amount of time, care, attention, and respect from the teaching staff whether they show potential or not, whether they learn slowly or quickly, and whether or not they compete and win or if they compete and place poorly or if they don't pursue competitions at all.
  • Costumes, music, and choreography will be carefully chosen to uphold the standards of child-protection and age appropriateness.

Every Parent Matters

  • Parents are viewed as the "sports managers" of their children.  It is necessary for them to receive continuous communication about their children's curriculum, advancements, behavior, potential, etc... We strive to create a culture of openness with the parents where we work together to help their child succeed and parents are viewed as an integral part of the team.
  • Parents are invited and allowed to view and sit in on every class as long as they are quiet. This "training" for the parents helps them to understand every step of the process in Irish Dance while also preparing them to help their child with technique, home practice, and competition preparation. 
  • Parents will be treated with respect and their wishes and decisions for their family and their children will be adhered to and respected by the teaching staff.

Our Community Matters

  • The Paloma School of Irish Dance works closely with the Lancaster Celtic Arts Foundation.  The dance school is happy to help the foundation with their annual Rose & Shamrock Festival which is a free community event that promotes Celtic arts and culture.  The dance school is also pleased to participate in their annual "Celtic Night at the Barnstomers" event with the local professional baseball team.
  • The dance school performs in 60+ performances around the community every year and is pleased to do a portion of those for free or at a reduced cost especially in the case of schools and retirement homes.
  • Dancers are encouraged to use their dancing in the community and many dancers have performed at talent shows, private events, etc. on an individual basis.
  • Our annual summer camps are open to all members of the community as a valuable service to working families and as way to promote Irish Dance and culture.

Our Employees Matter

  • All administrative Staff, TCRGs, TMRFs, and ADCRGs will be employed by the dance school (i.e. not hired as subcontractors).  
  • All staff members will share in the success of the school through profit sharing.  50% of annual profits will be evenly shared by all employees based on the percentage of hours worked and wages.  Profit sharing will happen at the end of every fiscal year.
  • You are what makes Paloma great!  All of our best ideas and programs have been the product of listening and learning from others.  We look forward to hearing your ideas and suggestions and seeing how we can become a better school and better business.
  • All staff will be afforded continuing education opportunities on a case-by-case basis.  We want to support each individual's journey to making a better life for themselves and their families.