Yocum Institute for Arts Education
Yocum Institute for Arts Education, 3000 Penn Ave, West Lawn, PA 19609
About
Yocum Institute for Arts Education offers programs in theater, music, visual arts, dance, and martial arts, along with arts-based preschool and kindergarten options. The Institute’s PrimaryStages program focuses on children’s theater productions and arts education, and it also offers Neighborhood Bridges©, which is integrated into classroom curriculum to build critical literacy through theater arts.
• Ages: 3–18 years old
Established in 1934 by Chester Wittell as the Wyomissing Institute of Fine Arts, the organization later launched the “Learning Through the Arts” campaign in 2005. In 2009, it marked 75 years of service with a new name, becoming the Yocum Institute for Arts Education on July 4. The Institute is a 501(c)(3) organization and is licensed by the state for its arts-based preschool and kindergarten. Leadership figures in its history include founder Chester Wittell, first managing director Lila Lerch, and James H. Yocum, a long-time donor, board member, and community philanthropist whose focus is education.
Through on site and community-based programming in theater, music, visual arts, dance, martial arts, and an arts-integrated preschool, the Institute works with schools and other non-profit organizations to increase access to the arts for both arts and non-arts outcomes. PrimaryStages partnered with the Children’s Theatre Company of Minneapolis and became a key national site offering Neighborhood Bridges©, which is the capstone of United Way of Berk’s Ready, Set. READ! initiative. Families can subscribe to the Institute’s monthly e-newsletter, Art Beat, which is described as “Your pulse on the arts starts here.”
Last updated July 13, 2026.
• Ages: 3–18 years old
Established in 1934 by Chester Wittell as the Wyomissing Institute of Fine Arts, the organization later launched the “Learning Through the Arts” campaign in 2005. In 2009, it marked 75 years of service with a new name, becoming the Yocum Institute for Arts Education on July 4. The Institute is a 501(c)(3) organization and is licensed by the state for its arts-based preschool and kindergarten. Leadership figures in its history include founder Chester Wittell, first managing director Lila Lerch, and James H. Yocum, a long-time donor, board member, and community philanthropist whose focus is education.
Through on site and community-based programming in theater, music, visual arts, dance, martial arts, and an arts-integrated preschool, the Institute works with schools and other non-profit organizations to increase access to the arts for both arts and non-arts outcomes. PrimaryStages partnered with the Children’s Theatre Company of Minneapolis and became a key national site offering Neighborhood Bridges©, which is the capstone of United Way of Berk’s Ready, Set. READ! initiative. Families can subscribe to the Institute’s monthly e-newsletter, Art Beat, which is described as “Your pulse on the arts starts here.”
Last updated July 13, 2026.
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