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The Pennsylvania Governor's School for the Arts (PGSA) was a five-week summer academy for gifted high school students in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The school was hosted each summer first by Bucknell University, then by Mercyhurst College. The goal of PGSA was to create an environment where gifted students could learn and grow as artists, as people, and as advocates for the arts. Equally important, the graduates of PGSA would be the creative and cultural leaders of the future. They would not only help tell the story of where we have been, but they would help create and shape the narrative of tomorrow. PGSA was defunded by Pennsylvania's 2009–2010 state budget. In the era of No Child Left Behind, education dollars in America are aimed at raising minimum student scores but ignoring our gifted and motivated students dilutes our standards of excellence. PGSA was an extraordinary program that challenged and empowered its alumni.

Creative young people often feel isolated, which impairs their ability to pursue their potential. The environment of the PGSA empowered young artists to find their voice, to find themselves, and to share that with the larger community. 

PGSA Provided an unparalleled depth, breadth and scope of arts education which contributed to the growth creative and cultural leaders, as well as job creators. 
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PGSA made the arts accessible to promising students across PA, regardless of economic status PGSA provided a unique foundation from which we can develop a scalable and adaptable curriculum to be implemented in a variety of outlets throughout the Commonwealth. 
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PGSA demonstrated a strong commitment to arts education incentivizing our best and brightest to stay in Pennsylvania. It also drew new students and families to PA. 
 

Without the A in STEAM, students of STEM could not realize their full potential as innovators. No scientist, mathematician, technologist, business or finance person can truly excel, invent or innovate without honing that capacity for creative and innovative thought. To advance rather than mimic, replicate or imitate, in any discipline, requires the many unique ways that the arts help us discover and develop and ideate. 

By providing these summer enrichment opportunities for talented students with a demonstrated record of achievement and the potential to succeed, Pennsylvania is fostering its future leaders, innovators, and visionaries. The Governor’s Schools showcase some of the best educational opportunities that the commonwealth has to offer and forge networks among some of the state’s brightest young minds. In partnership and with a financial commitment from the state, a coordinated effort aimed at sustainability will secure the The Pennsylvania Governor’s School for the Arts into the future.