A nonprofit special education school, Pathway builds academic, social, and life skills

Dear Pathway School Community:

Our school year has gotten off to a great start! In September we welcomed around 170 students to our campus. This autumn, we were able to take advantage of the warm, dry weather and engaged our students in learning outside. Most around the school have commented on the positive start to our school year.

In mid-October, The Pathway School made the decision to become a cell-phone free campus during the school day. It wasn’t always easy, but our students place their smart devices in a locking pouch in the morning. The pouches are unlocked during dismissal, so our students have access to communicate with their families on the ride to and from The Pathway School.

I’m sure this transition was not easy for many of our students and their families, but it has been a success thus far! Students are interacting with one another more, and I have even seen groups playing board games at lunch! We will begin the process to quantify how successful this initiative has been, but thus far it appears that student behaviors are down this year, and we expect to see an increase in student engagement in their learning!

For what it is worth, I also place my mobile phone in a locked pouch each morning, and have it unlocked after 2pm. I figure if we are asking our students to comply (and they have—overwhelmingly!), then I should do it too.

I look forward to the coming months: our Robotics team will begin competing in tournaments, we will begin fielding an eSports team this year, and there is talk of interscholastic basketball games with other local Approved Private Schools. Very exciting school events to look forward to!

We are proud of what we have accomplished at The Pathway School, and look to continue the 60+ year tradition of innovating learning for our students.

Thank you for you interest in and your support of The Pathway School.

Sincerely,

David J. Schultheis
President & CEO