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Students: Engaged and Learning
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Reading a rap poetry composition at the student-planned pep rally.
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Pathways students in 2014-2015 took lively interest in their school and studies. From the beginning of the school year, at the annual Pep Rally, students got involved in planning and participating in activities that celebrated the vitality of their school and supported their positive choices. From Peace Week, sponsored by Prince George's County Schools, in which students made posters and did projects on themes related to creating safe learning environments, to staying involved with activities in their home schools (one student even played football for Gaithersburg High), our students stayed connected with the support of Pathways teachers and staff. For example, in 1996 Pathways went through the process to become an approved testing site for the SAT. Therefore, as they have done for nearly 10 years, students this year took the SAT at a Pathways site rather than a large and unfamiliar public school, thus lessening their anxiety and making it more possible for them to succeed.
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KP Scholars
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KP Scholars meet for orientation |
A comprehensive mentoring program using the latest in internet technology combined with the power of personal example made its debut at Pathways this year. The program, KP Scholars, offered workshops in career and college preparation as well as work readiness and life skills while providing academic support through online tutoring that the students accessed at their school site. A unique feature of the program was that the tutors were current college students, able to relate to the Pathways students as peers. Six Pathways students, all seniors, participated this year. One did so well that he was selected for a paid internship at the KP Scholars administrative office. The program will expand in 2015-2016.
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The Arts Infuse Learning and Creativity
Artists from a range of disciplines and styles offered residencies at Pathways this year: from mosaic, to mural arts, to drumming and sculpture and collage. Every Pathways School hosted a residency, as teachers teamed up with the visiting artists to use creativity and expression to enhance education in subjects such as Social Studies and Language Arts. As a result, many students found new avenues of communication and learning and grew in self-awareness and confidence. One student, a ninth grader at Pathways-Crossland Re-Entry, was awarded the Arts in Learning Student Leadership Award by the Maryland affiliate of Young Audiences/Arts for Learning, the nation's largest arts-in-education network. Only one student in Maryland is selected each year to receive this honor, which is based on exceptional participation, work, perseverance and willingness to take risks in the arts.
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