Times Chronicle & Public Spirit
Pathway offers a summer full of enriching experiences
It’s not about forcing a fit, it’s about finding a place. Pathway could be the place for your child during the school year and/or during the Extended School Year (ESY) program.
For over 50 years, Pathway has been serving students with special education needs. Pathway provides educational and therapeutic services to young people with significant learning, social-emotional and executive functioning needs.
The goal is to provide an individualized, structured learning environment that empowers all students to build independence for all students.
Pathway offers a sixweek Extended School Year (ESY) program that was created with various tracks that focus on each student’s affective, academic, social and functional needs in various structured learning environments in school and in the community.
The ESY program supports each student’s IEP goals while providing students unique opportunities to increase their interests in educational topics and further develop recreation and leisure skills.
Summer therapeutic activities further develop academic skills while providing students an opportunity to choose from a variety of club activities. After some instruction in reading and math, students will participate in theme-based activities which allow them to have fun while build executive functioning and social skills.
Clubs are designed to increase a student’s repertoire of interests and expose them to different types of experiences throughout the summer. Social skills, cooperative teamwork, communication and recreation and leisure skills are embedded in all club activities.
Social and Community Activities — For Life Experiences focuses on providing students with a handson approach to developing social skills and promoting successful functioning in the community.
Students will continue to develop functional academic skills, communication skills, vocational skills and daily living skills.
The program will take place both on campus and in community settings to teach social skills and life skills through community outings, preparing menus, grocery shopping, money management, and self-care lessons.
Field trips are another fun part of the ESY program. Students will participate in field trips to local points of interest that coordinate with classroom and program themes while promoting social skills in the community. Trips may include places such as fishing spots, hiking trails, tours of local facilities, historical spots and much more.
The ESY program is offered to Pathway students ages 5-21, as well as students with similar needs in nearby school districts.
For students not currently attending the schoolyear program but who are interested in ESY programming, contact Diana Phifer in the Admissions Department for additional information and a tour of the campus at 610-277-0660, ext. 289. Or send a current IEP, evaluation/re-evaluation report to The Pathway School, Attn: Diana Phifer, The Pathway School, 162 Egypt Road. Jeffersonville, PA 19403.
For additional information about any of our programs or services, visit www.pathwayschool.org or contact Diana Phifer at 610277-0660, ext. 289 or by email: dphifer@pathwayschool.org.