NHA has created an exciting new approach to student growth. We have created a program, called PathwaysSM, which results in a customized plan for the growth of each individual student.
Every student is different. Each has his or her own abilities, experiences, likes and dislikes, skills, traits, and goals. The PathwaysSM process results in a custom plan that involves the student, the teaching staff, the administration, and the family.
Hands-on biology
The Pathways Program
The Pathways program consists of several elements.
1) Information gathering: a thorough interview is done with the student, parents, and NHA staff. This interview gathers a broad array of information that is used to define abilities, interests, and goals.
2) Strategic plan: we create and agree upon long-term goals for the student.
3) Tactical plan: we create a plan that addresses specific steps that are needed to meet the student’s goals and objectives.
4) Playbook: every student has a summary sheet that gives teachers specific techniques to use with each student.
5) Review and renewal: each student’s Pathway is reviewed multiple times per year and modified according to the needs of the students.
To learn more about Pathways, please call and arrange for a visit. In addition, the following Q&A may be helpful.
Q: Why don’t all schools have a program like PathwaysSM?
A: Most schools are simply too big to have a strategic and tactical plan for each student. If you have 25 students in a classroom and hundreds – or thousands – in a school, the best you can do is teach to the middle and hope you help most of the students. Only schools like New Horizon Academy are able to create a custom plan for every student.
Q: Is Pathways another word for an IEP (Individual Education Plan) or 504 plan?
A: No. While there are similarities, IEPs and 504 plans are only for students that have defined disabilities. Pathways are for all students. We know that all students are different and believe that all students deserve to have their individuality celebrated. It does not matter to us what labels a student may have; it matters to us that we help every student get what they want from life.
Q: Is a Pathway similar to an IEP?
A: There are similarities, but there are critical differences in philosophy, process, design, and implementation.
Q: What are the philosophical differences?
A: The biggest philosophical difference is in how a school sees students. IEPs consider that students have problems that need overcoming. In other words, IEPs see that something is wrong. Pathways takes into consideration the various hurdles that all students face, but we do not see that something is wrong; we simply see that every student deserves a plan that meets their needs.
Another difference is in how IEPs and Pathwaysare used. Large schools use IEPs as a tool to make an individual student more like all the other students. New Horizon Academy uses Pathways as a tool to help each individual do more than they ever could if they were treated like everyone else.
Another philosophical difference is in the scope of the program. Large schools believe that IEPs should be used to help an individual get through high school. The endpoint of an IEP is a high school diploma. The endpoint of Pathways is a more fulfilling life.
Q: Why do large schools want students to be alike when we know everyone is different?
A: Because they have no choice. With 25 students in a classroom, the teacher has no choice but to teach to the typical student and hope they reach the majority. There is no room for individuality when your job is to reach the majority. Only a school as small as New Horizon Academy can work with an individual while still providing them the dynamics of a classroom experience.
Q: Are PathwaysSM just for students with learning disabilities?
A: Absolutely not. All NHA students deserve and receive a customized Pathway for their success.
Q: What processes make a PathwaysSM more effective than an IEP?
A: Both IEPs and PathwaysSM are effective at doing what they set out to do. Large schools have the goal of getting students through school. By directing schools to give accommodations, IEPs help students get through school.
Pathways has the goal of getting students not just through school, but into a fulfilling future. Pathways is effective in achieving its goal because it involves creating a vision for what that fulfilling life looks like and bringing to bear school, family, and community
resources. Whereas IEPs only help get to the end of high school, Pathwayseffectively launches students into the future they want and deserve.
Q: What are the design differences between an IEP and a Pathway?
A: IEPs are based upon lengthy forms that must be filled in. That form is placed in a student’s file and is taken out every now and then for review. A Pathway is more free-form and more user-friendly. As every student is different, Pathways do not involve pre-created forms.
IEPs are not shared with teachers, so they have little idea how to help a given student. In contrast, all Pathways have a PlaybookTM page. While IEPs sit in a file and are not seen by the teachers, The Playbook is designed for the teachers to use. Each student’s Playbook page lists the student’s goals and interests as well as specific techniques that teachers can use to help each student get the most from their classroom and homework experiences. Teachers and administration meet regularly to review student progress, share tips and best practices, and improve our approach to each student.
Q: How did Pathways originate?
A: Pathways started when we realized that larger schools are not designed to help individual students get what they want from life. Larger schools are like education factories. Students are passed from room to room and class to class, with the goal of getting as many of them as possible “educated.”
Large schools have to do it that way; they have no choice. Therefore, large schools define success as getting students through the education factory with a diploma in hand. We define success very differently. For New Horizon, success means putting students on a pathway to the future they want and deserve. A diploma is an important stepping stone, but is not the goal. The goal is a more fulfilling life.
Once we committed to being better than large schools at launching students into life, we built our approach using the same strategic planning processes that are used by the world’s most successful businesses. Pathways gathers information, gets agreement from the key stakeholders (students, parents, teachers, administration, and community), sets realistic goals, develops a tactical plan, makes sure the teachers follow that plan, allows for creativity and flexibility at the individual level, monitors progress, allows for improvements, and shares best practices.
For more information on Pathways or to set up a meeting and campus tour, please call 561.750.811 or e-mail admissions@GoNHA.com.
