Home › Forums › West Seattle Schools › Pathfinder a good school?
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April 13, 2011 at 3:39 am #598604
CurtissimoMemberI had heard of Pathfinder and wrote it off as an alternative school for dropouts. Then the other day we took a Sunday drive past the campus and I was blown away by how amazing the locale is! It is a really special feeling place.
I am intruiged by the K-8 option as it will allow my kids to stay in school together for 5 instead of 2 years… is it a good school? Do you have your own kids there?
April 13, 2011 at 3:45 am #722428
Genesee HillParticipantI have my non-kids there and they love it!
April 13, 2011 at 3:48 am #722429
CurtissimoMemberwhat does that even mean?
April 13, 2011 at 5:10 am #722430
WSACMemberIt is a wonderful school! The staff and community are just incredible. The teachers really get the kids outside, lots of camping and field trips with a focus on hands-on learning and investigation. My children love it and always come home talking excitedly about what they learned. There is a wide range of after school clubs which they enjoy. I can’t say enough good things about it, go on a tour and see what you think.
April 13, 2011 at 5:11 am #722431
WSACMemberIt is a wonderful school! The staff and community are just incredible. The teachers really get the kids outside, lots of camping and field trips with a focus on hands-on learning and investigation. My children love it and always come home talking excitedly about what they learned. There is a wide range of after school clubs which they enjoy. I can’t say enough good things about it, go on a tour and see what you think.
April 14, 2011 at 1:35 am #722432
SpeakLoudMemberSadly my child does not feel the same way. The school is wonderful on the whole we just seemed to have gotten the rotten apple-there’s always one!
April 14, 2011 at 2:49 am #722433
BonnieParticipantMy son goes there and we’ve been happy.
April 14, 2011 at 2:54 am #722434
addParticipantYou might want to browse through the West Seattle Schools forum section as there have been many comments about Pathfinder (and other great WS schools) posted over the last year or two.
Thanks for pointing out that in Seattle, “alternative” does not mean “safety net” or “bad-kid” school like it does in other cities and states. I think that might be why the district changed the reference to Option Schools and I’m glad for that!
I have/had two students at Pathfinder, since 2000. My current student is a 7th grader. I love the admin staff, the teachers, the teaching philosophy, the parent/family community, and the overall spirit of the place. Go visit and see if it’s a good match for your child and your family’s values about education.
April 14, 2011 at 5:08 am #722435
CurtissimoMemberthanks so much great comments all!
April 14, 2011 at 7:27 pm #722436
cciMemberI have a 7th grader there and I am very happy, so is he. I would have moved my other children there but they changed the start time and I didn’t see that working well for 1 of my other kids.
I have nothing but positive things to say about the school.
April 16, 2011 at 2:08 am #722437
MaisyParticipantI’ll chime in and say that we also LOVE Pathfinder!! As a previous teacher, I was very critical when touring schools before my son started Kindergarten. We chose Pathfinder at its original location for the Expeditionary Learning model and the great school community. We have not been disappointed! He has had fabulous teachers and we look forward to our second child starting there in the fall. We have seen first hand that the Pathfinder teachers and administrators really focus on the “whole child” – academics, social skills and a social justice perspective. We feel lucky every day that Pathfinder is a public school : ) I agree with the previous comments that it’s best to go visit the school and see if it’s a good fit for your family. Best of luck-
April 27, 2011 at 9:00 pm #722438
jawat510MemberHi all. I am very interested in sending my daughter to Pathfinder for Kindergarten and beyond. This would not be until the 2012-2013 school year. That means I would try to enroll her next year. However, when I look at the process, it seems it is just a lottery and there may be no chance of her even getting in. Can anyone tell me how likely it is she would get in to Pathfinder, and once there, do they give preference to a child for subsequent years? Thanks a lot.
Julia
April 29, 2011 at 4:38 pm #722439
StringCheeseParticipantOnce you’re in you’re in. You don’t go through the lottery every year. As for the process, it is ever-changing. It looks as though SPS will start giving preference based on geographical distance from the school to cut down on transportation costs.
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BTW, we LOVE Pathfinder and although our child tested into Spectrum we, along with many other parents, have decided to keep her at Pathfinder because of the amazing things the school has to offer.
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It is an amazing, caring, and involved community. I hope you are able to join us!
November 27, 2011 at 6:16 pm #722440
chaMemberI am dismayed by the math scores at Pathfinder–they go down every year, start high in early grades but by grade 8 only 35 percent meet or exceed standards. Is this because the kids are not taught math? Otherwise the school looks great–curious mom of preschooler.
November 27, 2011 at 7:23 pm #722441
katiebeeParticipantWe have one child in kindergarten at Pathfinder and we love it.
As far as the lottery goes, your chances are as good as any family that is new to Pathfinder. It all depends on how many people apply to that option school. The rumor this year was that there were 30 open spots and about 80 applicants.
As far as the math testing goes, the entire faculty is working on a new intensive (is that the right word?) math program in all grades. In previous years it seems that they have really focused on reading and writing…now they are also working hard on math.
The principal has mentioned several times how challenging it can be to be an “alternative” school in a “traditional” district. Like others have said, I highly recommend touring the school and asking the principal all of your questions. You will get very candid answers.
Good luck to you!
November 27, 2011 at 7:33 pm #722442
goodgracesParticipantThe reason why the math scores go down by 8th grade is that the school receives a large influx of kids in junior high — kids who’ve done elementary school in places besides Pathfinder. Many of those kids come from low-performing programs and are below-level when they enroll.
I don’t know if anyone has formally tracked the kids who stay at Pathfinder for the full 9 years (K–8) to see how they compare academically (or otherwise) to kids who transfer in at the middle-school stage. But I can tell you anecdotally that my now-6th-grader is consistently well above standard in Math and other subjects and he has been at Pathfinder since Kindergarten. He received a perfect score on the Math portion of the MSP (WASL replacement test) last year and is taking 7th grade math even though he is only (age-wise) in 6th grade. And he is not unique — many of his friends who’ve been at the school all the way since Kindergarten are in the same boat. I believe that many families there feel like we do — we could rather easily send our kids to Spectrum programs but choose to keep them at Pathfinder because of our conviction that the school’s focus on the “whole child” is incredibly beneficial.
We’ve been blown away by both the academic and social-emotional education at the school and cannot recommend it highly enough.
November 27, 2011 at 8:23 pm #722443
wsmama3ParticipantDon’t count on getting in. We were 8th on the wait list for K this year and didn’t move at all.
November 28, 2011 at 5:51 am #722444
katiebeeParticipantI’d agree with “wsmama3.” Don’t COUNT on getting in…but don’t count on NOT getting in either. Know your neighborhood school, in case that is where your child ends up. There are a lot of good private schools in West Seattle too. But if Pathfinder truly appeals to you, go for it!
December 8, 2011 at 9:07 pm #722445
ewestermanParticipantBoth of our kids attended Pathfinder K8 and loved it for completely different reasons. Both of our kids are doing very well. Mostly, Pathfinder bucks other schools because they are a compassionate staff (not that other schools don’t have compassionate staff members because they do) but this one is a compassionate staff willing to advocate for all of the needs of all of their students. It’s a great school with a great staff and a wonderful community.
December 17, 2011 at 6:25 pm #722446
katiebeeParticipantPathfinder just announced its open house and tour dates:
Come and visit us at Pathfinder
K-5 Open House is February 16 from 6:00 to 7:30 pm
K-5 Tours 9:00 to 10:30
Wednesday, January 25
Tuesday, January 31
Monday, February 6
Tuesday, February 14
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