Dear Pathfinder School Families,

I wanted to take this opportunity to share with you some of the great things that are happening here at The Pathfinder School.

If you recall, my message to families at the beginning of this school year focused on The Pathfinder School’s transition programs, with a particular focus on increasing competitive employment opportunities for our students. I am very pleased to announce that we have been awarded a significant grant that will go towards expanding our reach into the community.

The Competitive Integrated Employment grant in the amount of $21,000 was issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Education Bureau of Special Education and administered by PaTTAN. The Pathfinder School is one of just 17 schools from across the state that was selected to receive the grant. The funds will go towards providing secondary transition services for students with disabilities and engaging local businesses in hiring our students.

Along this same theme, our staff are continuing to work on the “soft skills” that employers have identified as necessary to be successful in the workplace. Using the Pennsylvania Career Ready Skills as a guide, staff are working together to support the development of student competence in the domains of self-awareness and self-management; establishing and maintaining relationships; and social problem solving. Our social worker, Mrs. Kristen King, and the Speech and Language Department are working with all of the classrooms supporting this initiative.

Our students are also actively participating in the iMAB (Intentional Movement and Behavior) program through a grant that was awarded by the NoVo Foundation. Students receive weekly iMAB instruction for up to 40 minutes. This program is specifically designed to show our students how to gain access to intentional behavior through yoga techniques. Research has shown that, when implemented consistently, intentional behavior can lead to improvement in students’ communication, classroom participation, and focus.

Finally, I wanted to thank the Parents of Pathfinder Students (POPS) group for all of their help and support this year. The POPS group meets monthly here at the school. Any parents that are interested in joining the group can contact us here at the school and we can get you added to the email distribution list.

As you can tell, we have been very busy here at The Pathfinder School and are looking forward to all of the great things we will accomplish together with your children this school year!

Nicholas R. Fratto, M.S. Ed.

The Pathfinder School Principal