Giving/Donate

Dear Pathway Supporter,

Since 2002, Pathway School has been changing the lives of students that learn differently and struggle in the typical learning environment. It’s been an amazing eighteen years and we are so grateful to everyone that has supported Pathway and enabled us to positively impact the lives of so many of our students.

Today, I want to share with you the story of Carson. Carson is a kind, happy, athletic, and handsome eleven year-old boy whose teachers say is a positive leader for his fifth grade class. Carson has been at Pathway for four years but in the three years prior he bounced from private school to public school to homeschool and struggled in all those learning environments. According to his parents, Carson is intelligent and has a great short-term memory but he struggled to retain what he was learning due to issues with ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorder and dyslexia and therefore had to re-learn the same academic skills every day.

Before Carson’s parents found Pathway, Carson was enrolled in kindergarten at a private Christian school in their hometown of Las Vegas. There, Carson struggled to make strides and maintain grade level skills. He did not have typical growth and fell behind so his parents moved him to their local public school for first grade hoping that the public school system would have the resources to get him up to grade level. After months of working with the school district to develop an Individualized Educational Plan for Carson, his parents felt that he was still falling behind and were very concerned that he was not able to read at the end of first grade. Hoping that a one-on-one teaching environment would get him caught up and back to grade level, they hired a private teacher to homeschool him for second grade. Unfortunately, that too did not improve Carson’s situation and he fell even further behind in his learning.

Desperate to find a solution for Carson’s academic struggles, his mother, Nicole, scoured the Internet to find a school that was able to help their son learn and grow academically. Nicole and her husband, Mickey, found three schools in the state of California that they thought might work for Carson so they toured them. The first school in Northern California said they could not accept him until he was able to read so they turned to two other schools in Orange County, Pathway being one of them. Carson did his assessment and three day visit at Pathway and his parents said that they knew within hours of that Pathway was where Carson would go. Carson, his mom and his sister moved to Orange County full time so Carson could start second grade at Pathway while Carson’s dad, Mickey, worked on a commuting schedule, splitting his time 50/50 between Orange County and Las Vegas.

Carson spent his first two years at Pathway School building a foundation for his learning. His mom said within months of starting Pathway, Carson was finally reading! They were so ecstatic with his growth. Carson’s parents credit the individualized goals, small class size and knowledgeable teachers at Pathway with closing the gap and setting the foundation for future progress. In his third year, his teacher reported that he was making consistent growth in all subjects except he was still struggling in math.

Then this year, Carson made huge strides with his math, actually jumping a grade level! When he started, Carson needed one-on-one support to complete assigned tasks. Today, he is able to work independently and needs minimal guidance to complete his class work.

Last school year, Carson won the annual award for PE by showing great leadership and mastering the physical fitness tests. Also, he scored highly at the school’s annual speech meet for memorizing and reciting his Bible verses. Every year, he was able to memorize his Bible verses with ease and his mom believes that is because of the learning environment at Pathway.

Carson’s parents are excited about his future. Carson’s mom says, “Pathway has given Carson a normal school experience and that experience is important for both his academic and social growth. Carson was much more isolated in his previous schooling. Now he has his group of friends and in general is a much more outgoing child.”

Four years ago, Carson was struggling to learn to read and needed one on one instruction and now he is making strides in all subjects and working independently. Carson’s parents are excited about his future. They are starting to think about high school, college and a career for their son. They know that God has big plans for Carson and are excited to see what the future brings!

Carson’s story is one of amazing growth and unwavering commitment by his parents. Pathway School was the answer they were seeking and what they needed to positively impact Carson’s academic and social growth.

Unfortunately, there are thousands of students that have the same struggles as Carson and need your assistance. This year, Pathway’s goal is to raise $250,000 for tuition assistance. Your gift today will ensure that other students, like Carson, will be able to succeed and thrive with Pathway’s assistance.

Would you help Pathway continue to educate and equip students who struggle in a traditional classroom? Your gift today enables Pathway to equip our students with skills and strategies that enable them to grow academically, socially, and spiritually!

Thank you in advance for your generous donation and for changing lives like Carson’s.