SPECTRUM: Clearing up Valley Pathways misconceptions

Dear Valley parent:

Recently, a friend asked me where I was working. When I responded that I was teaching at Valley Pathways, her response was sorrowful. “Oh. That’s a rough place, isn’t it.”

I struggled not to laugh. How have the negative misconceptions about the kind of kids who make up the student body of our alternative schools lingered on and on and on since the 80s?

What would a typical day look like for your son or daughter? When they walked through the door, they would probably be greeted by our Student of the Month, who would offer them a granola bar from her backpack and invite them to sit with her friends at lunch. They’d take a tour of the school with a girl who finished on-site college credits in Human Services this year and is taking free college classes online though UAA. You’d walk by the library where Shanoah the service dog is getting her tummy rubbed on a big red beanbag. Ms. Hall would be in there helping a student hot glue together a costume for his mythology project, and Miss Crystal would be in the background personally calling everybody who hadn’t made it to school yet that morning. Later, they might stop by my anime club for lunchtime popcorn and a movie. The Adventure Club would be on their way out the door to play broomball on Finger Lake, and after school they’d see the gym filled with teachers, students, and alumni who gather twice a week for pickup basketball. And all around the school, your student would see students successfully completing the credits they need to graduate.

Wait, where are all the thugs, behavior problems and juvenile delinquents you expected to see? I don’t know. They don’t go here.

Most of our kids came to us because they didn’t feel valued at their home schools. They felt invisible. Maybe they were bullied. Maybe they have Asperger’s. They suffer from crushing anxiety. They’re gay or transgender. Some want a smaller class size with more support, others come to Pathways to accelerate their learning and to graduate early. Some have been in foster care so many times that they didn’t identify with a school or a group of friends. Or they’ve been couch-surfing, struggling to get their basic needs met, and need help recovering credits. Which, Valley parent, is what we do.

If you have a student – or know one, who has given up on school, who can’t bring themselves to get out of bed in the morning to go to class, who begs you to let them home school or drop out, give Valley Pathways a chance. Our students come to us from all over the Valley, from Sutton to Houston. Our students LOVE their school. Pathways graduation ceremonies are emotional, because our students have succeeded in overcoming obstacles, tragedies and personal challenges that once seemed insurmountable, with the support of a group of loving and dedicated teachers who embraced them as family from the day they walked in the door.

Bottom line – Valley Pathways is not a “rough place”. A lot of times it’s where your kid goes when they’re IN a rough place.

If you are interested in attending Valley Pathways or would like to meet the principal in person to ask questions, go to the school website and fill out the student application to get the ball rolling!

Esther Heck is a Valley Pathways language arts teacher.