The Pathfinder School

For the past 40 years, The Pathfinder School has been inspiring children to achieve their personal best as lifelong learners, young global citizens, creative thinkers and stewards of the Earth. Our students are motivated to look beyond the outward appearance of things towarddeeper understanding.The basis of allinquirybegins with the fundamental question, "How am I and all other thingsconnected to this topic " This question arises time and time again in all of our classrooms - grades Pre-Kindergarten through 8th. Consequently, student learning is grounded in relevance and the positive results, as measured both by student achievement and engagement, are irrefutable.

MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES - In our classrooms, we emphasize deep understanding of varying concepts throughexperience-based learning while employing the Multiple Intelligences pedagogy developed by Howard Gardner. There is a constant flow of new information on how the human brain operates, how it differs in function between genders, how emotions impact intellectual acuity, even on how genetics and environment each impact our children’s cognitive abilities. While each area of study has its merits, Howard Gardner of Harvard University identified differentKINDSof intelligence we possess. This has particularly strong ramifications in the classroom, because if we can identify children's different strengths among these intelligences, we can accommodate different children more successfully according to their orientation to learning. Teaching with this understanding has been a primary focus at Pathfinder since the school's inception in 1972. Many of our faculty attendedHarvard Graduate School of Education'sProject Zerowhere the Gardner pedagoy is taught. As a result, our veteran educators continue to develop aresponsive and engaging curriculumbased on the most current research in teaching and learning. By staying on the cutting edge of education, we develop higher achieving students who are inspired to become more active learners as a result of their natural curiosity and joy in finding success.

PATHFINDER IS...

• The only accredited independent day school serving Pre-Kindergarten - 8th Grade students
• Fully accredited by the Independent School Association of the Central States (ISACS)
• Small classes and personal attention; Individualized instruction with a student:faculty ratio of 8 to 1
• Dedicated teachers whose real-life field experience adds relevance to classroom instruction
• An engaging and responsive curriculum built on the proven principles of experiential education
• Recognized increasingly as a destination school, attracting families from across the country
• A 22-acre wooded campus brimming with learning opportunities nestled on the shores of Cedar Lake and Grand Traverse Bay
• Many opportunities for parental involvement including an active parents’ association, community building activities, and adult education
• Centrally and conveniently located 3 miles from downtown Traverse City at the base of the Leelanau Peninsula
• A school culture that honors diversity in its many forms and promotes civility: our school admits students of any race, color and national or ethnic origin
• A GREEN CERTIFIED SCHOOL with a robust compost, recycling and no waste program for our students to experience and learn from.

PLEASE NOTE: The YouTube videos you see at the bottom of this page ARE NOT FOR OUR SCHOOL. To learn more about Pathfinder (located in Traverse City, MI) please visit our Facebook page or website.