Pathfinder K-8 History

West Seattle's Alternative Public K-8 School

Originally known as AE4, Pathfinder is now housed in the former Genesee Hill School building. Our eleven multi-age classes are organized into three halls: Earth, Water and Sky. Each class is a "clan" named after an animal; students will say they are in the Coyote Clan instead of in fourth or fifth grade.

People learn best when the things they are studying are interconnected. Pathfinder students might practice arithmetic by working out the food needs of an African village, then also study how plants in that part of the world grow and how animals there eat. The clans in a hall often do joint projects, and when they present their work to the whole school it is sure to be related to what the other clans are studying. This approach to education requires extensive planning and coordination. Teachers spend many hours aligning their lesson plans, using a "learning wheel" that lends a common theme to every trimester. Pathfinder's approach to a broad-based education is rounded out by Culture House -- a Native American study and activity center; Studio -- an eclectic program of art, music, dance and drama; and our Physical Education program, started last year, which emphasizes movement, coordination and confidence.

It takes a whole village to raise a child.

High parent participation is essential at Pathfinder. Our parents do a lot more than making sure homework gets done. Every day you will find parent volunteers in classrooms and elsewhere, helping in ways that allow the teachers to concentrate on their students. Some parents in turn make more volunteering possible by caring for each other's younger children in the Sibling Co-op. The PTSA also sponsors Blazing Trails, a nonprofit before-and-after-school daycare that helps make school and work schedules fit together.