ATLAS District Pathways™
Creating a Continuous Learning Pathway
from Pre-K through High School and Beyond

The school experience – beginning on the first day of pre-kindergarten and continuing through and beyond high school – should be a seamless, connected pathway on which all children learn and excel. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. Too often, the school experience is fragmented. Student learning does not build from one grade to the next. Transitions from elementary to middle to high school are ineffective. ATLAS District Pathways™ link elementary, middle and high schools in order to create a continuum of learning in which all students can be successful.

ATLAS District Pathways™

Typically, a pathway consists of at least one high school and its feeder elementary and middle schools, forming a true academic community for students and their families, teachers and administrators. In this model, curriculum, instruction and assessment are aligned. The kindergarten teacher and 12th grade teacher and every teacher in between understand why they are sitting at the same table. There is a continuity of experience and commitment, ensuring that intellectual and social connections are made, that no time is wasted, and that learning is cumulative.

Once a school/pathway has decided to make a three- to five-year commitment to partner with ATLAS, the first implementation strategy is forming the Pathway Leadership Team. Membership includes the principal and a representative group of four to eight teachers, staff, parents, students, and community members from each pathway member school, as well as district representation. Together, members chart a successful course where decisions about educational priorities reflect the core values of a community in educating its children within the context of standards the district has defined for academic success.