Pathways Home Education Offers Co-Learning Center, The Haven

The Haven co-learning center Pathways Home Education main room

Pathways Home Education Corp. is a nonprofit that offers one-on-one guidance and support to help students and their families stay on track with their academic goals. The Pathways team is based at The Haven, a co-learning center that offers a range of programs that inspire lifelong learners. We created this guide to help families learn more about the offerings at The Haven and connect with the facilitators at Pathways Home Education for guidance on facilitated courses of study in 6–12 education and both academic and social support for students in grades 1–12 at The Haven.

About Pathways Home Education

Sometimes families are caught in a dilemma where they are not sure whether they should pull their child out of their current school to change schools or switch to homeschooling. The team at Pathways Home Education has the skills and experience to help families navigate that situation. As you can learn from this profile, Maricela Luna, the Executive Director at Pathways Home Education, has experience as a teacher and as a high school counselor. Marilyn Danae, who manages community outreach, is building her skills in nonprofit management. Leila Lockett, an active board member and retired educator, among other volunteers, supports the overall mission at The Haven.

So, what is Pathways Home Education? It’s not a private school, a microschool, a co-op, or tutoring—and yet it’s sort of all of the above. The core offering at Pathways Home Education is facilitated courses of study. Students are able to make progress on their learning, not in a traditional school setting, but at a co-learning center.

Establishing a facilitated course of study involves several steps. The process starts with a consultation to talk about the family’s options and set up a homeschooling plan. The next step is to identify what curriculum the student will use—either supplied by the family or borrowed from The Haven’s library of secular and faith-based materials. Working with the student and the family, the facilitator will set goals for the student’s progress through the curriculum. By tracking progress, the team will have the necessary data to prepare transcripts showing completed courses. The facilitators can also help with access to dual credit courses and postsecondary acceptance.

Programs at The Haven

The Haven is a physical space for the programs of Pathways Home Education. The co-learning center is located on the Northwest Side of San Antonio, near the UTSA Main Campus, at 5039 Beckwith Blvd. #109, San Antonio, TX 78249 (map). We went on a tour of The Haven guided by Chelsea Polanco.

As you can see from the tour, the co-learning space has areas set aside for different learning activities.

STEM activities, including robotics(coming soon) and project-based learning
Recreation room with games including ping pong, foosball, and board games
Culinary arts kitchen for learning intro to cooking skills and healthy living
Podcasting studio with microphones, headphones, and a green screen
Reading, literacy, and testing zone
Exercise cart
Animal care center with a pet rabbit
Maker Space with woodworking, chip carving, clay molding, and vinyl transfers on T-shirts
Music room with instruments, including guitar, violin, keyboard, and xylophone
Art studio with painting, drawing, and sculpture
Fashion studio with sewing machines, jewelry making, cross stitching, and crochet
Computers for online learning

Elementary Programs

Students in grades 1–5 meet at The Haven on Mondays and Wednesdays from 8:15 AM to 11:15 AM. Here is an example of a typical morning’s activities:

Start the day with reading for 15 minutes in the main area
Next, students have 45 minutes of individual study time using a pre-selected curriculum provided by the parent or supplemented by Pathways
Explore a unit topic with presentations, visual aids, hands-on activities, and group collaborations
Break into an area of exploration to support the unit topic discussed such as STEM, music or art.
Project-based learning: work individually or as a group on Fridays, community days.
Spend 20 minutes in the recreation room.
Greet and check in with The Haven pet, Honey.
Recap and roundup in the common area for a snack and watch educational television programs like National Geographic.

Middle and High School Programs

Students in grades 6–12 meet at The Haven on Mondays and Wednesdays from 11:30 AM to 2:30 PM. Here is an example of a typical day’s activities:

The day starts with warm up activities, including watching current events on TV like CNN Student News or a daily math refresher.
Students spend an hour on coursework. The facilitators help them set goals for the week, including time spent at The Haven, at home, and on the weekend, and track their progress.
The second hour is spent exploring the rooms of The Haven and participating in activities of the students’ choice such as podcasting, music, and fashion.
The third hour includes more academic time and opportunities for project-based learning and group collaborations.

Students can request access to the Counselor’s Corner, where they have one-on-one time with a certified counselor to ask questions about social and emotional learning with parent permission.

The facilitated learning program is supervised by the team at Pathways Home Education but also allows ample time for students to pursue their own interests and to socialize with each other. The facilitators can monitor the students’ progress towards learning goals and help parents adjust their plans.

Afterschool and Online Schools

The Haven also welcomes “afterschoolers”—families whose students attend traditional school settings during the day and do enrichment activities outside of school hours. After-school activities at The Haven are for students in grades 8–12 and take place on Monday through Friday from 4:15 PM to 6:15 PM.

Students who are enrolled in a full-time online school, including private online schools and hybrid schools, can come to The Haven for their learning time. While at The Haven, students will have tutoring support and access to the podcast and recreation rooms. Life skills will also be embedded throughout the weeks.

The Haven co-learning center Pathways Home Education entrance

More Opportunities at The Haven

RISERS

RISERS is a program to match secondary-level students with internships, externships, and real-world learning experiences through community partnerships in marketing and business. This program will launch in summer of 2024.

INSPIRE

INSPIRE is a credit recovery program that provides at-risk students with additional one-on-one support and guidance. The goal is for these students to set manageable goals and earn their high school diplomas. Space is limited.

HEROES

HEROES is a program that provides opportunities for students that have graduated with Pathways Home Education, high school seniors, and undergraduate students to become leaders within the home-educated student community. They will earn volunteer hours while supporting an underserved student population and participating in fun learning activities. Students will also have opportunities to work closely with SOS – Students of Service. Students who are age 17 and up can get involved by filling out the interest form.

Get in Touch with Pathways Home Education

If what you have learned so far about Pathways Home Education and their programs at The Haven has piqued your curiosity, we encourage you to reach out to them about setting up a consultation. During the consultation, families can tour The Haven and learn about the programs offered in different spaces of the co-learning center.

The main phone number at Pathways Home Education is 210-430-7179, and you can email them at info@phesa.org. You can also reach them through the contact form on their website. We suggest that you follow them on social media on Facebook, Instagram, X (Twitter), and TikTok.

Charter Moms Chats

Watch Maricela Luna, Executive Director of Pathways Home Education, and Marilyn Danae, President of Pathways Home Education, speak with Inga Cotton on Charter Moms Chats on December 11, 2023 at 4:00 PM Central live on Facebook and YouTube.

Maricela Luna is the Executive Director of Pathways Home Education. She was born and raised in the Rio Grande Valley. Started her teaching career with IDEA Public Schools and transitioned to McAllen ISD before moving to San Antonio, Texas. She started working as a professional high school counselor with Edgewood ISD where she found a personal drive and dedication towards post-secondary success with a no excuses, goal-driven mindset for every student regardless of socioeconomic status or background. This same passion and support is now applied towards the underserved homeschool community she now serves.

Marilyn Danae is the President of Pathways Home Education, having joined the team in 2022. An aspiring Masters of Public Administration in Nonprofit Management student, and sociology major, with an ardor for identifying and providing solutions for today’s unique issues facing education and social-emotional learning. She aims to provide mentorship and partnership with every family she works with. Her hope is for equity in education and opportunities each student receives, with the assistance of the community and local leaders. Her vision is to build a safe space for students that would nurture the aspirations of each student while still bringing them together to build a sense of belonging and purpose.