What are pathways?
The cornerstone of learning for students at LME is our Enrichment & Environment program (e2), which provides enriched learning experiences and higher learning standards for all children and includes the following key elements:
Learning is personally relevant to students, using their passions and interests to enable student agency
Learning is grounded in observing and asking questions, making predictions, and collecting data to make sense of the world around them
Local learning serves as a model for understanding global challenges, opportunities, and connections
Focus on personal growth and health, and the cultivation of an authentic personal connection to the world beneath our feet, and the air and water we all share
Every Friday, students in Kindergarten through 5th Grade have the opportunity to engage in our pathways program. In the 2025-2026 school year, we do this on a 5 week rotation. Each grade level has the chance to participate in each of the rotations over the course of the school year.
What are the different Friday pathways?
In the 2025-2026 school year, all of our students will engage in the following pathways:
Outdoor Pathways: In this rotation, students will explore our different natural spaces at Laurel Mountain. During these 5 weeks, classes will choose from different activities in each of our outdoor spaces: The Grove, The Preserve, N2N Studio, our Edible and Pollinator Garden. We also have a new hydroponic garden unit that our students will help care for, plant, and harvest!
Inquiry Projects: In this rotation, students will engage inquiry projects centered around their interests and wonderings. They will ask critical questions and spend time finding answers to their questions.
Vendor Pathways: In this round of pathways, students will choose from a choice board of 8 different options to dive deeper in a new field. We contract instructors to lead these pathways and give students unique experiences. These pathways are designed around student interest. Some of our vendor pathways have including: cooking, sewing, LEGO robotics, stop motion animation, drones, art and graphic design, coding, improv, watercolors, archery, and a virtual escape room.
Support Staff led Pathways: Our fantastic teams in the special areas, TAG, librarian, counselor, and behavioral support teachers each design an enrichment class for students to participate in. These activities have included glass fusing, printmaking, chess, origami, strategy games, Lego robotics, cup stacking, song writing, and more! Each class has the opportunity to do 5 different classes during this rotation.
Teacher led Pathways: In this round, grade level classroom teachers will led and design engaging pathways based on their class's interests. Every grade level will go about this slightly differently, so be sure to ask your student about it!
AI Pathway: This pathway provides an age appropriate understanding of what AI is, how it works, how it can be used as a helpful tool, and how to critically analyze the results that populate from AI queries. Students learn about the predictive nature of AI and how it is built around data sets. Students are able to make real world connections and deepen their understanding of this cutting edge technology.