Pathfinder Academy - Monthly Update

Monthly Update

August 2025

Dear Families,

Welcome back to another school year! We hope you all were able to have a fun and restful break with your students. We’re excited for students to be back at school and continue to grow academically as well as socially and emotionally. Below is a new policy as well and a reminder of previous policies we’ve had in place. We’ll be holding an assembly this Friday to remind students of these policies while celebrating the beginning of a new school year.

ROOFTOP POLICY

We've noticed many of our students try to access our rooftop and want to make sure we can continue to keep things safe at our school. Due to this we are instilling a clear and consistent rooftop policy for students. Our facilities team is also inputting more barriers to keep students from climbing on the rooftop. Below is what we’ll be doing moving forward.

Students are NEVER allowed on the roof due to safety concerns
If a student attempts to get on the roof and counseling does not work, our staff will escort a student away to a safer area
If a student gets access to the roof, 911 will be activated immediately so that the fire department or another professional can support the student in getting off the roof
Staff will contact caregivers if a student attempts to get on the roof
If multiple attempts become an issue, we will hold a meeting with the caregiver and student about safety and/or consider school disciplinary policies such as suspension

SUBSTANCE USE REMINDER

Any substance use on campus is not allowed. Our aim is to increase the counseling and support our students receive when engaging in any substance use. We hope providing more support and guidance around this issue will help them with their goals and their overall well-being. Below is what we’re committed to do in supporting students with this issue.

Students will be followed if they walk off campus if we suspect any substance use
Students will be followed if they walk off campus with other peers
Students will be supported away from the classroom with a counselor when substance use has been witnessed and/or suspected (such as leaving the bathroom with the smell of smoke or coming to class visibly under the influence) until it is clear they are able to access their education and/or staff discretion
Students will be asked to turn in any drug paraphernalia and/or be searched when it’s been witnessed or suspected
All students will be searched when they return to campus when they walk off even if they have a plan to do so
Groups of students who struggle to follow directions under the influence will be sent home
Continued substance use concerns for a student will result in a family meeting and/or IEP meeting to discuss best actions and care for student
Staff will inform parents/guardians of any and all instances of the above-mentioned bullet points.
Confiscated drug paraphernalia (vapes, lighters, etc.) will NOT be given back to students at the end of the day. Parents/Guardians may coordinate with staff to come pickup said items in person.

PHONE POLICY REMINDER

Students will need to turn in their phones once arriving to school and will not be given the option for a Yondr pouch anymore. Students often break these pouches, and they haven’t been used responsibly. Students recording one another on campus or any other school event is not permitted. This is not only a HIPAA violation, but we have also witnessed it as a form of bullying on social media. We want to increase our students’ ability to form healthy relationships with one another and engage in their academics. We want to teach our students how to use their phones responsibly and respect each other’s privacy. Our team may contact you if a student is stating this to confirm whether they have their phone on them or not.

BULLYING

Bullying is when someone hurts or scares another person repeatedly. The behavior is intentional and is never appropriate. This repeated and hurtful act includes: name calling, inflicting physical pain, exclusion, public humiliation, hurtful pranks and defacing one's property. Bullying involves an imbalance of power. The innocent one being bullied feels alone, depressed and scared, and feels they have nowhere to turn.

Bullying includes:

Calling someone hurtful and derogatory names
Spreading lies and bad rumors about someone
Being mean and teasing someone
Hitting, punching, shoving, spitting and physically hurting someone
Social exclusion or isolation ... not including someone in a group
Getting certain kids or teens to "gang up" on others
Having money or other things taken or damaged
Being threatened or being forced to do things

Bullying also can happen on-line or electronically. Cyber-bullying is when kids or teens bully each other using the Internet, mobile phones or other cyber technology. This can include:

Sending mean text, e-mail, or instant messages
Posting nasty pictures or messages about others in blogs or on Web sites
Using someone else's user name to spread rumors or lies about someone
Stealing someone's password and spreading rumors about someone else (making it seem like that person is the Cyber-bully)

We believe that everyone has the right to be who they are without bias or judgment. We recognize the insensitivity, bias, bigotry and ignorance is prejudice and discrimination. We expect our students to honor and respect everyone …no matter what their beliefs, abilities, race, culture, sexual identity, or other characteristics are. We expect our students to be kind and considerate of others and their feelings. We are all different, yet we share a community! We share the joys of being fair and tolerant and making our shared communities and world a better place.

Our staff will work with students involved in incidents of bullying to resolve interpersonal conflicts and commit to engaging in respectful interactions in order to maintain a safe and productive learning environment.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Staff will no longer stop students from exchanging social media information, as we feel it is a developmentally appropriate activity. However, conversations will be had with students at intake or tour around our limited jurisdiction with managing conflict that occurs outside of school, and the difficulties that may arise when students engage in relationships via social media platforms. If bullying is happening on social media, school staff will do their best to manage that conflict and there may be school consequences that arise from such bullying. When ongoing concerns ensue around social media between students, we may ask caregivers to get involved and come to the school to engage in conflict resolution with their student and the caregivers of the other student. Students are not allowed to access social media during school hours, even when appropriately able to use a computer or iPad for break time.   

JOY IN OUR COMMUNITY

We have a lot of community fun planned for this year with field trips, clubs, sports, and celebrations. We hope you all can join our community events as they come up and look forward to our continued partnership with you all in supporting your students this year.

Please feel free to connect with anyone on our team if you have any questions.

Thank you,

Grace Alvarez

Principal/Director

(510) 362-3602

grace_alvarez@senecacenter.org

Angelica Juarez

Assistant Director of Clinical Services

(510) 999-2874

angelica_juarez@senecacenter.org

Alden Hiller

Assistant Director of Transitional Services