Pathways to Education

The Pathways to Education™ program was created by the Regent Park Community Health Centre in an effort to address poverty and other barriers that exist in the community.

With a focus on youth and education as a means of breaking the cycle of poverty, Pathways effectively reduces drop-out rates, absenteeism, attendance problems, and increases academic results and graduation rates.

Pathways Kitchener

Due to its success in Regent Park, Pathways Canada was formed and the program expanded into 5 communities across Ontario and Quebec, including Kitchener. Currently, the program is accessible to two communities in Kitchener:

• Chandler-Mowat, which includes Valleyview Rd, Chandler Dr, Mowat Blvd, Howe Dr, Windale Cres, and several others;
• Kingsdale, which includes Courtland-Shelley, Traynor-Vanier, Cedarwoods Cres, Connaught St, Kingsway Dr, Balfour Cres, and many others.

These two communities have a high percentage of vulnerable youth, as well as two of the highest drop-out rates in the city.  The program is open to any student living on one of the streets in the target areas.  In 2007, the program began with Grade 9 students, and subsequently adds one grade per year after that until all four grades are included in 2010.

Currently, Pathways Kitchener is working with more than 370 students in the two communities. Pathways students have shown a marked improvement since the program began in September 2007, as they achieve higher grades, attend school more regularly, and focus on the expectations and requirements of their educational plans.  Tutoring and mentoring are now held in five locations throughout the Kingsdale and Chandler-Mowat communities, and the Student Parent Support Workers are meeting with students in over seven high schools throughout the Kitchener-Waterloo area.  The program continues to grow as students, their families, and community members spread the word, and as Pathways to Education makes its mark in Waterloo Region.  

Four Supports

The program is structured around four pillars of support: 

• Academic Support provides tutoring in core academic subjects.
• Social Support provides mentoring relationships and activities which are suitable to age, interests, and abilities, and are aimed toward creating a sense of community within the program and with the community as a whole.
• Financial Support provides bus tickets, food vouchers, and a thousand dollar scholarship awarded to each student for each year they successfully complete the Program.  The scholarship is held in trust for students until they enter the post-secondary schooling of their choice, and is then paid out by Pathways to Education to the post-secondary institution.

• Advocacy Support provides a bridge between the student, school, family, and program, with Student Parent Support Workers helping students and their parents navigate the school system and advocating on their behalf.

Contact Us

To contact Pathways Kitchener or to make referrals to the program, please call 519.743.6333 ext 266 or email cmancini@mosaiconline.ca.