“It’s not a job; it’s a way of life.” There’s no one whose mindset and actions embody this aphorism more completely than Pathways High director Kim Taylor, according to Pathways co-founder and board president Julia Burns.
“I’ve had the pleasure of working alongside Kim since 2017,” Burns said. “Leading a start-up, learner-centered school implementing project-based, mastery learning with a racially, socioeconomically, and ethnically diverse student population is a tremendous challenge most would avoid. Kim, however, embraces the work with an unwavering commitment to unleash all learners’ potential.”
In four years, Taylor’s relationship-driven leadership has built a strong culture of trust and care that has enabled the school to thrive, Burns said, persevering through typical start-up challenges and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Instead of seeing only pandemic-imposed limitations, Taylor led staff to expand real-world experiences by tapping networks across the country. Students gained exposure to careers from experts like a virology professor in Colorado and a New York-based physicist. Taylor worked to maximize the virtual learning model for student-led conferences and public exhibitions by significantly expanding attendance. Student and parent satisfaction increased for the fourth consecutive year according to a UW-Milwaukee charter school survey.
