Founder of two proposed public charter schools inspired by his own struggles overcoming a learning disability

The path that Pathways in Education (PIE) takes its name from began decades ago with the challenges organization founder John Hall faced when he was in school.Hall has a learning disability and couldn’t read until the age of 13.“He grew up in you know the 50s and 60s. He had a learning disability that had not yet been identified,” said PIE Regional Director Valerie Brennan.  “It was his dream to create a school that he wished was available to him when he was struggling to get his high school diploma.”Hall was able to overcome his learning challenges with the help of his future wife Joan Hall. The two would later become successful educators and in 2008, their daughter Jamie Donahue used their successful model to establish the first Pathways in Education school in Chicago.The Pathways in Education model is designed to provide at-risk students, especially those who’ve dropped out, with the flexibility to overcome the educational barriers that may be preventing them from graduating. PIE students attend a blended educational system that includes independent learning and flexible time in smaller classrooms.Schools also provide online learning options and PIE operates year-round, so it’s also a viable option for students who want to graduate early.“Our guiding principle has always been, there are always students who are not being served,” said PIE administrator Vrej Boghokian. “Regardless of the efforts of the local schools there are always going to be students whose needs are not going to be met.”Pathways in Education’s model proved successful in Chicago and the organization has expanded to operate contract and public charter schools in Arizona, Idaho, and Louisiana.The organization is currently in the process of applying to open public charter schools in Memphis and Nashville as well, with an eye towards meeting specific needs of two different at-risk groups of students.In Nashville, Brennan says the flexibility PIE offers could be useful for the city’s growing immigrant population, where students may have to work education around their obligation to provide support to their families.“Whether it’s through childcare or it’s working to bring in another supplemental income, there’s just additional challenges,” said Brennan.In Memphis, PIE is looking at serving the needs of a growing number of students who are more than two years off their graduation target date, either because of COVID or poverty.Brennan says these students may not currently have many options in Shelby County.“To be honest the students that we serve are deficient in academic skills,” said Brennan.  “That’s where we come in with this small growing (number) of students that are 17 plus years old, they have given up hope of achieving and earning that high school diploma.”PIE previously operated a public charter school in Memphis under the state’s Achievement School District (ASD) from 2014 through 2022. Leadership changes within the ASD led to the school’s closure, but the organization believes its model is still needed.PIE is applying to operate the new school under Memphis-Shelby County Schools with the goal of creating a true partnership with the district that wasn’t possible under the ASD.“We are now working in conjunction, and what we want, and our goal is always to work hand-in-hand with our local district, not in opposition to it,” said Boghokian. “We really wanna be perceived as a partner with Shelby and I think we could serve the population we want to serve which is everybody.”School board members in Memphis and Nashville are expected to vote on PIE’s amended applications next month.One change the charter operator made to both applications was to increase the time spent in the classroom learning English, math, and science from two days a week, to a daily four-hour flexible schedule.Students would round that time out with independent learning and the option of online electives and experiential learning that could occur outside of Memphis and Nashville.Boghokian says the experience will be different than a traditional alternative school because PIE provides the flexibility of online learning, independent study, and smaller classrooms all in one school.“We meet the student where they are in their education instead of asking the student to come to where we are. So, we meet them in that middle and try to give them whatever pathway that’s going to get them to a high school diploma,” said Boghokian.