Many things make Pathfinder School stand out among schools for special education learners -- its location, thriving greenhouse, and dedicated AIU teachers and staff for starters. One other feature is its 55,000-gallon swimming pool offering unique aquatic experiences and innovative physical therapy supports for students. Pathfinder School Principal Nicholas Fratto says the pool serves as a major part of educational programming at the school. "The health benefits of swimming are well-documented," he said, noting that for students with physical challenges, swimming provides a low-impact form of exercise and helps reinforce many physical therapy goals such as building muscle strength, flexibility, and coordination.

Pathfinder believes no student should feel discouraged or excluded from joining the fun inside the pool. To maximize accessibility, the pool features an adaptive lift to assist students entering and exiting the pool who have difficulty or cannot use the pool later. In addition, water walkers, adaptive chairs, and flotation devices such as life jackets and aqua joggers are used for every student to get in on the action.

Pathfinder Adapted Physical Education Teacher Chris Garofalo trains students to Red Cross Learn-to-Swim program standards, which focus on building skills one step at a time and at their own pace. Garofalo has taught at Pathfinder for 11 years. The students are regularly assessed on each of the skills and parents are provided with reports, so they can see what skills their child has mastered. Garofalo and other educators who work in pool instruction are certified lifeguards.

Both Garofalo and support teacher Sandy Sherman have several certifications for swimming instruction and pool operation, as well as lifeguarding.

In recent years, even students at our other AIU-operated special education schools have been invited to enjoy the benefits of the Pathfinder pool. To learn more about Pathfinder School, visit the school's webpage.