Ribbon Cutting Celebration for Pathway Academy

BIG SPRING, TX — On Tuesday afternoon the Big Spring Area Chamber of Commerce welcomed new chamber member Pathway Academy with a ribbon cutting celebration outside of the Cornerstone Covenant Church, located at 706 E. 12th St. in Big Spring.

Pathway Academy is a new charter school in Big Spring that aims to be an avenue of education for “at-risk” students in Howard County. Their goal is to provide a specialized education for children who have struggled in traditional learning settings by offering small class sizes and personalized attention. It will also tailor the curriculum to individual needs with the goal of breaking the cycle that can lead to failure or incarceration.

According to Joel De La Garza, President of the Board for Pathway Academy, 28 percent of the 18-24 year olds in Howard County do not have a diploma.

He went on to say that they are trying to catch some children before they get to that age to give them opportunity.

“Some of its generation, some of it just things are going on and so we’re strictly supporting that effort to get that sector of children. Some are growing up in challenging households and we’re all aware. That’s actually nationwide, unfortunately, so we wanna make sure we’re an avenue for them as well,” he said.

The new charter school will be state-funded, primarily dependent upon enrollment, grants, and donations. De La Garza said families will not have to pay to attend Pathway Academy, which was approved as a charter school over the summer. Currently they are still in the planning stages and in the process of staffing the school. Initially, the school will be located at Cornerstone Covenant Church and will serve 7th – 9th grade students.

“A lot of children at that age are at a crossroads,” said De La Garza.

“If we can get that child back in the interest of learning, it’s all about literacy, in our opinion, so it’s just providing that hope.”

Pathway Academy plans to open its doors August 1st for the 2025-2026 school year.

For more information on Pathway Academy, visit: pathwayhc.org.