ABOUT THE PATHFINDER PARENT CENTER
History The Pathfinder Parent Center is a statewide non-profit
organization. We were started in 1987 by a small
group of ND families. These parents received a grant from the U.S. Department
of Education to become ND’s statewide parent
training and information center. Today we serve over 2000 parents of children
that have disabilities (age birth to 26) or are at-risk due to learning
challenges. Many teachers contact us to find information about specific
disabilities or strategies for reaching out to diverse families. We support
over 40 ND schools in learning about parent involvement. We help teachers and
administrators discover new ways to welcome and support diverse families and to
work with families to help strengthen student achievement.
We share information about supports that work for students
who are at-risk because of disabiities or learning challenges. We also
specialize in supports that help to strengthen student achievement
through parent involvement.
We are funded by two grants from the U.S. Department of Education. We also write additional grants to fund special outreach projects at the Pathfinder Parent Center. We help families and schools to:
- Better understand the nature and needs of a child's condition.
- Work together to create individualized education programs.
- Support parent involvement through parent resource centers.
- Communicate effectively with special and regular educators.
- Participate in educational decision-making processes.
- Obtain information about programs, services, and resources.
- Encourage parent involvement in early childhood and school programs
Board of Directors The Pathfinder Parent Center is governed by a board of directors with statewide representation. The majority of board members are family members of children or youth with disabilities. We encourage interested parents to communicate with or apply for a position on the board. Read more . . .
Staff We invite families and schools to meet and get to know our staff. We will soon host a short bio on this site, introducing you to the staff members. In the meantime, please don't hesitate to call our office to request information or services..
Cathy Haarstad, MS. Executive Director
Kendra Bartholomew, BS Project Coordinator, ND State PIRC
Holly Major, MS. Program Coordinator, PTI Project
JoAnn Kjelshus, Administrative Assistant/Fiscal Manager
Diana Page, Project support coordinator
Joan Karpenko, Program Coordinator, Grand Forks
Daniel Griffith, Program Support/Technology Assistant
Donations
Your contribution helps improve the quality of education for children with disabilities; and you become an important contributor to our success and a special part of our organization. We can not be successful without you and thank you in advance for your commitment to our mission.
Employment If you are interested in a position with the Pathfinder Parent Center complete an application and send it to us at Pathfinder Parent Center 1600 2nd Avenue S.W Minot ND 58701. Include your resume and a letter of intent if you are responding to a specific job listing. Applications are kept on file for six months. Although turnover in our center is rare we are always interested in hearing from new perspective employees. Parents or siblings of children with special needs are encouraged to apply.