The first Horizons program began in 1964 at New Canaan Country School in New Canaan, CT to serve children during the summers in lower Fairfield County. By 1981, the program had caught the attention of Yale University faculty Dr. Ed Zigler, who performed the first evaluation of the Horizons model. Dr. Zigler's study found that participation in Horizons reduced summer learning loss, and he recommended that the program be replicated in more locations. In 1995, Horizons National was formed to lead the expansion of the Horizons model. The Horizons Network began with the addition of The Harley School in Rochester, NY and Kent School in Chestertown, MD, both of which are still thriving today. The Network has expanded steadily and continues to grow each year to serve thousands of students nationwide.
Horizons of Kent and Queen Anne's, an affiliate of Horizons National, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that offers a tuition-free, 6-week summer academic and enrichment program for under-resourced students in PreK – 8th grade. Horizon’s mission is to reduce the summer learning loss, otherwise known as the “summer slide,” that contributes to the "achievement gap" and cycle of poverty.
Horizons students grow up in low-income neighborhoods and attend schools that alone cannot help them overcome the obstacles that threaten to trap them in a vicious cycle of poverty. Our students are especially at risk: six times more likely to drop out of high school and far less likely to enroll in college. They lack the opportunities that ALL youth need to set them on a path to achieve economic stability and personal well-being. For these children, and for the shared future of our society, Horizons offers a transformational educational experience that closes the opportunity gap and changes the trajectories of children's lives. Our scholars begin to see themselves as leaders that can accomplish goals and achieve success. At Horizons, we work hard to expose our students to new possibilities and encourage them to explore careers that they may have never considered possible. Nationally, 97% of all Horizons students graduate high school, and 91% enroll in college or trade school. Graduating with a plan that will bring personal success is important to us. They graduate high school with a plan for success and the skills needed to effectively navigate the world while embracing a more expansive view of what is possible.
To enroll in the Horizons program, a student must qualify for the federal Free and Reduced Meal Program (FARM). Guidance counselors at local elementary and middle schools identify students who would be good candidates for, and benefit most from, the Horizons program. Horizons has a rapport with each guidance counselor: We trust their recommendations, and the counselors entrust their students to us. The counselors have seen the evidence of social, emotional and academic growth when Horizons students return to school in the Fall. They enter school prepared and on equal footing as their peers.
Horizons asks our students and their families “sign on” when they are accepted and enroll in the program—we require they agree to adhere to our attendance policy, to show up every day and to return every year until they graduate in 8th grade. Continuity is the key to their success. When enrollment begins in January, the first thing we do is contact the families who attended previously to get them re-enrolled. Second, we begin the dialogue with school counselors who have a pulse on which new students would most benefit from our program.
Horizons works hard to provide the best targeted academic support in reading and math, swim instruction, and enrichment activities like chess. Once a child enrolls in our program, they are encouraged to continue year-after-year. We invest in our students throughout their elementary and middle school years because their academic success is not only in their best interest, but also in the best interest of the health of our community.
In addition, Horizons encourages its alumni, graduates who are currently in high school, to come back and work at Horizons as teachers’ assistants, otherwise known as Student Support Leaders. Employing alumni is part of the Horizons model. Student Support Leaders build competence, gain confidence as members of the local workforce and contribute to their communities. Having a paying job translates into an empowered sense of agency that can carry students through their high school careers and beyond.
Horizons of Kent and Queen Anne’s strives to make the program engaging and we center it around a new theme every summer. We reach out to and forge new relationships with nonprofits and individuals in the community that align with the theme and add to the enrichment activities. It is important to Horizons not only to offer activities that expand students’ ideas of what’s possible, but also to deepen their understanding of their own local surroundings and environment.
