Program Model

     

The Horizons summer learning program model has a 50 year track record for producing positive and consistent results.

Our tuition-free summer learning and enrichment programs address the opportunity gap that exists between underserved students and their more fortunate peers. 

Outcomes include measurable gains in reading, math, swim skills and water confidence, social skills, self-esteem, school-year attendance, and high-school graduation rates.

 

When a scholar enrolls in Horizons Atlanta, they join a learning community that extends year-round, with our signature six-week summer intensive, through 8th grade. Horizons Atlanta scholars, all of whom are free-or-reduced-lunch qualified, come from public schools and are in need of academic support. By design, roughly 2/3 of our scholars perform below grade level when they first enroll. Because we make a long-term commitment to our families, siblings of enrolled scholars receive admissions preference when they are of eligible age to apply. Our programs are physically located within or geographically near communities and public schools in need so as to enhance the collaborative nature of our work and further our understanding and connection to the home communities of our scholars. For most programs, we provide daily bus transportation to and from our sites, helping to mitigate any safety concerns for scholars who reside outside of walking distance to our program sites.

The six-week summer session is Horizons’ hallmark. Beginning the summer after kindergarten, scholars join a small cohort of approximately 15 children that receives ample individual attention in a new educational environment – the resource-rich campus of an independent school, college, or university. Horizons programs blend high-quality academics – with an emphasis on literacy and STEAM – with arts, fitness, cultural enrichment, field trips, and confidence-building challenges. Every Horizons scholar also learns to swim!

Returning year-after-year, our scholars, staff, and families develop deep, trusting relationships. Working together with our families, Horizons sets and fosters high expectations for scholars’ social and emotional development, engagement, and achievement, and helps scholars and their families navigate the systems to make success possible. Horizons programs also offer workshops throughout the year for scholars’ families on topics such as financial planning, English language, navigating the college admission process, immigration/documentation, and more.