What’s So Big About This Number?

We DOUBLED the number of Horizons programs in 5 years

In three years we will serve three times the number of children by adding an average of 10 new programs each year. We want to close the education and opportunity gaps for as many children as pos-sible – dramatically increasing our rate of growth to achieve that goal.

The need is great ...When a child from a low-income family enters Kindergarten, odds are her reading skills are already 6 months behind her more fortunate classmates. Without additional support, this disparity continues to grow throughout her academic career, crippling her ability to gradu-ate from high school, attend college, and find a job. This is the sad reality for millions of children and there are simply not enough pro-grams to serve them all.

... Horizons is a solution for thousands of kids More colleges, universities, and independent schools stand ready to join the Horizons network and run the proven programs that close gaps of opportunity. There are more schools eager to begin this important work than we have resources to support them! We need your help to bring Horizons to thousands more low-income children.

Success!

What has made our success possible?Horizons Changes Lives!Closing The Achievement Gap: Oursix-week summer sessions and school year programs are for low-income K-12 children across a wide range of abilities. Instead of succumbing to the “summer slide” in reading and math skills that is the biggest single ingredient of the achievement gap, our students gain significantly each summer.

Closing The Opportunity Gap: Horizons students start in Kindergarten and re-turn to the same safe, nurturing campus year after year for an average of 6. They discover opportunities for growth and success at school and in life through the

balanced blend of academics and enrich-ment. And, they develop the confidence and sense of self that are critical to nego-tiating the system successfully. Horizons is cost-effective!Our students make several months of academic gain during each of their summers with us – at a cost far less than the cost of progress made during the school year.

How do we know Horizons changes lives?We have 7 years of reliable and consistent data on:• Gains in academic skills – Yale University and Wireless Generation (Amplify) studies confirm that Horizons reverses summer

“I would never have seen the University of Pennsylvania if it had not been for Horizons. When you grow up in a low income community, you feel like you can’t do the things you want to do. But now the possibilities are endless. Horizons gave me the same opportunities and put me on a level playing field with my peers. It gave me opportunities in life that I may not have had.”

– Taylor Stokes, Horizons Alumna and student at the University of Pennsylvania

learning loss and creates gains for our students that help decrease the achieve-ment gap.

• Attendance and attitude during the school year – teachers in public schools across the country point out that Horizons students stand out. They are leaders. They ask more questions. They are engaged. They are determined to be successful.

• Long-term, deep engagement in learn-ing – our students stay in the program for an average of six years. That translates into at least a full year of cumulative gain as opposed to a year of loss in academic skills suffered by their peers.

What greater gift can anyone give than the gift of opportunity? Thanks to our friends, Horizons students are growing beyond circumstances they cannot control and are embracing the opportunities that underlie the dream on which our nation is built.

Horizons National has been awarded a major grant from The Wallace Foundation to develop a study on the long-term impact of programs like ours. This study could make a significant contribution to education policy and reform.

CUMULATIVE GAINS“We are pleased to fund Horizons programs because they transform the lives of students caught in the achievement gap – giving them the tools and foundation to become successful and confident college-bound students. ”

– Maria Collins, Vice President, New York Life Foundation

ACADEMIC ENRICHMENT“At a Horizons program you see firsthand what the data and testimonials can only describe: a program in which teachers and students are empowered and engaged.”

– Stephen Monroe, Ph.D., Assistant Dean, University of Mississippi

EDUCATION REFORM“This is one of those programs that is giving birth, giving light and giving hope and helping us to achieve that which we say we are… A nation promising potential, a nation for abundant opportunity. It starts with education.”

– Mayor Cory Booker, City of Newark

PROVEN EFFECTIVENESS“Horizons means a great deal to me. It helped aid in the development of my children when they were younger. More specifically, the program taught my children during the summer, where they gained greater scholastic capa-bilities as well as other essential life fundamentals.”

– Libby Scott, parent of two Horizons alumni

ESTABLISHING PARTNERSHIPS“Our district’s work with Horizons is an excellent example of how a public-private partnership can benefit students, by leveraging multiple community resources to give our children excellent summer learning opportunities.”

– Bolgen Vargas, Ed.D., Superintendent of Schools Rochester, NY City School District

Horizons National is a network of high-quality academic enrichment programs that provide long-term deep engagement to low-income public school students. The hands-on approach is designed to fuel a life-long passion for learning, using a blend of high-quality academics with arts, sports, cultural enrichment, and confidence-building challenges, particularly swimming. Our proven model creates partnerships with independent schools, colleges and universities to serve at-risk students over the course of their Pre-K - 12 academic careers.

120 Post Road West, Suite 202Westport, CT 06880 (203) 594-7040

www.HorizonsNational.org

Visit us at HorizonsNational.org