Horizons National Student Enrichment Program

Our Mission

Founded in 1964 and expanding nationally since 1995, Horizons is a network of high-quality, tuition-free, immersive, academic and enrichment programs for low-income children, providing out-of-school-time supports for the duration of a child’s Pre-K-12th grade experience. Horizons students, all of whom are free-or-reduced-lunch qualified, come from public schools, with roughly 2/3 performing below grade level when they first arrive. Horizons programs operate outside of the regular school day, with a six-week summer intensive, after school, and on weekends. The network has 52+ programs across 17 states and is growing every year.

The six-week summer session is Horizons’ hallmark. Beginning in Pre-K or Kindergarten, students join a cohort 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 STEM – with arts, fitness, cultural enrichment, field trips, and confidence-building challenges, particularly swimming. Returning year-after-year, our students, staff, and families develop deep, trusting relationships.

Horizons is unique among summer programs for four reasons: our insistence on exceptional program quality; partnership with students’ families; long-term approach; and balanced support of academic achievement and healthy youth development. Evidence shows the Horizons approach mitigates gaps of opportunity, skills, and achievement: • Over each 6-week summer session, Horizons students achieve an average 8 to 12 weeks improvement in reading and math – reversing the typical “summer slide” and sending students back to school ahead of where they left in June; • 99% of students in Horizons high school programs graduate on time; • Students show improved social skills, self-confidence, motivation, attitudes toward learning, and school-year attendance.

The mission of Horizons National is to initiate, support, and ensure the quality of Horizons programs throughout the United States.