Horizons at USN: Providing High-Quality, Engaging Summer Opportunities to Help Close the Achievement Gap

When we think of summer, we think of longer days and school-free schedules. But for too many students, summer can also mean learning loss— particularly for low-income students. 

Each summer, Horizons provides critical enrichment programs and camps that allow participants to continue their learning even after the school year ends. By providing academic instruction during the summer months, students have the opportunity to improve their math and literacy skills before returning to school in the fall.  

Launched in 2014, Horizons National partnered with University School of Nashville to host the first Horizons program in Tennessee. Through this innovative partnership, Horizons at USN supports low-income students from Carter Lawrence Elementary and Rose Park Middle the home school(s) of most Horizons students, who stay with the program through elementary and middle school, building their learning over eight summers.

The Scarlett Family Foundation supports Horizons at USN because all students deserve access to high-quality, engaging summer learning opportunities. There is no fee to any student who participates; and breakfast, lunch and snacks are served everyday.

The program runs for six weeks each summer, five days a week. In addition to academic classes taught by experienced teachers, the students participate in enriching experiences such as field trips, swim lessons, art, music, and drama. 

In the summer of 2019, rising third graders completed an immersive unit on outer space, which included writing a research report on a planet, and traveling to the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Rising fifth and sixth graders spent two weeks attending half-day USN Summer Camps, exploring topics like coding, engineering, painting, and biology. 

Horizons aims to develop confident and competent learners who feel prepared when they return to school in the fall, and will continue to excel and succeed in their school lives for many years to come.

The program just completed its sixth summer, serving 85 rising first-through-sixth graders. The program will add a grade level each year until students are served through eighth grade, eventually hosting 120 participants per summer. 

We know that summer learning loss can leave low-income students as many as three years behind their peers by the time they reach fifth grade. Through Horizons programming, students gain an average of two to three months of learning in reading and math skills in just six weeks, keeping them at grade level or above. 

By the end of the 2019 summer, rising third grade students averaged six months of growth in reading; and rising sixth graders gained seven months of math skills.

Through high-quality, engaging summer learning opportunities, Horizons helps Nashville students fight learning loss, and ensures they are firmly planted on a path for future success.