Inclusivity, Horizons, and Thinking 'Outside the Box'
In early October, Jessie Skipwith, Executive Director of Horizons at Colorado Academy, paid a visit as a guest lecturer in my third period class. Just a few days earlier Dr. Dani Goldstein, Forbes Cone and I had been planning a new unit on social entrepreneurship and activism for our seventh graders enrolled in the “Outside the Box” course. The course helps students work through a series of twelve challenges throughout the school year, practicing 21st century skills (cultural competence, character, collaboration, critical thinking, creativity, and communication). This interdisciplinary course encourages taking risks, explores motivation in the absence of letter grades, and pushes students to really think outside the box by focusing on the process rather than just the “right” answer. In my class, Skipwith talked about the Horizons Program at Colorado Academy, and the students had to determine if it was a social business.
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“The mission of Horizons,” Skipwith says, “is to provide an academic, cultural and recreational experience designed to support and empower students from low-income families to reach their full potential.” To further explain the purpose and intent of this non-profit organization he began writing on the white board comparing two different household profiles: the students were hooked.
A social business, as defined, is a business that focuses on providing a social benefit rather than maximizing profit; the benefits can be but are not limited to providing food, housing, health care, education and could help clean up the environment, reduce social inequities, lower drug and alcohol abuse, domestic violence, unemployment or crime. Horizons represents Colorado Academy’s institutional commitment to reaching out to low-income students and families in Denver’s local public school system in order to intentionally prevent what has become known as the summer slide – the loss in academic performance in the areas of literacy and mathematics of the course of the summer months. Indeed it is a social business, and the students got it.
Hands shot up in the air during his entire presentation; students were taking notes and asking thoughtful questions that ranged from how Skipwith got his start in education to how could they as seventh-graders get involved with Horizons. “Mr. Green’s students were energetic and actively engaged in the opportunity to better understand and familiarize themselves with the Horizons program and the components of a social business that are represented through it,” says Skipwith moments after class ended. As a previous schoolteacher and principal, you can see his talent in the classroom and how much he enjoys working for and with students.
My invitation to have the Horizons program discussed in my class was a perfect fit. In my role as the Director of Inclusivity, I provide leadership in the areas of equity and inclusive excellence, so when I am in the classroom with my students, I will always find ways to embed various narratives and voices to enrich what we are learning. The beauty of working in an independent school is that we are afforded the opportunity to try things on and make intentional changes along the way. The Office of Inclusivity is a window of limitless possibility that not only is currently taking shape, but is a shared vision with student
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