Ask anyone what these two years have in common, and you’ll get some interesting answers and puzzled looks. Both featured Olympics games; in both, J.K. Rowling delivered publications featuring someone called Harry Potter; and female vocalists — whether Celine Dion or Beyoncé — dominated billboards. Many (if not most) Coloradans would answer this: that in both years, John Elway was part of a Super Bowl championship team. Subject closed — unless, of course, you were to ask about Horizons at CA, 1998 versus 2016.

 

Take, for instance, the Horizons students themselves. In 1998, 13 Knapp Elementary

Kindergarten students arrived at Colorado Academy for their very first day in a summer program. These young participants didn’t know exactly what to expect during the six week program, but they and their families trusted the four staff members who believed in them and their potential. That first summer, then-CA instructor Jenny Leger served as lead teacher and worked with Mary Archuleta and Bernadette Lopez’s assistance to bring to life the Horizons vision, a vision shared by Head of School Chris Babbs and Horizons at CA Executive Director Sean Smith.

 

At a different level, that vision lived in Horizons National, which at that time had a small number of affiliates on the east coast, with Horizons at CA being the first affiliate west of the Mississippi. The program’s parameters remain relatively simple: supporting children living at or below the poverty level through providing top-notch educational experiences, including swimming, in a dedicated environment affording excellent opportunities for learning. As it does today at more than 50 sites across the USA, the initial program featured six weeks of impact education designed to curb the “summer slide” so prevalent for low-income students. With the program’s growth nationally and locally, activities also occur during the school year, among them, Super Saturdays held both on and off CA’s campus.

 

Those summer weeks may have been intense in 1998, but they also included the joy

of learning outside the classroom. The first Horizons at CA students had the adventures of a lifetime on field trips, including touring the Broncos’ Dove Valley training facility and enjoying a picnic with the Super Bowl champion players. The summer was full, in every sense of the word. Yet the students were, just like today’s Horizons participants, eager to return year after year to be with their friends, their teachers, and their community of support. In fact, fast forward to 2016: while much of Horizons at CA’s spirit and support have stayed the same, other aspects have evolved in remarkable ways.

 

From that initial class of 13 Kindergarteners, for instance, in 2016, 143 students in grades Pre-K through Grade 11 enrolled in Horizons at CA.

 

As in 1998, all new students come from Denver Public Schools, and all are qualified for free or reduced meals during the school year and thus likely would lack essential nutrition when school was out of session. As in 1998, the students relish not only delicious meals but they also embrace summer learning, arriving eagerly each morning and leaving, sometimes reluctantly, after a seven hour day filled with lessons from reading to science to computer coding to art to swimming.

 

The 2016 staff shares their 1998 colleagues’ passion for teaching in all disciplines. The program’s low student/teacher ratio offers the individual instruction and attention so that students can blossom as learners. The Horizons summer team now includes 71 members, including volunteers from the CA community, interns (often themselves Horizons graduates), and lead and assistant teachers, several having received national awards from Horizons National and others called upon for their expertise as demonstrated with their Horizons students.

 

The Horizons 2016 team makes spectacular use of weekly field trips, ranging from exploring the Wings over the Rockies Museum to having an overnight experience at historic Lincoln Hills, to enjoying the beloved tradition of camping at Jackson Hole. Summer 1998 featured 76 adventures, with each student participating in all 6 trips. In 2016, delivering a wide range of opportunities appropriate for students’ grade level, age, and curriculum, Horizons at CA sponsored over 700 trips total to all 143 participants, offering each student at least five opportunities for bringing learning and leadership to life. If so much has changed for Horizons at CA, however, so much has also stayed the same.

 

Year in and year out, a dedicated group of educators works with an eager and courageous pool of students. Some of the very first Horizons participants are now completing their master’s degrees and/or fulfilling dream careers whether in finance or counseling or teaching, sometimes in Horizons itself. They see, also, that Horizons continues to appeal to and impact whole families. Annually, Horizons students or graduates bring their siblings to start the program, with fantastic results.

 

For 20 years, the CA community has embraced Horizons; in 2016, Horizons students and their families continue to embrace the CA community. What hasn’t changed since 1998 is the fundamental belief that at CA, Horizons students can broaden their horizons and that in turn, our community’s horizons broaden, too.

 

If you’d like to learn more about Horizons or you’d like to be part of supporting the program, especially through its fundraising efforts, please contact Dr. Virginia (Ginger) Broaddus, Interim Chief Development Officer, at Virginia.Broaddus@ coloradoacademy.org or at 303.986.1501, extension 2674. Visit us on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter to see how Horizons changes lives.