Reflections From The Road
4th grade scholars from Horizons at Ethel Walker. One of the 15 amazing Horizons sites I visited this summer.
Reflections From The Road
How diverse local programs drive one national commitment to equity and joy
By Guybe Slangen, Senior Director of Expansion, Horizons National
After nearly three weeks traveling throughout the Northeast, visiting 15 Horizons sites across four states, I’m finally back home in foggy San Francisco—and feeling deeply grateful, proud, and moved. For me the journey was more than a sightseeing tour of programs; it was a window into the power of shared purpose and collective impact.
While I’ve been connected to Horizons through the San Francisco Friends School’s Horizons program I helped launch in 2014, I’m a relatively new addition to the Horizons National team, having joined in March of this year. The goals for my trip were to see, learn, and connect, all in an effort to broaden my understanding of the depth and breadth of the Horizons network. Each visit deepened my understanding of the meaningful ways Horizons supports students, families, and communities nationwide. It also reaffirmed something I’ve long believed:
Summer can and should be seen as a powerful tool to advance educational equity—providing vital experiences in and out of classrooms that ignite learning, foster growth, and spark joy.
A Network as Diverse as the Communities It Serves
One of the most striking aspects of my travels was the diversity within the Horizons network. There are currently 71 different sites serving close to 8,000 students nationwide. I visited programs hosted at boys schools and girls schools, urban campuses and rural ones, boarding schools and day schools, universities and preschools. Some sites were celebrating their first summer; others were in their 61st. No two programs were exactly alike, but every single one embodied the core ingredients of Horizons: a caring community, passionate educators, an integrated balance of academics, social-emotional learning, and experiential education—and above all, JOY.
