If you are part of the K-12 education community, chances are you have read about our country’s skyrocketing rates of chronic absenteeism: students missing 10% or more of school days in a year. According to a new report, the proportion of students attending schools that had high or extreme rates of chronic absenteeism more than doubled from 26% during the 2017-18 school year to a startling 66% during the 2021-22 school year. These numbers are extremely troubling; chronic absenteeism has been linked to diminished health, involvement with the criminal justice system, and poverty. The Biden Administration recently urged schools to address absenteeism with more high-dosage tutoring, and summer and out-of-school learning opportunities.
Horizons is built on long-term relationships, and few students understand this better than those who have been with the program since toddlerhood. This year, we were honored to speak with Ethan Romero, a rising 8th grader at Horizons at CT State Norwalk, to learn more about his years at Horizons since joining the program in pre-kindergarten.
Horizons' Season of Gratitude is a month-long celebration of the people and partners that make our programs possible. It takes a village to advance educational equity for young people, and we are proud to be part of this community of schools, organizations, districts, teachers, families, funders, and volunteers. Join us in celebrating this Season of Gratitude and giving thanks to your own village!
Happy Native American Heritage Month! We're excited to celebrate this month with an extension of our ongoing series: Native Voices in Education! This month, we'll be sharing the stories of individuals who were pioneers or champions in their field, and whose contributions have made a positive difference for others.
Henrietta Mann is a full-blood Cheyenne, an elder of her people, and a citizen of the Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma. She is a celebrated educator, a professor of Native American studies, and a leading figure in the development of programs devoted to Native American studies.
At Horizons, we talk a lot about ‘learning loss’ and ‘learning recovery.’ You might hear us use phrases like “equitable learning recovery” or “pandemic recovery,” too. But what do these words really mean?
Horizons is built on long-term relationships, and few students understand this better than those who have been with the program since toddlerhood. This year, we were honored to speak with 
Henrietta Mann is a full-blood Cheyenne, an elder of her people, and a citizen of the Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma. She is a celebrated educator, a professor of Native American studies, and a leading figure in the development of programs devoted to Native American studies.