SUMMER 2023 IMPACT REPORT
Each summer, Horizons at Cristo Rey transforms our campus into a safe haven for our youngest neighbors across Philadelphia. This year, 62 participants joined us for six weeks of summer programming and so much magic. Every day, our young people walked up the steps of 1717 W. Allegheny Avenue and entered into a space of learning, growth, and support. Learning took place in the classrooms and the STEM lab. Growth took place in the swimming pool, on the golf course, and on the athletic field. In addition to classroom time with two Licensed School Counselors, opportunities for social-emotional learning were around every corner – and in every classroom. At Horizons at Cristo Rey, there is no shortage of opportunities for our young people to be their best selves. An extension of the Cristo Rey Philadelphia High School mission, Horizons at Cristo Rey approaches the care of our young people with purpose. We are committed to improving the experience for our children year after year. Your continued support of this incredible program allows us to grow our reach and extend our impact, from the earliest stages of our children’s development. For that, we are so grateful. Thank you!
LEARNING STEMSpark This year we partnered with STEMSpark to design engaging, hands-on learning experiences for young children that could spark their curiosity, imagination, and a love of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math). The addition of STEMSpark allowed us to enhance our Reading and Mathematics focused curriculum. This hands-on approach to Science was highly engaging and encouraged the children to identify as scientists and young scholars. Lessons introduced participants to the Scientific Method, which allowed them to experience failure and practice resilience individually and as part of a team. In comparing experiments, the children learned that championing each other’s successes is of the utmost importance.
GROWTH Golf Clinics @ First Tee — Greater Philadelphia In partnership with our friends at First Tee — Greater Philadelphia, the fourth graders traveled up Henry Avenue to Walnut Lane Golf Club for two days of golf clinics. The addition of sport is a tremendous expansion of social-emotional learning to our Horizons programming, because it provides opportunities for skills and character building. While learning safety and the basics of the golf swing, our children were exposed to a pastime many of them have never played before.
Swimming Lessons @ Columbia North YMCA Swimming is a core element of the Horizons National program. In alignment with this aspect of the Horizons mission, we continued our ongoing partnership with Columbia North YMCA for a third summer, where students learned the basics of swimming and the joy of being in the water. Each grade level receives swim lessons twice a week. Our children love seeing the same instructors year after year and growing in their swimming ability. It is an invaluable piece of the Horizons at Cristo Rey curriculum and, because of that, each child is provided with all that they need so that they may participate with curiosity and bravery.
SUPPORT Counseling This year, we invested in two full-time School Counselors for Horizons at Cristo Rey. It provided a phenomenal support system for our students and fostered a productive classroom environment. Each grade level met with the counselors in a classroom setting twice a week. In addition to receiving one-on-one support, students worked as a group to build social-emotional skills like coping with grief or loss, respecting boundaries, and sharing and processing big feelings. We remain committed to nuturing the mental well-being of our students and plan to further invest in these integral services as we continue to grow.
Literacy Support For the second year, Horizons provided an on-site reading specialist to assist teachers in the classrooms and support the literacy of our students. In order to measure student progress, they conducted assessments at the beginning and end of the six-week programming period. We worked with consultants from the West Philadelphia Writing Project to build appropriate and culturally relevant classroom libraries. They also provided professional development for our teachers so that they could adminster high-impact strategies in their classrooms, including encouraging our young people to read aloud.
BY THE NUMBERS
90%
3:1
3.5
80%
Student Retention
Student to Teacher Ratio
Hours of Academic Enrichment per Day
Staff Members are Black/Latino