Horizons at SHU Receives $20,000 Grant for 2021 Summer Program
Grant will prevent summer learning loss among children
Sacred Heart University’s Horizons at SHU program has received $20,000 to support its 2021 plans to expand summer learning enrichment for Bridgeport students. The grant is from Fairfield County’s Community Foundation (FCCF).
The foundation promotes philanthropy throughout Fairfield County, supporting solutions to critical issues affecting county communities. To date, it has awarded more than $230 million to nonprofits in Fairfield County and beyond, including previous grants to Horizons at SHU. A statement from the FCCF stated, “Our goal is to create a vital and inclusive community, where every individual has the opportunity to thrive.”
Horizons is a tuition-free, nonprofit organization with more than 60 chapters that serve 5,000-plus students yearly from kindergarten through eighth grade. Its curriculum focuses on learning aspects such as academics, social and emotional learning (SEL), creative arts and recreation. Sacred Heart’s chapter assists Bridgeport. Many of these children, who attend the program at SHU’s main campus, are the first in their families to step foot on college grounds.
Horizons at SHU’s project aims to close opportunity gaps from summer learning loss that children from Bridgeport’s low-income families face. The opportunity gap refers to the difference in educational resources between low-income students and their middle-to-higher-income peers. It occurs when students’ lack of access to out-of-school programs during the summer hurts their academic success and preparation for the upcoming school year. However, if the children’s brains are engaged and they continue to learn during the summer through academics, trips, reading, visits to museums and such, they are more likely to return to school ready to pick up where they left off.
Connecticut has the largest opportunity gap in the nation, most severely in the Bridgeport area. Bridgeport’s 2018 “State of the Child Report” found that 76.4% of the city’s high school students in the class of 2017 graduated within four years, compared to 87.9% statewide. Additionally, students facing this opportunity gap are up to six times more likely to drop out of high school, resulting in a 51% chance of facing unemployment. It is estimated that high school students who leave school early cost the nation $260 billion per year in crime, welfare and health-care costs.
Sacred Heart’s Horizons program takes place Monday through Friday for six weeks each summer. The curriculum covers literary instruction, STEM (science, technology, engineering and math), SEL, swimming, academic and culturally significant trips and service learning. Classrooms are arranged for hands-on, “learn by doing” experiences.
Horizons at SHU also has a Saturday program for students during the academic year. Currently, there are 254 students enrolled for 2021-22, with 32 more students from two kindergarten classes expected to join the 2021 summer program.
Students enrolled in Sacred Heart’s Horizons chapter see immense academic improvements. In 2019, all participating children from kindergarten through second grade met or exceeded their reading goals. Additionally, 91% of all students met or exceeded the literacy goal and 90% of students between first and eighth grade improved in mathematics. In 2020, the program had a 94% retention rate and was recognized by Horizons National as one of the best network affiliates.
“Horizons at SHU truly values our partnership with the FCCF,” said Jaime Perri, executive director of HSHU. “The FCCF has been a great supporter of our work, and this has enabled us to expand our mission and offer important programs to our students.”
For more information on the FCCF, visit its website.