Horizon School, Education Out of the Box

Over the course of the summer months of 2018, this column featured the seven high schools of Desert Sands Unified School District. Each school was introduced to the community. Comments received about the series were very popular. This summer we return to the format with the introduction of our seven traditional middle schools as well as our K-12 independent study school. This is the final school of the series.

— Mary E. B. Perry

Horizon School staff continues to build a 21st century instructional environment that promotes rigor, infuses technology (blended learning), enhances time management skills, and remains a conduit for students who want and/or require a non-traditional educational experience.

Horizon is home to professional motocross riders, professional actors, students involved in auxiliary/pioneering (ministry work), etc. At the heart of Horizon’s program is the parent engagement element built into our home school program. Horizon serves students K-12 in a unique independent study curriculum. As part of this series on DSUSD middle schools, it is important to include the 6th, 7th, and 8th graders who call Horizon their school.

Horizon School has been on a magical journey and continues to realize growth on the annual California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) in English Language Arts (ELA) and math.

Mrs. Horel, Ms. Salandro and Mrs. Adams have done a marvelous job of facilitating both our opportunity and home school programs. These teachers are responsible for the largest increase in student learning as reflected in the school’s CAASPP scores. At the core of both programs are parental support and each teacher’s efforts to extend the level of school-to-home communication that engages and, at times, reengages parents to the educational process.

Often unknown to the general public, Horizon’s K-8 Home School program is a major conduit connecting invested students and families to our 9-12 A-G independent studies program.  Students participating in our independent studies program can matriculate from high school to a university campus. During our 2018-2019 school year, our students were accepted to study at a variety of university programs (University of California Riverside, Humboldt State University, Northern Arizona University, and Grand Canyon University). Our staff and school district have worked diligently to expose our students to opportunities beyond high school. Students were afforded opportunities to attend a Michelle Obama event, participated in La Quinta’s Desert Town Hall forum, attended a career fair (mock interviews) hosting 25 vendors, and visited multiple university campuses (University of California Los Angeles, University of California Riverside, University of Redlands, and California State San Bernardino).

Horizon School would like to thank our school district for supporting programs that exist outside of the traditional school model.  With their support, we have delightfully watched our program grow by more than 40% over the last school year. I thank the staff at Horizon School for promoting such a quality program personified through their dedication and positive student results.

Our staff would like to invite community members and stakeholders to our campus.  We will provide each of you with a personalized tour of our facilities. Thank you all for supporting our efforts!