Horizons at Greene Street Friends School (HGSFS) is an award-winning transformative summer enrichment program in Philadelphia’s Germantown neighborhood, offering six weeks of tuition-free education and holistic development for Prekindergarten through Seventh Grade students. The ‘special sauce’ in Horizons is the vision that a student is not enrolling initially for six weeks, but summer after summer, until they graduate from the program in Eighth Grade. This commitment creates a deep relationship between the students, parents and caregivers, and Horizons staff.

Nationally, Horizons data shows that students gain 2-3 months of literacy and mathematics skills each summer, while their peers typically lose 2-3 months in those same areas. This is because Horizons centers Project Based Learning and Culturally Relevant Materials in a “whole-child” approach to education that allows students to engage in their learning.

HGSFS’s curriculum has six primary focus areas: literacy, STEM, Swim instruction, Life skills, family engagement, and food insecurity. The main goal of HGSFS is to break the cycle of poverty through a holistic development of students that creates lifelong learners.

Horizons’ two-generational approach means that they work not only with the students but also with their families to ensure mental and environmental health. As the students grow and improve, their families also progress, and so does the larger community. HGSFS is uniquely positioned to carry out this work.

Since its inception, HGSFS has built strong relationships with its host, Greene Street Friends, partner schools, community organizations like the Free Library of Philadelphia, and donors who believe and invest in its mission each year. Further, the over 70 Horizons affiliates across the country deepen HGSFS’ effectiveness and impact through a continual stream of new ideas and up-to-date research that informs its work.

Beyond its summer curriculum, HGSFS extends its impact year-round, offering tutoring, homework help, and community events to further enrich students’ educational journey. HGSFS is dedicating to closing the education gap and empowering future generations in Philadelphia.