Horizons at Warner program produces 1st graduating class

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The program at the University of Rochester Wednesday afternoon will look like the end of an intriguing summer camp, but the Horizons program’s “Animal Athenaeum” will be a whole lot more meaningful.

The exhibition for students to show the work they created over six weeks this summer also will signify the graduation of the first class of students to come to Horizons every summer from kindergarten to ninth grade.

The program is run by the university’s Warner School of Education and is designed to prevent learning backsliding over the summer for students in the Rochester City School District in grades K-9. Students actually end up having a two-month jump on their peers in reading and math when they return to their schools in the fall, according to the Horizons at Warner program.

The summer enrichment program, which began at the Harley School in 2010, started with 15 kindergarteners from School No. 33.  The program later moved to Drama House at UR, and then to the Warner School’s LeChase Hall, where it is headquartered today.

This year 155 students in K-9 attended, and 13 of those original kindergarteners will be graduating.  The students are exposed to a variety of cultural, academic and social enrichment programs, taken on field trips, and participate in swimming lessons and other sports.

Horizons is part of a national program that is 54 years old. UR was the first college campus to join the national network of Horizons programs.

One of the program’s graduates, Julissa Loucks, entered the program on the recommendation of a kindergarten teacher.

Julissa’s mother, Edith Muniz, told a UR writer, “I was looking for a place where my Julissa could spend time with other kids like her because she was so articulate. I needed her to be someplace where she could express herself, form healthy relationships, and make new friends.”

Today, Julissa is a student at the School of the Arts, blogs regularly and is writing a book online.

“She has learned skills here that you would typically expect your child to obtain in college,” Muniz said.

The “Animal Athenaeum” program will show libraries of books on animal subjects collected by the students, as well as exhibit their crafts and other work. Each year Horizons features a different subject to study in depth during the enrichment program. This year was all about amazing animals.

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