Horizons K-8 is a charter school within Boulder Valley School District, established in May of 1996. Our vision is to share a commitment to educational excellence that supports parents, students, staff, and community members in creating a stimulating and supportive learning environment. Students and adults work together to strengthen their skills and maximize their potential. Our mission is to guide K-8 students to become selfÂ-directed learners and community contributors in a respectful and cari…
ng learning environment. Over the past two years we have embarked on a community-wide effort to revisit and re-create our Mission, Vision, and Values. This work has helped us to truly center our focus on what we as a school community hold to be true, here at Horizons. Our vision is to develop a community of reflective learners who advocate for themselves, others, and a just world. Our mission is to guide K-8 students to become self-directed learners in a supportive, collaborative environment rooted in critical thinking, justice, and choice. Our values Community : We are a relationship-based community of lifelong learners who engage in experiences that deeply connect us to one another. Responsibility : We share decision-making to empower all members of the school community. Diversity : We learn about and empathize with others so that we all belong. Growth : Each person achieves their own highest standard of academic excellence by delivering authentic learning experiences and a curriculum that is personally significant and continues to be relevant in an ever-changing world. Communication: We are open, honest, and direct with one another to build trust. We created our unified improvement plan using our school-wide analysis of multi-year data from Colorado Measures of Academic Success (CMAS), BVSD school climate survey results, I-Ready assessments, parent satisfaction surveys, observations of instructional practice, and academic interventions growth monitoring data. Our school accountability committee consisted of Principal, Assistant Principal, faculty members, School Accountability Committee (SAC) members, board members, and parents. We reviewed data for trends, conducted a root cause analysis and identified key performance targets and action plans in the areas of equity and math. Current Performance: Horizons performance framework indicates that we are a school that meets expectations for K-8 academic achievement and approaches expectations (85.8%)for K-8 academic growth overall (50%). Elementary ratings exceed in achievement and growth overall; 6-8 achievement exceeds the standard, and 6-8 meets the standard. Our focus for improvement includes adopting, identifying and implementing high leverage instructional strategies, using alternative assessment strategies that will offer richer data to identify intervention needs and providing measurable intervention practices for both Tier 2 and Tier 3 instruction. Professional development includes training for implementation of school-wide cultural responsive education training, an improved teacher evaluation system, and a more robust MTSS process. Of Note: The COVID-19 global pandemic of 2020-21 required students and teachers to learn remotely for a good part of two school years. Some assessments, such as iReady, were able to be administered remotely, but others were not. In addition, it modified CMAS assessments, canceling them completely in 2020, and assigning one test per grade level in 2021. Testing in 2022 returned the school to a regular assessment schedule, but left a gap in comparative data.
Accredited with Distinction - This is assigned to the highest performing districts. These districts are meeting or exceeding expectations on the majority of performance tasks.
Accredited - Districts with an overall rating of Accredited are meeting expectations on the majority of performance metrics.
Accredited with Improvement Plan - These districts are identified as lower performing. They may be meeting expectations on some performance metrics, but they are not meeting or are only approaching expectations on many.
Accredited with Priority Improvement Plan - These districts are identified as low performing. They are not meeting or are only approaching expectations on most performance metrics. The state will provide support and oversight to these districts until they improve.
Accredited with Turnaround Plan - These districts are identified as among the lowest performing districts in the state. They are not meeting or are only approaching expectations on most performance metrics. The state will provide support and oversight to these districts until they improve.
Accredited with Insufficient State Data - These districts are assigned this accreditation rating when the state does not have enough data to report publicly. To better understand why a district received an Insufficient State Data rating, all publicly reportable data are reflected in the performance framework report. More information about these ratings is available here.
School Ratings
Performance Plan - Schools with a Performance Plan are meeting expectations on the majority of performance metrics.
Improvement Plan - These schools are identified as lower performing. They may be meeting expectations on some performance metrics, but they are not meeting or are only approaching expectations on many.
Priority Improvement Plan - These schools are identified as low performing. They are not meeting or are only approaching expectations on most performance metrics. The state will provide support and oversight to these schools until they improve.
Turnaround Plan - These schools are identified as among the lowest performing schools in the state. They are not meeting or are only approaching expectations on most performance metrics. The state will provide support and oversight to these schools until they improve.
Insufficient State Data - These schools are assigned this plan type when the state does not have enough data to report publicly. To better understand why a school received an Insufficient State Data rating, all publicly reportable data are reflected in the performance framework report. More information about these ratings is available here.