Horizons at CDS COVID-19 Response
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So many folks have reached out to ask how they can help, so we wanted to update you on what we have been doing to assist our families and students during this unpredictable and challenging time.
As soon as we learned that school facilities would be closing and that our Horizons children would move into remote learning, we became immediately concerned about how families would cope with this change, as well as what the long term impact of missing crucial instructional time may be for children who were already at a disadvantage.
Our goal at Horizons is to help give children opportunities through education, but we know children cannot learn when their basic needs are not met. Therefore, our approach to assisting our families during this time is 3 fold: Food/Nutrition Support, Enrichment Opportunities, and Family Outreach.
Food/Nutrition Support: Because all children in our program qualify for free or reduced lunch at school, we want to help ensure that families can meet their nutritional needs while the children are out of school. We are actively surveying the needs of our families, connecting them to resources, and providing grocery delivery.
Enrichment Opportunities: Our Horizons staff is in the process of setting up online learning opportunities to help assist our students and families for the rest of the school year. Our first step is making sure students have access to the technology they need in order to meet regularly with a Horizons Reading Buddy. Our teachers and volunteers will be involved in expanding this effort. Reach out to the Executive Director if you are interested in getting involved.
Family Outreach: Some of the most frequent feedback we have received from Horizons parents is that they are so glad to know we care and are here for them. One important goal for us is to continue to maintain our sense of community through regular contact. We also offer support for parents on how to best help guide their children's learning at this time.
We hope that you and your family are well and adjusting to all of the challenging changes this pandemic has brought into our lives. Please join us in supporting vulnerable members of our community who are feeling the impact in immediate, extreme, and potentially long-lasting ways.