“Where Youth Feel Cared For, Challenged, and Connected”: The Story of Horizons This fall we will celebrate the 20th anniversary of San Francisco Friends School—but there’s another major milestone to celebrate in 2022, as well: 10 years ago, the idea of bringing the Horizons Program to SFFS first came to be, and this community began to plan for a partnership that has lasted nearly a decade and seen tremendous growth and accomplishment, including the recent middle school graduation of the first class of Horizons @ SFFS students. It all began (perhaps unexpectedly) in Seattle, where longtime SFFS Director of Community Engagement, Guybe Slangen, was attending a conference entitled “Private Schools with a Public Purpose.” While there, he went to a session facilitated by Horizons National CEO Lorna Smith and Vice-President Jose Oromi, and he was inspired by what he learned, sensing a vital opportunity for Friends and our community.
among friends: summer 2022
Guybe returned to San Francisco energized to strengthen our school’s commitment to our neighborhood in the Mission, and he began to dream of a partnership with Horizons National that would put this commitment into action. Horizons was already an established national program with many thriving sites in cities ranging from Philadelphia to Atlanta. It aimed to help underserved students avoid falling behind during the summer months through engaging summer academic and enrichment opportunities. Guybe notes: “... Their model was replicable, with a proven track record; they had successfully started programs at a variety of independent schools along with colleges and universities up and down the East Coast and throughout the Midwest.” Though Friends was still a burgeoning young school, fostering community relationships was essential to its mission from the beginning; and while it would be a challenge to host Horizons as SFFS
itself was still strengthening its own foundations, the families and administration of SFFS were committed—and they knew they had a strong ally in Horizons National. “[They] helped guide and support us throughout the process, ensuring that we were well-positioned to launch our program,” says Guybe. Rallying behind Guybe’s dream of making San Francisco the next site of a Horizons program was Founding Head of School Cathy Hunter and numerous SFFS parents and trustees, who were compelled by the Horizons model that emphasized community and relationships—between students, teachers, neighbors, and families—at the center. “Having a program like [Horizons] on campus grew out of the desire to deepen the school’s engagement with the local community. Friends was really committed to this aspect of the school’s mission from day one, as evidenced by the creation of Guybe’s position
