Vision

Our Vision

All at-risk youth complete high school with a plan for the future to become contributing members of society

​

 

Our Mission

Empower at-risk youth to reach their full potential through tutoring, mentoring and faith-building

 

​

Our Values

Multi-cultural/generational relationships

Character building through Christian education

Commitment of gifts and talents to serving others

Prayer over all that is done and needed

Community partnerships

Hope for the future

Safe haven for youth

Respect and celebrate individual strengths

High school graduation

 

 

Case Statement

The U.S. Department of Education quantifies the need for the New Horizons’ programs in terms of high school graduation rates for Florida; 71% of all students graduated high school in 2010/11. That statistic drops drastically to 53% for students who speak English as a second language. The U.S. Census Bureau reports for 2011, in 27% of Florida homes, English is the second language. These are alarming statistics for the Florida economy; for roughly one fourth of Florida families, nearly 50% of their children do not graduate high school. The dropouts join the minimum wage, occasionally employed labor pool of non-diploma adults. Young women dropouts are more likely to have early pregnancies and to live as single parent mothers through their adult life. Dropouts make up nearly half the heads of households on welfare and commit about 75 percent of crimes in the U.S (Jun 20, 2012 CNN report by Donna Keache). On average, each high school dropout, over their lifetime, costs taxpayers $292,000 in incarceration and lost taxes due to lower wages. The high dropout rates are negatively impacting Florida’s economy and the quality of its social fabric. Reducing the dropout rate is a complicated problem that requires a focused, personalized solution. New Horizons of Southwest Florida through its Super Kids (since 2002) and Super Teens (since 2007) Clubs is tackling this problem. These programs provide tutoring, mentoring, and character building to some of the highest risk students, those from Hispanic and Haitian homes where English is not the primary language spoken and many are living below the poverty level. These parents are busy working, do not know the U.S. culture and do not communicate well with the school system and other social services. They are therefore unable to help their children with homework, address problems at school or take advantage of opportunities to excel and succeed. New Horizons’ programs and staff were developed and operate to help these families and their students overcome the many issues and challenges they face.  New Horizons' range of programs provides measurable results: at-risk youths enrolled in the program have an 90% graduation rate compared to the 48% graduation rate of their peers.

​