Horizons at Atlanta Technical College helps to close the achievement gap among elementary students

Atlanta Technical College has launched a summer program designed to close the achievement gap among elementary students.  The Horizons at Atlanta Technical College program is a tuition free summer enrichment program offered on the Atlanta Technical College campus located at 1560 Metropolitan Parkway in southwest Atlanta.  From June 3 to July 12, fifteen students from metropolitan Atlanta will participate in this transformative program, gaining reading, math, and aquatic skills. 

The data demonstrates that, low-income children tend to lack access to quality instruction during the summer months and fall behind in reading and math skills, while middle- and high- income students keep pace or jump ahead. This contributes to an achievement gap between the groups, leaving some low-income kids as much as three years behind by fifth grade. Through the Horizons at Atlanta Technical College program, low-income children will have access to the same comprehensive educational tools in the summer as their counterparts. Participants will focus on academics, arts, sports, cultural enrichment and confidence-building activities. In addition, all Horizons students learn to swim, making enormous gains in self-confidence that spill over into the classroom.