Mission & Vision
MISSION
Our Mission at Horizons K8 School is to guide K-8 students to become self-directed learners in a supportive, collaborative environment rooted in critical thinking, justice, and choice.
vision
Our vision is to develop a community of reflective learners who advocate for themselves, others and a just world.
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.
School Description
As a public charter school, Horizons K-8 is publicly funded and was established by teachers, parents, and community members in May of 1996 after a five year tenure as a focus school of the Boulder Valley School District. The charter was granted a ten year renewal in December 2009. In 2012, Horizons K-8 underwent a significant remodeling and addition due to being awarded a BEST (Building Excellent Schools Today) Grant from the State of Colorado. In 2013, Horizons K-8 was established as an independent 501(c)(3) and initiated the Horizons Board to support the overall financial and governance operations of the school. In 2026, the Horizons Charter was, again, renewed.
Horizons was founded and continues to lead the way, in order to:
- Sustain a dynamic K-8 school of choice that focuses on the needs of every learner, from all cultures and with all identities.
- Give committed, professional educators the autonomy to use the most current research in developing and implementing relevant, challenging, and innovative curriculum.
- Maintain an innovative, caring, and rigorous learning environment that supports high academic and behavioral expectations, addresses the needs of the whole child, and values and respects children of all races, cultures, and identities.
- Build strong community partnerships that give students opportunities to make positive contributions to their community.
We Strive to Engage Students to Become...
Self-directed learners who...
- Take responsibility for their learning
- Set goals, reflect, and evaluate their own progress
- Plan, initiate, develop, and follow through on activities
- Gather information through listening, observing, inquiring, and collecting data
- Read and write for a variety of purposes
- Utilize a variety of multidisciplinary skills as tools for thinking and learning
- Employ logical reasoning, imagination, and creativity to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate information
- Devise a variety of strategies for problem-solving
- Communicate ideas, opinions, feelings, and information through inquiry, discussions, presentation, writing, models, charts, maps, graphs, art forms, and performance
Community contributors who...
- Value and care for themselves and others
- Explore possibilities and respond flexibly to change
- Utilize inner resources to maximize physical, intellectual, and interpersonal skills
- Recognize, sense, and appreciate cultural, racial, and learning differences
- Take responsibility for their actions
- Cooperate with others
- Participate effectively in decision-making and group activities
- Take responsibility for the environment
