1/6/2009 2:49:00 PM Local recovery high school receives $30K challenge grant
An anonymous donor to the Madison Community Foundation has offered a challenge grant of up to $30,000 to Horizon High School, according to Amy Overby, vice president for donor relations of the foundation.
Horizon High School (www.horizonhs.org) is Dane County's only recovery high school, founded in 2004 by parents, educators and a counselor who had found teens who had been in therapy for drug and alcohol abuse would inevitably relapse upon return to their prior school due to negative peer pressure.
Several dozen teens have attended Horizon, with a high rate of success. The school features a high staff to student ratio (with a counselor on staff), strong student involvement in their education, and development of a culture of mutual support. There is periodic drug testing.
Horizon is located in Neighborhood House at 29 S. Mills Street, Madison.
"If it hadn't been for Horizon High School, we believe we would have lost our son to the continuing haze of drug and alcohol abuse, which would have led to his dropping out of school and increasing the danger to his health and safety," wrote the mother of a former student. "We believe that the small size, personalized education, and therapeutic treatment available at Horizon were directly responsible for his success."
Paul Moberg, deputy director of UW Population Health Institute and a member of Horizon's advisory board, has studied recovery schools around the U.S.
"Analysis suggests significant reduction in substance use as well as in mental health symptoms among the students. The recovery school programs appear to function successfully as continuing care to reinforce and sustain therapeutic benefits students gained from their treatment experiences" Moberg said.
"Most of the students attending Horizon need scholarships, and the Madison Community Foundation's offer is a wonderful opportunity to help continue and expand Horizon's service to Dane County families. We hope in the next nine weeks to raise the $30,000 needed to match the Madison Community Foundation's challenge," said John Fournelle, Fitchburg, one of the founding parents and president of the board of directors.
Contributions are tax deductible (Horizon has 501c3 status from IRS) and can be mailed to P.O. Box 45045, Madison, WI 53744. Information: www.horizonhs.org
