Program supporting homeless high schoolers rebounds, expands

Jun. 25—New Horizons Academy gave Ayza Thrower the connections and confidence she needed to branch out during her four years as a Tuscarora High School student.

Having a peer mentor to facilitate conversations between students and supervising adults could've made her experience more transformative.

Now, the program — which supports high school students experiencing homelessness — will feature alumni serving as peer mentors.

And Thrower will be one of them.

Incorporating peer mentors is among a number of expansions that New Horizons Academy will offer this summer to its 75 students, which County Executive Jan Gardner announced at a press briefing Thursday.

The program, which offers its students the chance to make up course credits at Frederick High School and provides life-skill training, is the culmination of a partnership between Frederick County Public Schools and the Student Homelessness Initiative Partnership of Frederick County.

"We are the envy of the state," Dana Falls, student services director for FCPS, said of the program.

For the first time in its five-year history, New Horizons' five-week summer program will include rising ninth-graders.

Expanding the program's scope and resources will enhance its reach, supervisor Javier Zavala said.

Zavala, known to his students as "Mr. Javi," said the program seeks to tap into the voice of houseless youth, helping them to sustain that voice and advocate for others after graduating.

Students may be hesitant to speak with adult supervisors, Zavala said. Peer mentors, like Thrower, identify with the students and can facilitate dialogue.

"I wanted to come back as a peer mentor because these students need a voice," said Thrower.

As a student who struggled with home insecurities, the program helped Thrower to grow into herself and discover that her passion is to return the favor. She aims to help younger generations of disadvantaged youth benefit from the same resources she did.

The same resources, Thrower said, that guided her in high school and helped her cope during the pandemic.

"It took me for a loop," she said of the pandemic.

To participate in New Horizons' courses and programs over the past year, Thrower had to log onto a computer from a friend's house. She said that, while the program helped her through the pandemic's darkest months, being remote hurt students' ability to build connections.

The pandemic inhibited a number of New Horizons' services, including rides to appointments and periodic visits to those struggling, Zavala said.

Moreover, half of the program's students speak English as a second language.

Being forced to participate remotely prevented them from relying on fellow students and bilingual supervisors, like Zavala, for support and interpretation.

"It was such a disappointment," said Ed Hinde, executive director for the Student Homelessness Initiative Partnership.

With pandemic restrictions lifting, vaccination numbers climbing and infection rates falling in the county, the program will resume its summer 2019 form.

Hinde called the return to normal function and accompanying expansion of the program "a thing to behold."

"So, hallelujah for that," he said.

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