In its first year of implementation, Horizons helped thousands of students explore, plan for, and pursue life beyond high school. The results are already beginning to show.
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The Horizons Regional Grant Program was launched in 2024 to accelerate regional efforts that support students in their transition from high school to postsecondary education, including apprenticeships and two- and four-year degree programs. Built around place-based partnerships, Horizons invests in communities committed to opportunity for all students, while also exploring custom solutions for students who the data show have historically faced the greatest barriers to success, including Black/African-American, Latino, and Indigenous students, and students from rural and low-income communities.
Each of our four regional partnerships is anchored by a “backbone” organization that brings together K–12 school districts, higher education institutions, community-based organizations, and workforce partners. In addition to funding, Horizons partnerships receive technical assistance to help strengthen advising, increase financial aid access, and build data capacity.
Washington STEM serves as the network manager for Horizons, providing direct support to all backbone organizations and technical assistance providers, ensuring regional partnerships have what they need to fulfill their goals. The Horizons Regional Grant Program is fully funded by the Gates Foundation.
Horizons is a regional initiative by design. Each partnership is working toward the same postsecondary outcomes, but through strategies shaped by local context, history, capacity, and community priorities. The data and stories that follow are not meant to be read as a comparison between regions. Instead, they reflect regional momentum, focusing on how each place is building on its own strengths, addressing its own barriers, and moving forward over time. Differences across regions represent varied starting points, funding assumptions, and approaches. These regional snapshots show multiple, complementary pathways toward shared goals.
