Tutoring

Horton’s Kids are the lucky recipients of “mobile tutoring,” in which children are bused from their dangerous neighborhood to federal office buildings replete with volunteers and rich academic materials. On Mondays and Tuesdays, tutoring takes place in the Rayburn House Office Building and on Wednesdays, tutoring is at the U.S. Department of Education.

Each child works one-on-one with trained, volunteer tutors who help the child master learning goals appropriate for their academic level and which complement the new DCPS grade-level standards.

Objective testing has shown that Horton’s Kids’ mobile tutoring works. Despite attending some of Washington, D.C.’s lowest-performing schools, the children have made great strides. At the end of this past school year, Horton’s Kids’ older children had narrowed their reading deficit from 2.13 grades behind to .88 grades behind while the younger children were, on average, one grade ahead in their reading ability.

To learn more about tutoring a child, please visit our volunteering page.

Mentoring

Every Sunday afternoon, Horton’s Kids are taken on mentoring field trips in and around Washington, D.C. They have been to the White House and the top of the Washington monument. They have played in parks and splashed in pools and ambled through museums. They have been ice-skating, roller-skating, and go-carting. And each Sunday they get a snack and a nutritious lunch made by volunteers.

To make Sunday lunches or mentor a child, please visit our volunteering page.

Enrichment

Horton’s Kids partners with other organizations to help our children participate in recreational and cultural opportunities, including ice hockey, tennis, golf, dance, Tae Kwon Do, and gymnastics.

Advocacy

Horton’s Kids advocates for children in the D.C. Public and Charter School systems. We try to get them the education we believe they are entitled to and, whenever possible, help them move to a more promising school.

Family Support

After eighteen years, Horton’s Kids has developed a strong relationship with the families of Wellington Park. Our programs have evolved through a combination of the latest social service research and their needs.

In addition to receiving a meal four times a week, families in our program can get emergency food assistance during tough months. Children whose shoes or clothes are worn out or ill-fitting receive new clothes.

Through a partnership with the LINKS to Healthy Smiles program and the Howard University Dental School, Horton’s Kids get the dental care so many inner-city children are missing. The children’s eyes are tested and those who need them are given eye glasses and replacements when those break.

To help our children’s self-esteem, Horton’s Kids helps its families celebrate holidays by providing:

• Easter baskets
• A birthday party at a local splash park
• Halloween costumes
• Thanksgiving baskets
• Christmas presents
• Christmas trees