Heather Valentine had been her daughter’s teacher since kindergarten. Choosing a school meant deciding who else she could trust with that job.
Valentine, 51, homeschooled her daughter, Scarlet Emmons, rather than let her begin kindergarten on a tablet during the COVID-19 pandemic. When she was ready to enroll her daughter, Valentine wanted a school that would build on that foundation and keep her involved.
“Honestly, when I went, I felt so welcome,” Valerie said of Horizon Science Academy, a Columbus charter school.
Scarlet, now an 11-year-old sixth grader at Horizon's middle school, found a place where getting to know a student can mean getting to know their home.
Teachers and administrators visit families to build trust, understand students’ circumstances
and identify needs that might otherwise go unnoticed. Educators describe the visits as a longstanding part of Horizon’s approach to serving children whose families bring different languages, cultures and experiences to school.
Federal immigration enforcement near Horizon schools has drawn public attention to the families they serve. For educators, helping students feel safe and supported is part of keeping them engaged in school − building trust with families so students can focus on learning and planning for their futures.
Reintroducing Horizon Science Academy
Horizon’s Columbus high school opened in 1999. Twenty-seven years later, Horizon has local schools that serve students from the elementary grades through graduation, with an emphasis on science, technology and career preparation.
Managed by the nonprofit Concept Schools, the public charter schools charge no tuition.
Horizon high school earned an overall rating of 4.5 out of five stars on Ohio’s 2026 school report cards, according to the school’s published summary. Horizon’s Columbus elementary and middle schools each earned 3.5 stars. The high school also received five stars for college, career, workforce and military readiness.
Those results come from schools where nearly every student is classified as economically disadvantaged. Ohio Department of Education and Workforce enrollment data for 2025-26 put that share at 100% at the middle school, 99% at the elementary school and 99.9% at the high school.
Ugur Zengince, principal at the high school since 2017, estimated that roughly half his students are immigrants. Middle school staff described a large Somali and Muslim population. Across the three schools, more than eight in 10 students were Black, according to state enrollment data.
Zengince emphasized that students do not have to arrive at Horizon with strong academic records to attend. The high school’s admissions policy prohibits selection based on intellectual ability, achievement or aptitude. When applications exceed available spaces, admission is determined by lottery.
Once enrolled, students receive support based on their needs, he said. The school uses a multi-tiered system of supports, or MTSS, to organize instruction and interventions for students who need additional help.
That work includes tutoring, language assistance and communication with families – connections that educators say help them understand what stands between a student and success.
The high school also holds a state STEAM designation, incorporating the arts alongside science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Students choose a career pathway during their first year, Zengince said.
For Valentine, that exposure was part of the appeal. She wanted Scarlet to see different possibilities for her future, including college and skilled trades.
Scarlet already has one in mind: welding.
Building trust, one home visit at a time
Horizon faculty are required to complete eight home visits a year, making family engagement a recurring responsibility.
For Christian Gossett, who previously taught English language arts and has worked at Horizon for five years, those visits help him understand students beyond their test scores.
“I do care about those things, but I also care about the people my students are going to become,” Gossett said.
Meeting families in their own homes gives educators a fuller understanding of students’ lives, and can change what happens back at school.
Gossett described another barrier: online homework assigned to a child without internet access. Last year, he said, the school partnered with the Columbus Metropolitan Library to offer study sessions where students could catch up on assignments and work with teachers or other staff.
For Geygan, in her fourth year at Horizon, the visits also establish a relationship between parents and educators. When children see those adults working together, she said, they become more comfortable speaking up.
“If they’re having a problem, they will come to you,” she said.
That trust matters for students adjusting to a new country or an unfamiliar school system.
A child sitting quietly without completing an assignment may not know how to ask for help, Gossett said. Teaching students to advocate for themselves is part of helping them succeed.
Staff said translators and coordinators support students whose first language is not English. Deciding which language a family needs information in is a routine part of communicating with parents.
“Even asking something like, 'Should I send this home in English or another language?' is important” Gossett said.
He described that welcome as especially important in a climate that can make immigrant students feel ashamed of their backgrounds.
“We don’t care how long you’ve been here,” Gossett said. “If it’s your first day here, we want to make sure that you’re as welcomed, you’re as prepared, and that you’re as comfortable and loved as anyone would want to be.”
Geygan said the support that staff provide reflects how they would want their children treated.
“No, I’m doing what I would do for my own child,” she said.
Room to explore a future
At the high school, senior Mohamadou Faye, 17, has found opportunities to develop more than one interest.
Faye, who is from Senegal and came to Horizon in fifth grade, began practicing video editing on his phone after becoming interested in TikTok edits. He later got a computer and now contributes work to the school’s YouTube channel.
He wants to become a mechanical engineer, carrying editing with him as another skill.
He also remembers home visits from his earlier years at Horizon: conversations about grades, encouragement and a chance for teachers to connect with his parents.
For Faye, those conversations helped teachers understand what they could not see at school.
“It allows the teachers to get a perspective on what the student is experiencing in their life right now,” he said.
Trending reporter Amani Bayo can be reached at abayo@dispatch.com.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: At this Columbus school, getting to know students starts at their door
