Horizon Science Academy sports new upgrades

Horizon Science Academy completed construction projects over the summer and is preparing for students to return August 13 to school.

Horizon, located at 760 Tower Blvd. in Lorain, took over in 2009 the old Lorain Catholic High School building as a kindergarten through grade 5 public charter school with 90 students and five rooms for instruction.

Over the past 10 years, the school has invested between $3 million and $4 million of state funds for renovations to the K-12 building, which currently has 720 students.

“We’re forecasting possibly in the next couple years to grow even beyond 800, to maybe 900 kids,” said Jayson Bendik, assistant principal at Horizon Science Academy.

Renovations and upgrades to the school have included a new roof, two parking lots, athletic facilities and a new foreign language wing that was built for the upcoming school year.

The building now has over 40 classrooms and still utilizes its original five

classrooms for kindergarten, first-grade and music classes, Bendik said.

Horizon officials hope to build another wing off of the back wall of the foreign language wing, but they’re unsure of what types of classrooms it will be comprised of, he said.

“It’s taken us 10 years to get to this point, so what you see is the fruits of our labor from the past,” Bendik said.

Horizon focuses specifically on STEM subjects and has integrated a Concept Youth Scholars Program that helps students prepare for college with academic competitions and college trips.

As a result, 100 percent of the school’s three senior classes have graduated and are college-bound, Bendik said.

Student success is instilled by positive reinforcement and an encouraging class culture, he said.

“We have some kids who come in here with some tough backgrounds and have some high needs,” Bendik

said. “It’s important for us to take a step back and understand the perspective of the child and where they come from.”

One of these students was Carlos Rosado, 18, of Lorain, who enrolled in 2009 as a fourth-grader.

Rosado graduated with the class of 2018 and will study mechanical engineering at Bowling Green State University later this month.

“The teachers weren’t just the teachers that came in, give you a lesson and then they just throw book work at you,” Rosado said. “They actually sit down and explain it and get to work with you one-on-one.”

“We’re forecasting possibly in the next couple years to grow even beyond 800, to maybe 900 kids.”

— Jayson Bendik, assistant principal at Horizon Science Academy

SUBMITTED A foreign language wing was built for the upcoming academic year at Horizon Science Academy.