On Nov 1, 2023, at an Assembly Education committee hearing, there was testimony on supporting Wisconsin state funding for creating new, and supporting existing recovery schools. This hearing was recorded by Wisconsin Eye, and is free to view.

Eight Horizon students submitted letters of testimony on the effect Horizon has had on their lives. Read their letters below.
Click on the down arrow on the right to read their full testimonies

I struggled with the way West taught their academics, they had big work loads, classrooms with large amounts of students, barely any Student to Teacher time. West was extremely fast paced for me and as the school year progressed my mental health declined, I completed freshman year with a 2.65 GPA. Sophomore year came around and the school work hit me like a truck. I wanted so badly to do well in school, but I was not able to focus, sit still, and pay attention to the curriculum, so I bought some Adderall from a friend to help me focus. My mental health was still terrible and I was still using Marijuana at the time, I had grown a strong tolerance to Marijuana and was looking for a new high. I found that you could get high off the Adderall I was using. I ended up loving the feeling and kept on abusing the Adderall. At this point I had given up on trying in school, I found It was causing me too much stress, I went from wanting to do well in school to not caring in the span of a couple weeks. I started exploring different drugs like, Xanax, cocaine, LSD, shrooms, oxycontin, hydrocodone, ketamine, and fentanyl. I would hide my drug use from my friends and family, I would strictly use on my own, I often skipped school, and occasionally ran away from home to use. I completely isolated myself. My heavy drug use lasted for 6ish months. I finally had enough and knew I needed to get sober. I reached out to my mentor (a Dane County Human Resources Worker) . I had been working with him since the 7th grade so we knew each other well. After I talked to him was the first time I tried to get sober. I managed to get 90 days sober my first time around, but eventually ended up relapsing. Wanting to be sober was never a problem for me, I knew I needed to get sober, I had identified my disease of addiction. In early recovery I was doing it all alone, I didn’t have the 12 step program, Rehab, Addiction Counselors. It was safe to say I was hopeless. I kept trying to get sober and then relapsing again. It was to the point where I was accepting the fact that I might not wake up the next day. The scary part is that I was at peace with it, I almost wanted it to happen. My family found Horizon High School, while reading their online website. Horizon looked like the ideal place to learn, small classes, lots of support, the curriculum was based on things I can apply to real life. It was my dream school. We applied and I got in!
Now that I am at Horizon I feel extremely supported. At first I was extremely nervous, I still am to some extent. Our teachers make sure each student gets the help they need and each student is supported mentally. On Mondays and Fridays we have a group therapy session. I feel that I can be open about my feelings and tell my classmates and staff the truth about how I am doing mentally. Horizon feels like a safe place for me to learn. I have made good relationships with some students and staff. I now go to at least 3 N/A meetings a week and have found a therapist, along with a substance use counselor. Being at Horizon makes me feel like I have a future. Before horizon I didn’t think I’d live to see 18 years old. Now I have dreams and ambitions to graduate, join the marines, and eventually go to college for business. Horizon truly saved my life. I feel blessed to have this opportunity. It makes me sad to know this is the only recovery school in Wisconsin. I believe that everyone like me should have the opportunity for a second chance at education. I am now 57 days sober and feel better than ever. I am excited to graduate Horizon. Horizon is important to me because I am finally getting my life back. Seeing all my peers recover puts a smile on my face everyday. I thought i’d never say this, But I look forward to school every day!
T.
October 31, 2023

After Horizon:
Attend school
Passing class
Sober
Working
Sincerely,
N.
October 31, 2023

My life before Horizon was filled with lies, anger, sadness, rebellion and doing things that I wasn’t supposed to be doing at the time and age. I would always smoke multiple blunts in one day, and eventually it started to catch up to me. Smoking Marijuana everyday all day took a toll on my personal relationships, and my relationship with my mother. I hid smoking weed from my mom for the longest time until she eventually found out and our relationship went further downhill. She never approved of me smoking marijuana, the “addiction” was getting so bad that I was still going behind my mothers back just to smoke knowing she didn’t approve. I would spend a lot of money just so I can smoke with either myself or friends. I started skipping all my classes, just sitting in the bathroom, because I couldn’t focus and all I was thinking about was marijuana, then skipping classes went into me and my friends skipping school just so we can smoke. Out of all my years in high school from 9-11th my mom has gotten two truancy letters from my home school, and the second one she got was the last one she’s gotten. This is when I transitioned from my home school to Horizon. My life now since going to Horizon has been much better, my personal relationships have been better kind of, but the most important thing to me is the relationship I have with my mom. MY relationship has gotten so much better ever since I started going here and actually being able to hold myself accountable and not just my mom trusting me to hold myself accountable without that extra help/push. I’ve started to open up to my mom more, because I really feel that’s what our relationship needs. My best experience at Horizon was finally being clean from Marijuana and being able to tell my mom and just seeing her face light up with pride. That has to be the best experience I had here. My favorite experience at Horizon High School is group time which happens every Monday and Friday. It’s where we talk about our high’s and low’s of the week, basically talking about how we are feeling and is there anything that we are struggling with and would like to talk about. Group really helped me open up to my mom, my friends, my classmates, and just in public. I think other teens would enjoy being here at Horizon, because they may have nobody to talk to or hold them accountable for their addiction, and I feel it’s a second chance while in your teenage years.
Sincerely,
O.
October 31, 2023

I had severe depression and anxiety that made it almost impossible to get out of bed, let alone work towards goals. While I went to public schools I would rarely go to class and if I did I was never sober. I haven’t been present in public schools for any length of time since the 7th grade. Being in treatment programs, inpatient or otherwise, is helpful until it isn’t. As soon as you leave you’re thrust back into reality, with all of the same temptations and triggers as before. While treatment programs may be able to shield you during your stay, once you go back to the environment you were living in before, nine times out of ten you’ll go back to the same destructive behaviors. I have seen a dozen different therapists, attended outpatient programs, inpatient programs, rehabs, psych wards, and group homes, and nothing helped to keep me sober or improve my mental health. I was a member of AA for three years, but could never string together more than 30 days of sobriety before a relapse.
The difference with Horizon is that you don’t have the opportunity to slip back into old habits. You are held accountable every day you’re here, and even when you’re not. You can’t just not show up to school, you’ll be getting calls, texts, emails, and parent notifications. You can’t be using substances because we get drug tested weekly. If you’re having a bad day, or a bad week, or just going through a rough patch, you have people there to talk to you and check up on you no matter what. Before Horizon, I was barely surviving. I was using substances every day, had terrible mental health, didn’t go to school, no relationships in my life, poor physical health, and I couldn’t work.
Now with Horizon, I have been sober almost two years, I am a very happy person, I look forward to school and show up every day, I have amazing relationships with my family and friends, I’m healthy, and I have a steady job that I’m really passionate about. The Horizon staff and students go above and beyond to make you feel loved, accepted, and valued. The people at Horizon are like a family to me and everyone here has made me who I am today. I am eternally grateful for the second chance at life this place has given me and so many others.
A.
October 31, 2023

I felt like school was stupid, it wasn’t helping anyone but just making student’s life difficult and ruining everyone. I wanted to drop out and I’m a senior now.
The first time I heard about Horizon I was actually excited to come. I was calling all the time, bugging my counselor at East High School. I even kept showing up to school just to know about Horizon.
This school made me happy, stop using and do work. I’m actually happy with myself. They made me love myself again, love going to school and doing work, the 3 things I never would’ve thought I was going to say again, but everyone there changed that.
Not all schools actually care, Horizon is different. Public schools don’t care, all the kids there are so much work. The teachers just show up to get the money. They don’t care if you graduate or not, they don’t care if you walk out of the class or not, they don’t care if you show up towards the end of class. When I first came to this school, I thought that I might not be able to stop using a substance, before I would be using it like every hour. I wasn’t going to change for myself. I hated myself for how I would act, how I would see things and my life wasn’t going to change, no matter how hard I tried, but as soon as I walked into that door at Horizon. It was hard, but I gave it a shot for myself and I’m so glad I took it.
The first week was hard but I knew I wasn’t going to be alone and they were going to be there for me and they helped me. It showed me that they actually care about me and everyone in here. After that I knew I was going to love this school and I do. Horizon saved me and my brother.
Sincerely,
C.
October 31, 2023

Before attending Horizon High School I spent most of my days locked in my room feeling worthless. I stayed in that depressive state for a whole year, skipping school to get high and on the days I did attend school, I had to get high just to make it through the day. I lost relationships and friendships, but worst of all, I lost all respect for my own life. I didn’t care if I lived or died. I was failing school , I couldn’t keep a job, I treated my family poorly causing me to have to move away from my mom.
After a year of running from my addiction, my mental health issues and pretending it wasn’t a problem, my mom found Horizon. If I am being honest, when I found Horizon I wasn’t ready to change my ways. But the minute I walked in for my interview, I immediately felt like I was at home. The staff and students were so welcoming and truly brought the warmest feeling to my heart. If I can tell you anything about my school, it would be that it saved me. Horizon gave me my smile back, it gave me a family, it gave me a reason to live. Horizon has taught me so many things from how to be confident in my education to how to be a contributing member to society. I am now an A-B student and I am sober and on track to graduate and go to college in the fall. I can truly say that without Horizon I would not be where I am today. Horizon gave me my spark back after being kept in the dark for so long. It not only gave me friends and staff that I could trust and feel safe around, but it gave me a family and people to love me even on my worst days.
My story is only one of the many stories of students who have been truly changed by our school. I hope that you’ve read this with an open heart and open mind and one day we can give more kids like me a chance to experience the true happiness that comes from being a part of our horizon family.
Tiah Meigs
October 31, 2023

I wasn’t enjoying myself, just rotting in my room alone. I had no hope for the future. Now I am able to go to classes and pass them. I am able to realistically imagine a future for myself that isn’t horrible. The smaller environment helped a lot, since a big contributor to my problems previously was caused by social anxiety and fear of being seen.
Many of my favorite experiences at Horizon are related to the life skills classes. I do not have the money to go to many places, so I appreciate Horizon’s ability to take its students out to the community. A notable example I an think of is being on a kayaking trip during summer school. I had never been on any kind of boat before, and I really enjoyed it. I want to eventually get a kayak and take it to lakes. I would have never known about how enjoyable it would be without Horizon.
Horizon is very helpful for many teenagers and without it, most would likely never graduate highschool. This school has turned around so many lives, and I believe that more similar schools should be opened, in order to do the same for more people.
Sincerely, J.
October 31, 2023

What Students Are Saying