New Horizon Academy

10/09/2026

Kindergarten readiness is about more than academics. Through play, connection, and social-emotional learning, children build the confidence and skills they need to thrive.

What early childhood topics would you like us to talk about next? Let us know in the comments! 💬

10/09/2026

Halloween is an exciting time of the year. It is the perfect opportunity to combine fun and learning, spend quality time together as a family, and create Halloween traditions.

10/08/2026

Our Early Preschool A classroom is learning all about Light! They have had so much fun with all their different activities

10/05/2026

What better way to spend a school release day than to make piles of leaves and jump in them?! Our school age classroom had so much fun spending time outside on their no school day last week!

10/02/2026

We believe every smile tells a story. 💛 World Smile Day began as a reminder to spread kindness and brighten someone's day. Seeing these happy faces? That's our favorite part of what we do. 😊

10/02/2026

Our toddlers celebrated the beginning of October by color mixing fall colors!

09/30/2026

A Day for Learning… and a Little Love! Just a reminder that our center will be CLOSED Monday, October 12th for a Professional Development Day! Our team will be spending the day learning and growing together, while also taking some time to celebrate the amazing people who make our center so special — our staff! That’s where YOU come in! We’d love for families to take a few minutes to fill out a Kind Note — a little thank-you, a favorite memory, a shout-out, or simply a few words about how much you appreciate a member of our team. We’ll be reading these notes during our Professional Development Day, and we know they’ll bring plenty of smiles and happy hearts. Please turn your Kind Note in to center management by October 12th. A few kind words can go a long way, and our staff deserve every one of them! Thank you for helping us make our Professional Development Day extra special!

09/29/2026

Our Preschool and High-5 friends had so much fun playing Ring Around the Rosie as a big group during outside time!

09/28/2026

In celebration of the changing seasons, our Preschool classroom turned their dramatic play area into a pumpkin/gourd patch with a farmer's market! Our friends had so much fun exploring their new space!

09/25/2026

There is nothing better than curling up with a book on a rainy, cold morning! Our toddlers agree!

09/24/2026

Think outdoor classrooms are just extra playtime? Think again! From science and creativity to problem-solving and teamwork, some of the most important lessons happen outside. ☀️✨

09/24/2026

As part of our brushes theme, our Early Preschool A friends had a great time mixing colors AND using big paintbrushes during art time. We had so much fun!

09/23/2026

How Tall Can Your Fall Tree Grow? 🍂 Today, our early preschoolers participated in a fun fall STEM activity! The children used blocks to build their own fall trees, stacking them as tall as they could. As they built, they added colorful fall leaves to decorate their trees.

09/22/2026

Our Early Preschool friends LOVED playing in the freshly fallen leaves!

09/22/2026

Sweater weather, crunchy leaves, and curious minds. 🍁 Hello, fall! 🧡

09/21/2026

We were honored to welcome Iowa State Senator Matt Blake to our New Horizon Academy Johnston school last week.

During his visit, Senator Blake toured our school and joined us for a meaningful discussion about child care policy in Iowa, including ways to make high-quality child care more affordable for families and how to better support the educators who make early learning possible.

These conversations are an important part of our ongoing advocacy efforts. By building relationships with policymakers and sharing the realities facing families and teachers, we can help shape solutions that strengthen early childhood education for communities across Iowa.

Thank you, Senator Blake, for taking the time to visit and engage in this important dialogue.

09/17/2026

Pre-K vs. Preschool: What's the difference? We're breaking it down in under a minute! ⏱️

09/16/2026

More than 55 years ago, Sue Dunkley built New Horizon Academy around a simple but powerful belief: children thrive when they feel safe, valued, and connected. Today, that same philosophy lives on through our focus on strong child-teacher relationships, research-informed curriculum, and conscious discipline practices that support every child’s social and emotional growth.

We are honored to be recognized at the 2026 Minnesota Family Business Awards, and proud that the values that inspired our founding continue to guide our work every day. Thank you to our teachers, staff, families, and communities for helping bring this vision to life. 💙

Twin Cities Business

09/16/2026

We are so honored to be featured in Twin Cities Business! 💛

New Horizon Academy started in a Brooklyn Center church with eight children. Fifty-five years later, it just opened its 110th school and, by the end of this year, will operate in eight states. All along, it has remained family-owned, with three generations involved today. It's also one of our 2026 Minnesota Family Business Awards winners.

At its center, the company prioritizes the child-teacher connection. New Horizon’s education team updates curriculum based on new research, and its schools deploy “conscious discipline,” a type of social-emotional learning. To first-generation owner Sue Dunkley, it sounds familiar. “[It’s] everything I thought should happen with kids,” she says. “If they don’t feel safe, they’re not going to learn.”

With a philosophy of respect for children and a fast-moving decision-making process, the 55-year-old New Horizon Academy has become a national leader in childcare. Read the feature stories for all five winners on our website.